Articles by News Desk

Contributors of greenhouse gas in Chennai identified Emissions from vehicles and railways have been found to contribute 16% of all greenhouse gas emissions in Chennai. The findings were tabled as part of a report on the Chennai Climate Action Plan (CCAP) drafted by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). The report prepared by Deloitte has found that 66.4% of all motorised transport trips in the city are driven by fossil-fuel-based vehicles. The share of non-motorised transport in Chennai stands at 28%. To reduce emissions, the report suggests incentivising a switch to e-vehicles. The creation of infrastructure for charging and amendments to…

New Lower Parel bridge problem for Mumbai's dabbawalas The newly constructed bridge outside Lower Parel station has disrupted the daily routine of Mumbai's dabbawalas. Subhash Talekar, the President of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association (MDA), stated that the old bridge was more convenient as it had a footpath. However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished it and failed to provide a similar facility for the new bridge. The old bridge was spacious and had stairs, as well as wide footpaths, making it feasible for dabbawalas to exchange dabbas for areas such as Worli, Kalachowki, Byculla, and Mazgaon. To address their concerns,…

More candidates with criminal cases than in 2018 There are more candidates with declared criminal cases in all three parties after 2018. It has risen from 83 to 96 in the BJP, 59 to 122 among the Congress candidates, and 41 to 70 in the JD(S), according to the ‘Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other Details of Candidates’ report, released by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).   Eight candidates have declared murder-related cases (IPC Section 302), 35 candidates have attempts to murder cases (Section 307), and 49 candidates have declared cases of crime against…

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its manifesto, on May 1st, for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections. It lists 16 promises. They will provide three free cooking gas cylinders to all BPL families annually; one each during the months of Yugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Deepavali. They will set up an Atal Ahara Kendra in every ward of every municipal corporation in the state to provide affordable, quality and healthy food across the state. They will launch the Poshane scheme through which every BPL household will be provided with half litre Nandini milk every day and 5 kg siri dhanya--through monthly…

GCC's bus shelter renovation project faces hurdles The Greater Chennai Corporation's (GCC) plan to renovate bus shelters across has been unable to take off due to a lack of bids. The civic body's plan to spruce up bus 844 bus shelters across Chennai was approved by the council in March. The aim was to ensure uniformity in the renovation and quality of the shelters through the adoption of a public-private partnership model. The total number of bus shelters in the city were divided into 12 corridors, with each corridor comprising 65 bus shelters. The tenders were called for renovation soon…

Mumbai's summer heat: Traffic officials aged 55 and above asked to stay indoors in afternoon Mumbai is currently facing higher temperatures than previous summers, and as a precautionary measure, traffic police officers who are 55 years old and above have been advised to avoid being outside between 12 pm and 5 pm to prevent heatstroke. A circular was issued on April 26th to all 50 traffic chowkis in the city to convey the same. Senior officers are responsible for ensuring that on duty traffic police officials have access to clean drinking water and wear caps during the afternoon hours. On…

Over 16 lakh added to voters' list Almost 16,04,285 voters, including about two lakh young electors, have been newly added to the voters’ list after the publication of the final electoral rolls on January 5th  and January 15th in Karnataka. Hence, there are 5.31 crore electors in the 224 Assembly constituencies, said Manoj Kumar Meena, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) for Karnataka. People now cannot add, delete or update the rolls. After announcement of polls, enrolment activities were taken up till April 20th and all eligible applications have been updated in the electoral roll 2023. Just before the elections, a voter…

H Nagesh, the Congress candidate from Mahadevapura Constituency, shares why voters should choose him. Hanumappa Nagesh, 64, is the MLA of Mulbagal (Kolar district), winning his first election as an independent candidate in 2018. He says he has performed well in Mulbagal and would like to repeat that in Mahadevapura, where he is originally from. H Nagesh: Government official-turned-politician Nagesh supported the Congress-JD(S) coalition government and became Minister of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood (September 2019 – February 2020).  In 2019, he withdrew his support to the coalition government, along with 16 other MLAs, which then fell. He switched support to…

In March 2023, a 55-year-old woman who rode pillion on her son’s bike was injured when the duo were chased by street dogs and attempted to escape from them. She passed away a week later. There have been reports of more injuries to individuals as a result of street dogs in Chennai in recent months.  Such incidents have prompted heated debates between those affected by street dogs in the city and animal welfare activists who seek better treatment of street and community dogs in Chennai.  Residents and activists have both pointed out failures in street dog management by the civic…

Chennai Corporation to audit old buildings in Parry's Corner The Greater Chennai Corporation is to audit the stability of the buildings in Parry's Corner after a 70-year-old building in the area collapsed recently. A building on Armenian Street, which was under renovation, collapsed on April 19. The incident left four injured. As many as 280 personnel were deployed in the rescue operation and more than 30 trucks were used to clear the debris. Officials of the civic body stated that prior permission had not been accorded for carrying out the renovation of the building. Source: DT Next Expert Appraisal Committee…