Civic

User fee for garbage reversed The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) reversed its announcement of the levy of user fee for garbage collection. The fee was to come into effect from January 1, 2021. The move was reversed following opposition from many quarters in view of the pandemic. The civic body had stated that the residents would have to pay a user fee for garbage collection as mandated by the Solid Waste Management (2019) Act.  Charges for residential buildings having a built-up area of up to 500 sq. ft was Rs 10, from 501 to 1,200 sq. ft was Rs 25,…

COVID-19: New strain alert in India, states prepare After the news of the new COVID-19 strain spreading in the UK, the Government of India (GoI) has issued a new set of guidelines and protocol for tracing, testing and treating the patients infected with the virus. As per initial reports, however, several states are facing difficulty in tracing the UK returnees. Few travelers from the UK went missing and are untraceable in Uttar Pradesh. Some isolated incidents were also reported from Delhi. In the meantime, eleven UK returnees were reported positive in Goa. Positive cases were also found in Nagpur, Telangana,…

Infant seeks traffic-ban in Cubbon Park A five-month-old infant has petitioned the High Court seeking a ban on vehicular traffic in Cubbon Park. A division bench ordered notices to the state government and other respondents following the plea. Kian Medhi Kumar, represented by his father, M R Rakesh Prabal Kumar, cited a drastic reduction in air pollution during the lockdown, enforced between March 24 and May 20. The petition said that there was a reduction of suspended particulate matter and carbon monoxide level inside Cubbon Park during that period. The petition also cited a study by the Indian Instituteof Science's…

Decentralisation is a word that we often hear and appreciate. We, however, see it as a distant concept that operates far from our lives. Images that come to mind when we think of decentralisation are panchayat raj or self-help groups, etc. We do not, for instance, think of this term — which means dissipation of power from one to many — when it comes to urban issues. More often than not, we think of the urban settings as organised spaces. To us, everything falls under the realm of urban planning; that gives us a semblance of structure to the chaotic…

Translated by Sandhya Raju பட்ஜட் என்பது வரவு செலவு கணக்கின் அறிக்கை ஆகும்; அரசு அல்லது எந்த ஒரு நிறுவனத்தின் குறிப்பிட்ட காலத்திற்கான திட்டமிட்ட வரவு செலவு இதில் அடங்கும். இதே போல், ஒவ்வொரு நிதி ஆண்டில் திட்டமிட்ட பணிகளுக்கு ஒதுக்கப்பட்டுள்ள நிதி மற்றும் வருவாய், எந்த திட்டங்களுக்கு முன்னுரிமை கொடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது என்பதை மாநகராட்சியின் பட்ஜட் அறிக்கை மூலம் குடிமக்கள் அறிந்து கொள்ளலாம். மாநகராட்சி, எவ்வாறு வருவாய் திரட்டுகிறது, எந்த பணிகளுக்கு நிதி செலவழிக்கப்படுகிறது? உதராணமாக, 2020-21 நிதி ஆண்டிற்கு சென்னை மாநகராட்சி சமர்பித்துள்ள பட்ஜட் அறிக்கையில், பேருந்துக்கிற்கென பாதை சாலைகள், தெரு விளக்குகள் மற்றும் பூங்காக்கள் சீரமைப்பு போன்ற திட்டங்கள் உள்பட திட்ட செலவாக ₹3815 கோடி ஒதுக்கியுள்ளது. ஆனால் மொத்தமுள்ள 15 மண்டலங்களில் உள்ள 18000 நிரந்தர பணியாளர்களுக்கு ₹63 கோடி சம்பளமாக வழங்கப்படுவதை, மக்கள் பெரும்பாலும் கவனத்தில் கொள்வதில்லை. மாநகராட்சியின் நிதியை புரிந்து கொள்ள, அதன்…

70% Indians not willing to take COVID-19 vaccine, finds study A study conducted by LocalCircles, a community social media platform, with more than 18000 people from 242 districts has revealed that almost 70% Indians are not interested in taking the COVID-19 vaccine shot. As per the study, in October, this number stood at 61%. Out of the total respondents, 66% were men and 34% were women. The study was conducted in two phases: the first phase from October 15th to 20th. while the second was from December 10th to 15th. The members of LocalCircles have said that the reason for…

COVID cases at IIT-M and Anna University go up As colleges reopened for a section of students, there has been a COVID-19 outbreak in one of the city's premier educational institutions. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras recorded 191 positive cases. The institution had to go under a localised lockdown and carry out extensive testing to prevent the spread. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) collected 6,344 samples from college students across the city for testing. Six students of Anna University, five students from Valasaravakkam zone, three from Sholinganallur, one each from Alandur and Perungudi have also tested positive for COVID-19.…

Over 90% infants malnourished In Bengaluru, a mere 7.4% children aged below two years receive adequate diet, says the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5). That leaves a staggering 92.6% infants under two, malnourished. The figures are worse than five years ago, when only 13.9% children were receiving proper nutrition. Bengaluru is one of 342 districts for which government released data. The survey says the percentage of total children aged 6-23 months receiving an adequate diet has fallen. Children under five years who are stunted are 31.3%, an increase from 28.1% in NFHS-4, while the number of underweight children has gone…

“Don’t give us food packets, we can buy rice from the ration shop. Find a solution for the flood waters!” said the women gathered in a group in Semmanjeri. That area, 30 kilometres south of Chennai city, on the Old Mahabalipuram Road, in Kancheepuram district, was severely flooded on November 25, 2020. The submergence was neither new nor unusual for the residents of this low-lying locality. In 2015, when Chennai went under water in a historic and notoriously mismanaged flood, so did Semmanjeri. But in some neighbourhoods at least, the streets and storm water drains seemed to be somewhat better prepared…

Frontline workers first in line for COVID vaccine Around 6,000 frontline healthcare workers have been identified for the administration of COVID vaccine on top priority. The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Commissioner G Prakash also noted that the count could go up to a lakh with enumeration across the state. Once healthcare workers have been vaccinated, staff of the Chennai Corporation and police personnel, who have been at the forefront of battling the pandemic, will be next in line. Persons above 70 years of age will be the next category to receive the vaccine.  As the corporation undertakes door-to-door screening programme…