Articles by News Desk

Festive rules revised On Thursday, many Ganesha Utsava Mandals held a protest with vehicle-mounted idols, at the BBMP head office. The BBMP’s order on just one public installation per ward was widely opposed. After outcry from pro-Hindu groups over restrictions in festivities, BBMP withdrew its guidelines and agreed to permit festivities over five days, not three as the police had advised earlier. Moreover, reversing the earlier ban, idols can now be immersed in some lakes where it’s customary. Only one public installation per ward is permitted, but temples and private religious institutions can install idols following COVID-appropriate behaviour. Organisers are…

Section 144 till September 19th Not more than five people will be allowed to gather at a place in Mumbai till September 19th. Mumbai Police imposed the order to curb Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations. According to the new order, praying physically at public pandals has also been banned. However, the guidelines also state that for bringing home Ganesha idols and during their immersion, not more than 10 people will be allowed in public mandal processions and not more than five for household Ganpatis. Mandals falling in Covid-19 containment zones will have to make arrangements for immersion within pandal premises or postpone…

Corporation shortlists 10 themes for Singara Chennai 2.0 With residents’ welfare associations sharing suggestions to transform the city under the Singara Chennai 2.0 project, the civic body has shortlisted 10 themes for the broad changes in store.   The corporation will be allocated Rs 300 crore and the Metrowater Rs 200 crore for executing the project. While a draft of the vision  for the project has been prepared, a government order is awaited to go ahead with the work planned. Residents have sent in their suggestions for revamp under the following themes: heritage and culture, beautification, education, cleanliness, greenery, wellness, safety,…

Supreme Court raps Centre for delay in framing COVID relief guidelines The SC has set September 11th as the deadline for the Centre to file a compliance report on framing guidelines for issuing death certificates to families who lost a member due to COVID-19. A two-judge bench comprising Justice M R Shah and Justice Aniruddha Bose said that despite the court giving ample time to the Centre, it has failed to take any action. The court also noted that by the time the government frames the guidelines the third wave might well have set in. The court had ordered on…

Are you fed up with buying plastic-laden things and looking to change? Citizen Consumer and Civic Action Group (CAG), an NGO based in Chennai, will shortly be launching an app, Go Zero Waste, that seeks to list shops across Tamil Nadu and even India, where you can shop plastic-free. This app will serve as a resource for those citizens keen to break free from the convention and habit of using plastic, and help them find local shops that avoid plastic packaging.  As the first step to sharing this invaluable resource, CAG is crowdsourcing information on the shops through this form…

Mumbai’s costliest flyover shut one month after opening The newly constructed Ghatkopar-Mankhurd flyover has been jinxed since its initiation. Delayed by three years, partly due to the pandemic, the Rs 713 crore flyover was finally inaugurated on August 1st by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. But a spate of recent accidents and breakdowns have led to the flyover being closed for repairs on September 1st. While several two wheelers have slipped and skidded on the flyover, a fatal accident on August 30th involving a bike finally led to the closure. Even though BMC maintains that the accidents were caused due to…

75% have COVID antibodies: Serosurvey Preliminary results of a serosurvey conducted by civic authorities in early August show that more than 75% of the sample population had developed antibodies. The survey was conducted among 2,000 Bengalureans, of whom half were vaccinated and half weren't. Out of 1,800 people, more than 1,400 had antibodies. The results of the remaining 200 people are still being tabulated. The participants included 30% under the age of 18, 50% aged 18-44 years, and 20% aged above 45. They were from various socio-economic groups. The findings seem to suggest that vaccines are creating an appropriate antibody…

Health infrastructure gets a boost in city While speaking in the ongoing Assembly session, Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian announced the construction of new premises for 13 urban primary health centres (UPHC) in the Greater Chennai Corporation limits. Further, the UPHC at Sanjeevarayanpet in the Royapuram zone would be upgraded to a 100-bed hospital.  Some of the other announcements that will boost the health infrastructure in Chennai are: Setting up a state-run whole genome sequencing labo in the DMS Complex in Chennai at a cost of ₹4 crore. The lab would help a great deal to contain the spread…

50% adults vaccinated with first dose In a positive development, 50% of the country’s eligible adult population is now vaccinated with the first dose. It includes 99% coverage amongst healthcare workers and almost 100% among frontline workers. Also, the average number of vaccinations per day was 52.16 lakh doses in August, up from 43.41 lakh in June and 39.38 lakh in July. A record one crore doses were administered on August 27, according to government data. The union government also said supply issues have been sorted out and stabilised. There have been no complaints of shortage from states in recent…

Sessions Court and experts say shoddy builders to be held liable A sessions court has ruled in favour of a Bhandup housing society on a complaint against the builder for substandard construction. It was alleged that the construction was sub-standard as the material used was of inferior quality. The complaint was filed under sections of the Indian Penal Code sections related to endangering life or personal safety of others and common intention. The maximum sentence under the charge is imprisonment up to three months or a fine. The President of Cooperative Societies Residents & Users Association (CSRUA) said that Maharashtra…