COVID-19: Count rises to 88 in Chennai, GCC and police launch corona-related apps
The total number of COVID-positive patients in the state touched 485 on April 4rd with 88 of them in Chennai. In view of this, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has identified eight hotspot clusters and imposed stringent restrictions on people’s movement where the number of reported patients are reportedly more. The civic body has allocated 25-30 persons in each area to identify symptomatic cases.
GCC has launched the‘Corona Monitoring App’ to track patients with fever symptoms to battle the virus. For people in quarantine, the Tamil Nadu police has rolled out a ‘Quarantine Monitoring App’ to track if they are following the protocol.
The Corporation has also initiated a drive to create spaces for quarantine in each of its 15 zones. Chennai has more than 20,000 properties that remain vacant, for which GCC officials have put out a call, to convert them into quarantine spaces.
Four exclusive government hospitals – Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital, Stanley Medical College and Hospital, Omandurar Medical College and Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital – are provided with facilities to treat COVID-19 in Chennai.
Source: The Hindu | GCC Twitter handle
Garbage generation dips by 30%
Ever since the lockdown was announced, Chennai’s total garbage generation has come down by 30%. Officials state that the figures began decreasing from last Tuesday and it dropped to around 4,000 tonnes a day initially.
The Corporation collected 3,245 metric tonnes of waste on Sunday, said Corporation officials. In comparison, the fortnightly average for March 1-15 was 4,700 metric tonnes. All 64 resource recovery centres and 110 material recovery facilities are currently closed.
“Currently, whatever waste is being collected goes directly to landfills. After the lockdown is over, the Corporation would soon begin composting waste as usual,’’ an official told The New Indian Express.
Source: The New Indian Express | The Times of India
Metrowater to increase water supply in a month
Although most employees are working from home, Chennai Metrowater states that the demand has not spiked and plans to maintain supply at the current level for the immediate. At present, 650 MLD is being supplied to the city of which 500 MLD is supplied through pipelines. However, once the desalination plant in Nemmeli begins to function after the maintenance period, the government is considering increasing supply from the current volumes. With summer around the corner, the board is likely to increase water supply to the usual 830 MLD within a month.
The Metro Water board is also planning to provide new connections to areas like Ullagaram, Avadi and Shollinganallur. “After pre-commissioning tests are done, we will start supplying water to these areas. We will be sourcing water to Pammal, Pallavaram and Anakaputhur municipalities too, which will in turn distribute it to households,” added the official.
Source: The New Indian Express | The Hindu
Dairy sector takes a hit
As the lockdown has forced the closure of hotels, tea shops and bakeries, over 10 lakh dairy farmers in Tamil Nadu have been impacted. Of the 2.1 crore litre of milk produced every day, about 1.2 crore litre remains unused, including 45 lakh litre supplied to the eatery chains.
MG Rajendran, General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Milk Producers’ Welfare Association (TNMPWS) said, “Every small farmer who supplies milk to private companies has suffered a loss of anywhere between Rs 100 to 200 a day. However, the expenditure towards maintenance has remained the same.”
In Chennai, milk vendors at Triplicane are discarding about 300 litres of milk down the drain every day. Suppliers blame the residents and state that they prefer packaged milk.
Source: DT Next | The New Indian Express
[Compiled by Bhavani Prabhakar]