CHENNAI BUZZ

25 schools in Chennai and suburbs unrecognized Over 5900 schools in the state including 25 schools in Chennai and Tiruvallur districts are being run without No-Objection-Certificate (NOC) and recognition of the school education department. The department had asked all private schools to upload details of recognition on the EMIS portal, and according to the details received, 5902 schools in the state have not renewed the recognition. Parents have been advised to look up the school education department website to know the recognition status. Source: New Indian Express City to get 500 mld till November despite the impending water crisis The…

Relief for Chennaites as tanker lorries call off strike The already water-starved city had a shock when the private water tanker lorries called for a strike from May 27, following the crackdown on tankers tapping groundwater from the city’s outskirts.  The Tamil Nadu Private Water Tanker Lorry Owners’ Association has now decided to postpone the strike after talks with the Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department. The 4500 private tankers draw water from the farmlands in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts. Taking advantage of the acute water crisis, the association is also putting pressure on the government to grant them permanent…

Around 50 schools in the city await recognition With less than a month to go for the commencement of the next academic year, 50 plus schools in and around Chennai are yet to be recognised, facing shutdown in the event of not being able to secure recognition by the end of this month. The schools who have applied for CBSE and State Government recognition must get the required approvals this month, failing which they will have to be closed down. According to the Directorate of Education, a committee has been formed to update status and all private schools have been…

Chennai cops prepare to tackle biochemical threats With technical support from Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), the Chennai Police are equipping themselves to detect any type of sabotage attempts using chemical, radioactive or biological materials. The Mobile Radiation Detection System (MRDS) devices fitted in the patrol vehicles will sound an alarm with red light and a message will be directly sent to a control centre to be set up with the help of BARC. Their teams will then sanitise the locality. The device has been fitted in 60 patrol vehicles initially. The machines have been installed across the country in police…

Thirst for water rises as storage levels are near empty As the much-expected relief to the impending water crisis through Cyclone Fani failed, the city is back to battling with acute water crisis. The storage in the four reservoirs has already hit rock bottom and is expected to last only for the next 15 days. Metro water has now started tapping the agricultural wells on the city outskirts to meet the demand. This apart, Metro water has also started other measures like erection of new borewells, additional filling points and extending the operation of tanker lorries. In addition to new…

Cyclone Fani unlikely to bring heavy rains to Chennai The depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm that is about 880 kms from Chennai according to the IMD.  Named Cyclone Fani, it is expected to make landfall in Odisha, bypassing Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The IMD forecast squally winds with speeds over 50-60  kmph between April 27 and 30 in the regions along the east coast, with fishermen warned not to venture into the seas which are expected to be rough. Though Cyclone Fani might bring little respite from the heat, it may…

Chennai records lowest polling percentage in the state Despite several campaigns by the election commission to encourage voting, Chennai has witnessed a decline in the poll percentage in this Lok Sabha elections. With an overall voter turnout of 59.01 per cent, the three Lok Sabha constituencies in Chennai recorded some of the poorest stats in Tamilnadu. Despite brisk polling, constituencies in Chennai had a low poll percentage, the lowest in the entire State: Chennai North, 63.47%, Chennai South, 56.34% and Chennai Central, 58.69%. According to the official stats released by the Election Commission, the average polling percentage across 38 parliamentary…

Chennai Central is now Dr MGR Central Railway station The Railway board has cleared the proposal to rename Chennai Central station as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr M G Ramachandran Central railway station. To commemorate the centenary celebrations of the ex-CM, the state government had sent a proposal to name the station after him; subsequently, during Narendra Modi's visit in March, the PM made an announcement to change the name at a public rally. The change would come into effect from April 5th. The Railway board has however said that there can be no inaugural events due to the election code of…

The quest for water deepens With storage levels at all the reservoirs in the red, Chennai Metro has started drawing from the dead storage from Redhills. The situation is so grim that the water board has started tapping the minimal storage of 328 million cubic feet (mcft), which is only 10% of its capacity of 3,300 mcft. Chembarambakkam reservoir is nearly bone dry and withdrawal is possible only for 10 days, given the current situation. Metrowater has already started pumping 30 mld of water from Cholavaram lake since early this week and this is expected to continue till mid-April. Meanwhile,…

Chennai ready to brace yellow Amidst the election fervor, Chennaites will start bleeding yellow from today as the country catches cricket fever with the commencement of the IPL 2019. Euphoria is high especially in the city as sport-loving Chennaites did not get a chance to witness any matches in a home ground in the last season due to political unrest. The defending champion CSK will take on RCB on the first day (March 23rd). Southern Railway has announced special services between Chennai beach station and Velachery on March 23rd and March 31st. Source: The Times of India Day Zero threat…