CHENNAI BUZZ

Many bus routes in Chennai unsuitable for low-floor buses In response to the Madras High Court, the State Transport Department said that 563 bus routes in Chennai are not suitable for running low-floor buses for persons with disabilities to use. There are only 65 routes where such buses can be run. The court had directed the transport department to run low-floor buses on some routes for a feasibility test in Chennai. But the Metropolitan Transport Corporation's buses cannot run on: 130 village routes with narrow roads where the low-floor buses cannot fit. 173 routes that are susceptible to floods. 186…

Feasibility study for gas turbine stations in North Chennai TANGEDCO plans to conduct a feasibility study to install gas turbine power stations in North Chennai to produce 2000 megawatts of electricity. The natural gas pipeline set-up necessary already runs from Ennore to Thoothukudi. A detailed project report will be prepared based on the study. Clean energy production is on the agenda of TANGEDCO which will build gas-based plants at unused old thermal station buildings in Ennore. This move comes in the wake of the increasing cost of importing natural gas. At present, Basin Bridge has a gas turbine station which…

No more power cuts in T Nagar Following the installation of two new substations and six new feeders, T Nagar has become a power-cut-free zone. The area has over one lakh connections comprising a mixed load of both domestic and commercial connections. The installation of the aforementioned infrastructure has brought down the overall load of the existing feeders from 80% to 30%. This helps in back feeding - switching the power supply from one feeder to another - in case of a high load in one feeder. Eventually, the number of calls received in Minnagam for complaints about power cuts…

Air quality in Chennai worsens since 2019 The amount of particulate matter in the air of Chennai has risen in 2022 than 2019. Then, it was the second most polluted city in India, with respect to PM 2.5 levels, according to CPCB.  In terms of PM 10 levels, Chennai has ranked higher and become the third least polluted city in Chennai. In 2019, the PM10 level was 55 units and last year, the amount was 65 units.  The National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) tracker report said that cities that had cleaner air in 2019 deteriorated over the years.  Experts say…

Special buses to be operated from Chennai for Pongal As a large number of people are expected to travel from Chennai to various districts in view of the Pongal holidays, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) and State Express Transport Corporation (SETC) are operating special buses between January 12 and 14 and on January 18 and 19 from six bus termini namely Madhavaram New Bus stand, K.K. Nagar MTC Bus Terminus, Tambaram MEPZ Anna Bus Stand, Tambaram Railway station Bus Stand, Poonamallee Bus stand and Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MGR Bus Terminus (CMBT Koyambedu bus stand). Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation…

Fatal accidents and accident deaths drop by 11.84% and 11.52% respectively in Chennai There were 499 fatal road accidents and 507 deaths in 2022 in Chennai, a drop in numbers from the past year. According to Police Commissioner Shankar Jiwal, a team of experts zeroed in on accident hotspots by identifying areas with three to five accidents within a span of half a kilometre. The team also studied the reasons for accidents and considered mitigation strategies. As per the strategies being implemented, roads are being improved at a cost of Rs. 1 crore in Chennai. Since most road accidents happen…

River restoration work by GCC underway Work on the restoration of the Adyar and Cooum rivers is ongoing, with the planting of saplings along the banks, erection of barricades and levelling work taking place across various locations. The work is being carried out by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). As part of the project, a walkway has also been constructed from the MRTS bridge to the Thiru Vi Ka bridge. The cost of the walkway is Rs 5.4 crores. The planting of 60,000 saplings is also being carried out. The saplings include Neem, Ashoka and Banyan trees. Encroachments are also…

Cyclone Mandous uproots trees, damages Marina beach ramp Cyclone Mandous left a trail of destruction in its wake over the past weekend with hundreds of trees uprooted and damage to the newly inaugurated accessible pathway for persons with disability on the Marina beach. The cyclone resulted in the uprooting of over 200 trees in 107 locations and generated 645 tonnes of garden waste. Frontline workers had to clear the trees on war footing. The waste generated was sent to the dump yards in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur. Another fallout from the cyclone was the destruction of the viewing deck of the…

Some roads to be free of litter in Chennai by 21st December Across all 15 zones, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) plans to make some roads litter-free, with the help of enforcement squads. This is part of a slew of initiatives to improve solid waste management in the city. There are also plans in place to solicit wider cooperation from residents and shop owners in avoiding littering. The enforcement squad will have conservancy inspectors and supervisors led by the zonal assistant executive engineer of GCC's Solid Waste Management department. They will issue spot fines to people who illegally dump garbage…

Permanent pathway for persons with disabilities set up in Chennai's Marina Beach As a solution to years of struggle by PwDs to access Marina beach, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has set up a permanent pathway. The pathway was inaugurated by Triplicane MLA Udhayanidhi Stalin on November 27. The ramp, which is 263m in length and three metres in width, is made of babool, red maranthi and Brazilian wood at a cost of Rs 1.14 crore. While access points have been provided at every 10m for easy entrance and exit, the viewing point is set up 10m from the sea. …