GCC to form road safety cell
In a bid to prevent accidents in Chennai, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has planned to form a road safety cell. The body would analyse the reasons behind mishaps and propose exhaustive solutions. The aim of the cell is to halve the number of accidents in the city by they year 2026. Tenders have been called for the appointment of a consultant. Improving roads, public transport infrastructure and reinforcing road safety norms are some of the focus areas.
It is to be noted that the state government undertakes initiatives to enforce road safety. With the involvement of World Bank-funded Road Accident Data Management System, the transport department, along with other government bodies visit roads that record over five accidents for studying the reason and to install speed breakers, signals and caution boards.
Source: The Times of India
Women in resettled colonies feel less safe: Study
A survey carried out by the Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health (BALM) at Perumbakkam resettlement colony found that 64% of the respondents felt a decline in their safety during natural calamities after resettling in their current place of residence in Perumbakkam.
The researchers surveyed 50 married women for the study. Of those, 15% responded that they felt a decrease in their physical safety and 23% felt a decline in their financial protection, 30% also noted that they do not have a trustworthy network of friends and connections in the resettled neighbourhood.
On civic amenities, 66.6% of the respondents felt that their access to toilets has improved, 40.5 % were satisfied with electricity provision and only 13.5% were satisfied with the water supply in the area.
Source: The New Indian Express
NGT committee to appraise ECR SWD environment impact
A report submitted by the expert committee formed by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) confirmed that the civic body did not obtain Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) clearance for the integrated stormwater drain (SWD) project along East Coast Road (ECR).
Further, the committee has planned to do a detailed inspection to assess the environmental impact on the aquifer, coastal zone and turtle-nesting sites before submitting the final report. Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) superintending engineer (South), P Ashok Kumar, who is also a part of the expert committee, argued that the proposed SWD area does not fall in CRZ- IA.
Source: The New Indian Express
Chennai has 657 CCTVs per sq km
A recent study conducted by Surfshack, a virtual private network (VPN) provider, revealed that Chennai has the highest number of CCTVs per sq km among the major cities across the world. The city currently has 657 CCTVs per sq km.
A K Visvanathan, former city police commissioner, inaugurated the ‘Third Eye’ programme for installation of CCTVs in the city during his tenure. Along with the police department, social organisations, CSR departments and residents’ associations came together to implement the project to reduce crimes and criminal activities.
There have been several instances in which the police department has nabbed criminals with the help of CCTV footage. But many residents also remarked that the cameras are not maintained well in several places.
Serving City Police Commissioner Mahesh Aggarwal noted that the State Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami has sanctioned funds to maintain the devices and keep the technology up-to-date.
Source: The Times of India
[Compiled by Bhavani Prabhakar]