Flood mitigation works in Chennai to conclude by September
The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has set a deadline of September 30 to conclude all stormwater drain works in the city. The civic body aims to finish construction and repair works before the onset of the northeast monsoon. A circular on the matter has been issued by Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi. The circular called for the completion of the work per set norms.
The instructions from the civic body also stated that the assistant executive engineer, executive engineer and assistant engineer will be held responsible for any stagnation of water in flood-prone areas after the completion of the stormwater drain work. Per the civic body, work has been undertaken on 50% to 60% of the roads, with the remaining set to be completed in the coming months.
Source: The Hindu
Contract nurses protest in Chennai
More than 500 nurses employed on a contract basis staged a protest at the Government Multispeciality Hospital in Omandurar. The nurses demanded regularisation of jobs and a hike in their salary. The protesting nurses were forcibly removed from the premises by the police.
The protesters claimed that of nearly 11,000 nurses recruited in 2015 through the Medical Recruitment Board (MRB) less than half have been regularised while the others continue to be engaged on a contract basis. Many of the protesting nurses draw a basic salary of Rs 14,000 while regularised nurses earn Rs 38,000.
Source: The New Indian Express
Read more: What are nurses, risking their lives in Chennai’s COVID wards, getting in return?
CMRL to upgrade facilities at select stations
To enable ease of access for commuters, the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) will install additional escalators across stations. A total of 36 new escalators will be installed in 20 stations. The project is set to cost Rs 40 crore. The escalators will help commuters with easier entry and exit by linking the concourse with the street level.
CMRL is also set to add breastfeeding rooms to major stations such as Airport, Alandur and Tirumangalam. The rooms will be airconditioned and have a cot and table for diaper changes and also a charging station. The facility will be extended to all stations in time.
Source: The Times of India | The Hindu
Lake near Pallikaranai turns pink
A lake near the Pallikaranai marshland turned candy pink this week, raising concerns among residents and environmentalists. The waterbody situated near the marshland appeared to completely change colour. Experts suspected a case of algal bloom to be the cause of the lake’s appearance. A possible reason for the algal bloom is the presence of the Perungudi landfill that sees the dumping of the city’s waste situated near the marshland.
Notably, a fire raged across the landfill recently and took days to be put out. Algal bloom thrives on methane and is dangerous as it could kill all other living organisms in the lake. Samples from the lake have been taken for assessment by teams from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT-M).
Source: DTNext
Read more: What do we do with Chennai’s legacy waste?
Additional police district in Kolathur
A new police district in Kolathur in the Greater Chennai Police limits has been formed by the state government. The creation of the Kolathur police district takes the number of police districts under the jurisdiction of the Chennai police to 12. The police district has been formed for Rs 2.25 crore.
R Rajaram has been posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Police. He is a 2009 batch IPS officer. An announcement was made regarding the creation of the police district by the state government on May 11.
Source: The Hindu
[Compiled by Aruna Natarajan]