COVID cases show downward trend
Chennai saw 7,038 new cases of COVID-19 as on January 21st. This is the fourth day in a row that the city has registered a decline in the number of cases. A total of 60,698 individuals are under treatment for COVID-19. The test positivity rate stood at 24% for the city.
The civic body had amped up screening following the spread of the omicron variant. A total of 200 teams are currently engaged in assessing the severity of the cases and recommending future course of action. Volunteers are also assisting those under home quarantine for their daily needs. Tele-consulting facility is also available across zones for those who seek medical advice or any other assistance.
Source: The Indian Express
Water reserves available for 10 months
The reservoirs that store water supplied to the city have enough reserves to last for 10 months. This has prompted Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) to increase the quantum of water supplied to the core areas and added areas. CMWSSB will continue to supply 1000 million litres of water per day. This is a marked increase from the 830 million liters that was supplied around the same time last year.
The combined reserves stored in Poondi, Cholavaram, Redhills and Chembarambakkam reservoirs stands at 10,909 mcft. CMWSSB is yet to tap into the reserves of the fifth reservoir at Theervoikandaigai for water supply to the city. Owing to record-breaking rains in 2021, the city’s water reserves are adequate.
Source: The Times of India
Read more: Chennai in 2022: The time for participatory governance is now!
Reservation for women in civic body
According to the reservation of posts notified by the Government of Tamil Nadu, the post of Mayor has been reserved for a woman from the Scheduled Caste. The Chennai Corporation will also see 100 wards reserved for women in the upcoming local body polls.
The action by the civic body came on the heels of a Supreme Court order that quashed a previous move that reserved more than 50% of the seats for women. The new order sees 16 wards reserved for scheduled caste women and 84 wards for women in the general category.
Source: Deccan Chronicle | The Times of India
New roads to be laid across the city
New roads are being laid across the city after the damages caused by the heavy rains of the past few months. A total of 803 roads have been relaid thus far with work to be carried out on a further 853 roads. The new roads are being laid following the norms specified in the tender and the specifications laid out by the Indian Roads Congress, the apex body that sets the standards for roads in the country.
The fresh roads will be laid following the standard procedures such as milling, compacting and ensure the quality of bitumen and other materials used. In order to ensure that the work is carried out efficiently, assistant and executive engineers are deployed on each sites. In addition to this, inspections are carried out by IAS officers who will be briefed on the work carried out in each zone.
Source: The Times of India
Read more: Explainer: How are roads in Chennai laid?
OMR sees traffic woes
The traffic in the heavily used Old Madras Road ran into various roadblocks in the recent week. The pre-construction work carried out by the Chennai Metro Rail Limited affected the traffic in the busy Madhya Kailash road junction. A section of the road was closed off for motorists, leading to traffic bottlenecks. The work in the area is expected to take up to a year, with commuters fearing more such issues.
Another issue faced by commuters in this stretch of the road in recent weeks has been changes to the traffic rules at the Sholinganallur junction. With the removal of a few crucial U-turns, commuters faced a long ride. Following complaints from the residents in the area and road users, the U-turns were restored.
Source: The Times of India | The Hindu
[Compiled by Aruna Natarajan]