Over 3400 illegal banners pulled down in a day
Following the public outcry over the recent accident that took the life of a techie, Chennai corporation has pulled down over 3400 illegal banners and party flags, across the city.
A large number of banners, erected by political party cadre following the Chennai street food festival in Island Grounds, which was inaugurated by the Chief Minister, were removed by the civic staff.
Meanwhile, the Madras High Court on Friday directed the State government to pay an interim compensation of ₹5 lakh to the family of the deceased. Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and N. Seshasayee ordered that the money be recovered from government officials who failed to prevent AIADMK functionary C Jayagopal from erecting many flex boards on the Pallavaram-Thoraipakkam radial road for his son’s marriage.
Further, to ensure such unfortunate deaths do not occur in the future, the judges directed the Chennai city police as well as the Corporation officials to come up with a joint action plan for conducting a mass drive against illegal flex boards across the city and submit it in court during the next hearing.
Source: The NewsMinute | The Hindu
Metro Water to add 50 more sewage lorries
The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metro Water) will be adding 50 more sewage disposal lorries to its fleet by March 2020. The additional sewage tankers will cater specially to added areas of Chennai that do not have underground sewage network. Once operational, these tankers will deposit the collected sewage in the decanting facility of Sholinganallur, Perungudi and Nesapakkam treatment plants. Currently, there are 367 tankers for collecting sewage from clogged drains and manholes.
Source: The New Indian Express
Anna Salai-Thousand Lights stretch becomes two way again
After almost seven years, the Thousand Lights stretch at Anna Salai has been opened for two way traffic on a trial basis. The move comes following the completion of work on the metro rail in that area.
Dr K Ejilearassane, Joint Commissioner of Police (South Zone, Traffic), Chennai said that the trial run was smooth and there has been positive feedback from motorists, vendors, auto and bus drivers. The Chennai Traffic police will announce a date for reopening the entire stretch permanently, after discussion with the metro rail and corporation.
Source: The New Indian Express
TN may soon reduce the traffic violation fines
The Tamil Nadu Government is considering bringing down the traffic violation fines marginally. The Chief Minister is expected to hold a meeting either on Monday or Tuesday to bring in a new penalty structure.
There has been a lot of criticism on the hefty fine structure introduced as part of the amended MV Act. While the West Bengal government has termed it as harsh and has declined to implement the revised fine structure, Gujarat has revised the penalty structure almost by 90%. Back home, though the reduction might not be significant, sources said Government considering reducing the burden.
Source: The Times of India
Aavin warns against selling its milk over and above MRP
Aavin has warned retailers, wholesalers and its dealers of possible legal action if found to be selling its milk above MRP.
Aavin had recently increased its procurement and selling price. It also raised the margin for retailers from ₹1.50 to ₹2 per litre where the retailer would get ₹1.50 and the rest would be shared by dealers and wholesalers.
Source: The Hindu
[Compiled by Sandhya Raju]