Before you light that garbage, beware!

As per revised Chennai Solid Waste Management Bylaws 2019, residents and shopkeepers found burning garbage in their own premises will have to pay a fine of ₹500 and ₹2,000 respectively.  Furthermore, any resident who dumps garbage in a public place and burns it will have to pay a fine of ₹1,000. The fine for those who dump construction debris in a public place will be ₹2,000-₹5,000.

The bylaws also state that it shall be the responsibility of owners of pets to clean up excrement. The bylaws have also included user charges for solid waste management in the city.

Source: The Hindu

New subway at Chennai Central junction

Chennai Metro is constructing a new subway that will connect all corners of the ever-busy Central junction. The subway is being built as part of the Central Square project, which also includes another underground pedestrian facility.

The existing subway in front of the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GH) will be linked to the two new subways, and will also get a facelift with escalators and elevators. The rectangular 7-m wide subway is expected to link the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (GH) with Park stations, Central station with Central metro while the second subway will connect the GH with Evening Bazaar road.

Source: The Times of India

Chennai to have free wi-fi zones

As part of the Smart City project, Chennai Corporation is all set to roll out free wi-fi zones in the city. Over 25 WiFi zones across prime locations in the city including 14 Amma Canteens across 15 Zones in Greater Chennai Corporation have been installed with wi-fi zones.

Nearly 300 users can login simultaneously under each WiFi zone that will be available 24X7 for the users.

Source: ETTelecom.com

Makeover for corporation schools to woo students

Chennai Corporation has planned a makeover for 281 schools at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore. 28 Corporation schools have already commissioned smart classrooms. While the patronage for Corporation schools already seems to be on the rise, further improvements are expected to increase the number of students by 45000, according to Chennai Corporation Deputy Commissioner (Education) Kumaravel Pandian.

As a number of residents of slums in the city are expected to be resettled, the civic body is planning to take major initiatives for competing with private schools, to offer free education in a world-class environment for kids of lower middle class parents, who cannot afford to pay exorbitant fees in private schools across the city.

Source: The Hindu

42000 stray dogs vaccinated in 4 months

The city corporation has in a 4-month exercise to free the city from rabies, vaccinated 42000 stray dogs across four zones in the city.

The vaccination program was planned based on the census taken in 2018 that put the population of stray dogs at 57366 within corporation city limits. Also, there were a lot of complaints pouring in about the stray dog menace and being bitten by the stray dogs.

This apart, around 2500 pet dogs have also been vaccinated at the corporation facilities.

Source: The Times of India

Air quality in Chennai sees improvement

After setting the alarm bells off, the air quality in Chennai has gradually seen improvement, thanks to the easterlies. While many independent weather bloggers blamed the pollution in Delhi for Chennai’s deteriorating air quality, the Regional Met department assured that the condition was caused due to local meteorological conditions and had maintained that the haze would dissipate in a week’s time.

A high-level meeting was convened on Monday by RB Udayakumar, Minister for Revenue to review the public health crisis. The minister later briefed that the public has been warned against burning trees, tyres and garbage across the city and suburban areas.

The Central government’s Sameer application, which calculates AQI, had indicated that the city’s poor air quality could have a definite health impact, causing respiratory illnessed upon prolonged exposure. According to air quality norms, an AQI of 0-50 is considered to be good with the least pollution impact, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor and more 301 is considered to be severe. Last week, the AQI levels had crossed 300 in the city.

Source: Deccan Chronicle | The New Indian Express

[Compiled by Sandhya Raju]