Chennai Buzz: Award for Chennai Corporation | Assistance for POCSO victims | Smart parking app on the cards

Presenting our regular weekly round-up of important civic news from the city

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]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Similar Story

City Buzz: One more stampede at Maha Kumbh | GRAP 3 in Delhi…and more

Other news: Guillain-Barré Syndrome cases in Pune, Amaravathi ORR work on and no plans to outsource free breakfast scheme in Chennai

Poor crowd management blamed for Maha Kumbh stampede The Maha Kumbh Mela stampede in the early hours of January 29th in Prayagraj led to at least 30 deaths and 60 people being injured. Large crowds flocked to the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh, on Mauni Amavasya, a day considered auspicious for the ritual dip. There were about 10 crore pilgrims.  Just a few hours later, another stampede-like situation three kilometres away at Jhusi resulted in deaths of at least seven, including a child, said police sources. Strangely, the authorities remained silent about this incident.  Uttar Pradesh authorities drafted guidelines on…

Similar Story

City Buzz: Citizen’s policy for affordable transport | Awareness drive by BBMP clinics…and more

Other news: TNUHDB residents' issues unresolved, Delhi-NCR housing prices go up and disaster management measures in Thiruvananthapuram

Draft policy for affordable transport Major reforms are needed to address urban mobility challenges, according to the citizen’s draft policy for affordable public transport by Greenpeace India and the Public Transport Forum. The policy was developed by consulting experts and citizens. The policy document recommends universal fare-free transport through “climate tickets,” improved investment in public transport infrastructure and more inclusivity in workforce policies. The main issues that need to be tackled include inadequate bus services, underfunding and overemphasis on road expansion. The draft police recommended Road infrastructure funds can be reallocated to public transport, which could double city bus fleets,…