Rising cases of dengue in the city

With the onset of monsoon, it is not only the bad roads that have been cause for worry but health woes too. Chennai has been recording a steady rise in the number of dengue cases. According to Health Minister Vijayabhaskar the government has already set up fever clinics at government hospitals that function round the clock.

Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and the Institute of Child Health have 8 dengue cases each under treatment. The directorate of public health has recorded a spike in fever cases in the districts of Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur and private hospitals too have  recorded a increase in fever cases.

Meanwhile, Chennai Corproation has checked over 14.98 lakh houses in the city for mosquito breeding sources. The city will be classified as high risk for dengue if the house index for mosquito density is over 10, which is currently at 0.1 post inspection.

Over 6000 houses have been identified as breeding grounds for the dengue-causing Aedes mosquito. Thiru-vi-ka Nagar reported the highest number of sources while Alandur recorded the lowest. The corporation has so far seized 32.62 lakh containers from houses.

Source: The New Indian Express | The Times of India | The Hindu

City bus stops and junctions to have smaller dustbins

In  a move to make the city cleaner, Chennai corporation has started placing smaller bins in 11 major bus routes including Kamarajar Salai, OMR, Poonamallee High Road, Anna Salai, R K Salai and Sardar Patel road. The bins will be two colored – blue and green for dry and wet waste segregation respectively.

The move is a pilot project which would help check overflowing dustbins and will be extended to other areas of the city based on the success of the initial experiments. To maintain cleanliness, additional conservancy workers will be engaged in additional shifts.

Source: The Times of India

Over 60,000 driving licences to be suspended for violation

The Chennai City Traffic Police have recommended RTOs to suspend over 60,000 driving licences for various traffic violations in the city. Of these, around 30,000 licences have been reported for red signal jumps and  a little over 10,000 licences face action for drunken driving.

While first time offenders will have their licences suspended for limited time, repeated violators will see their licences being cancelled permanently. The swift action has come after it was found that issuing challans were not effective enough.

Source: The Times of India

Deep sea locations off Chennai being tested for micro plastics

The National Institute of Ocean Technology along with the National Centre for Coastal Research are jointly executing a study to study micro plastics and marine debris in the deep sea including the Chennai coast. The study will help identify what kind of plastic reaches the sea and the source.

A team of scientists have lifted water samples from the deep sea and near coastal locations to find the level of micro plastic pollution. Micro plastics are minute particles and are major pollutants affecting the marine environment. When the aquatics are ingested with these, it also affects human who consume sea fish.

In Chennai, the plastics find their way to the sea mainly through encroached and polluted waterways like Adyar, Cooum and Kosasthalaiyar.

Source: The Hindu

[Compiled by Sandhya Raju]