Evictions near the Cooum in Triplicane

Around 3000 families along the banks of the Cooum river near Triplicane were evicted forcibly by the Chennai police and slum clearance authorities on December 30th. The eviction drive is part of the river restoration project. The families residing in Gandhi Nagar, Sathyamoorthy Nagar and Indira Nagar were evicted without notice, prompting protests from the residents. The residents lamented that the move would leave many without homes and would affect the continued education of many of the school and college-going children.

The settlements that have been evicted have seen residents living there for nearly five decades. Authorities claim that all those who have been evicted have been allotted tenements at the Perumbakkam resettlement colony where others evicted till date have also been relocated to. The demolition of a section of the houses began on the same day as evictions, with electricity being cut off for the other houses. Residents who chose to protest by continuing to stay in the area are yet to receive a response from the authorities.

Source: The NewsMinute | The Times of India

Register to feed stray and community dogs

Animal lovers and those who are part of organisations working with stray and community dogs and engaged in feeding them have been asked to register with the Corporation before January 15th. The effort is aimed at ensuring that those feeding community dogs ensure that the practice does not inconvenience residents in the area. Authorities say that the move came about after receiving complaints from residents of littering.

The authorities state that the move will be a way for them to update their database and convey guidelines to be followed while feeding stray and community dogs. They also hope to gather help from the community to identify strays which require rabies vaccination and other treatment as part of the ‘rabies-free city’ campaign. Those who wish to register are requested to write to vetsec59@gmail.com.

Source: TimesNow | The Times of India

Chennai sees monsoon extend into January

With the new year starting off with a spell of rain in several parts of the city, Chennai can expect further showers during the month. The city’s wettest new year in 30 years is a sign of the extending monsoon. The Met department and private weather bloggers have predicted that January will bring more rain to the city. The Northeast Monsoon which begins in October usually ends in December, unlike this year.

The extended spell of rains is a welcome change for the city which received deficit monsoon last year and experienced severe water scarcity in the summer as a result. The monthly normal of 26mm of rain has already been surpassed with 40mm of rain on January 1, according to weather blogger Pradeep John.

Source: The Hindu | The NewsMinute 

Central metro station to get parking mid-January

One of the largest metro stations in Chennai will be able to provide parking facilities to commuters come mid-January. Chennai Metro Rail Limited announced that the parking facility will be inaugurated in 15 days. The parking lot will be able to accommodate 300 two-wheelers and 100 cars. The finishing touches for the parking lot are underway, prior to the opening.

The Central metro station is one of the arterial stations in the metro rail network. The parking woes faced by the commuters will be addressed by the opening of the parking lot. While the station has been operational since February 2019, commuters have struggled to find adequate parking. Addressing last-mile connectivity issues has been one of the top concerns of CMRL in order to increase ridership.

Source: The Times of India

Unusual fog delays flights

Unusual fog has caused repeated disruptions in flight operations in Chennai for two days this week. Poor visibility as a result of unexpected fog caused diversions, delays and cancellations among domestic and international flights as airlines scrambled to accommodate affected passengers. 10 flights were delayed and four diverted as the visibility was less than 2000 mts.

The affected airlines included Spice Jet, Go Air, Air India, Air Asia, Emirates, Vistara and Indigo. An international flight of Air Australia from Reunion Island to Chennai was also diverted to Trichy. With the extended monsoon, the first week of the new year saw a veil of fog and rain during the day in the city.

Source: NDTV | Hindustan Times

(Compiled by Aruna Natarajan)