Chennai Corporation bags award for social innovation
Chennai Corporation was bestowed with an award recognizing its social innovation initiatives. The award was for accelerating the transition towards a sustainable city through projects like Namma Chennai App and smart classrooms and was given by Governance Now, a public policy organization.
Source: The Hindu
Chennai Police launches “Thozhi” to counsel victims of child sex abuse
70 police women personnel have been assigned the role of counsellors to child victims of sexual assault. The scheme known as “Thozhi” was launched by the city police commissioner A K Viswanathan.
The 70 policewomen will be provided with pink saris embedded with the Nirbhaya logo to mark safety. The move comes in the wake of as many as 1,039 cases registered under the POCSO Act since 2012 in the city. Under the scheme, regular follow ups on the POCSO cases will be conducted to ensure that victims are counselled and have received all assistance including compensation.
Source: The Times of India | The New Indian Express
Amma glass water bottles to be launched
In a bid to reduce plastic, the Tamil Nadu Government will soon launch glass water bottles of 750ml, in place of the Amma water bottles that are currently sold, mostly in bus stands. Commuters usually leave behind a huge junk of half used plastic water bottles where these are available. The low-cost mineral water scheme that was launched in 2013 was recently expanded to the Government hospital too.
To reduce the wastage of water that is left half consumed, and to reduce plastic waste, the Government is set to launch smaller version of these bottles, having a capacity of 750 ml and made of glass.
Source: The Times of India
Coming soon, smart parking app
Finding a parking space in the city’s busy streets is all set to become easier, as the Greater Chennai Corporation is all ready to launch its GCC Smart Parking App. The GPS-enabled app will let the user know the real-time location of parking spaces available.
The parking spot can be blocked in advance as you near the spot. However, the user will not be able to book the spot in advance. Once the user reaches the parking spot, the attender at the park will guide the user to the designated parking slot.
Source: The Times of India
OMR-ECR flyover will be the city’s second-longest
The 1.7 km long flyover linking OMR near Thiruvanmiyur MRTS is now being extended beyond Thiruvanmiyur RTO junction on ECR. With this extension, the flyover will be 2.1 km long and will also become the city’s second-longest flyover.
The flyover, when completed, is expected to bring substantial relief for commuters using the two congested roads – LB Road and RTO office at Tiruvanmiyur.
Source: The Times of India
[Compiled by Sandhya Raju]