Postal ballot for absentee voters
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced the absentee voting system for voters working in essential services, senior citizens above 80 and persons with disabilities. Voters can register their votes through postal ballots.
The Chennai district election office held a discussion with the representatives of political outfits explaining the procedure for absentee voters.
For opting this service, voters should have applied through the online window. The registration process has begun from March 26th. In this elaborate system, an appointment would be sought to take the voting machine to the residences of voters for them to exercise their right to vote.
District Election Officer G Prakash clarified that for COVID patients will be provided with PPEs for voting in order to ensure safety.
Source: The Hindu
Read more: 6000 booths, strict COVID protocol, 80-plus to vote at home: District officer shares election plans
Chennai Corporation re-initiates COVID protocols
As the city is witnessing a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, the civic body plans to re-initiate door-to-door surveillance beginning from Monday. More than 12,000 volunteers will be deployed to screen residents for symptoms of COVID-19.
In light of these developments, the government hospitals in the city are beginning to increase the number of beds and plan to retain the existing doctors and house surgeons to deal with a potential increase on hospitalisations.
As part of the COVID management strategy, the civic body does home surveillance and monitoring of people who are quarantined. Italso increased the number of fever clinics, amped up testing capacity and vaccinations.
Corporation Commissioner Prakash stated that over 100 medical experts would be hired for ramping the fever camps and added that the civic body plans to test 15,000 people per day.
On the vaccination front, the civic body will begin to vaccinate people above 45 years of age starting April 1.
Source: The Hindu | The New Indian Express
Read more: All you need to know to get your COVID vaccine in Chennai now
Shenoy Nagar park to be ready by September
The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has promised to restore the Shenoy Nagar park which was closed down in 2011 for metro rail construction. It is to be noted that several hundred trees were axed to facilitate the metro rail construction. Now, the agency has promised to restore the green cover. The new park will been split into assorted sections to cater to various age groups.
The agency is also building an underground facility below the park consisting of additional amenities such as tennis court, walking track and a dedicated space for yoga and meditation. The facility, spread across two lakh sq ft, will also have a dedicated parking lot to accommodate 400 4-wheelers. The work is likely to be completed September.
Source: The Times of India
Read more: Shenoy Nagar residents fight to save Thiru Vi Ka Park
New system for faster movement of trains in Tambaram
In a bid to ease the swift movement of suburban trains at the Tambaram yard, the Southern Railway has commissioned an interlocking system. This will replace the current Route Relay Interlocking (RRI) which is used in large and busy stations to handle high volumes of train movements. The proposed Kyson system will help speed up trains on the new third line between Tambaram and Chengalpattu.
The department has installed five integrated power supply units at several junctions for round-the-clock power supply.
Source: The Hindu
Also read:
- Elections are around the corner: What do the people want?
- What are the roles and responsibilities of your elected MLA?
[Compiled by Bhavani Prabhakar]