Civic

No mandatory RT-PCR for foreign arrivals The central government on February 9th removed the mandatory RT-PCR test requirements for travellers from other countries. The rule had been introduced due to the emergence of the Omicron variant, and appplied primarily to arrivals from 'at-risk' countries like UK, South Africa and Brazil among others. Now acknowledging a decrease in COVID-19 impact globally, the government felt there was a need to revive economic activities while paying close attention to changing trends of the virus. From February 14th, fully vaccinated international travellers can enter the country without a negative RT-PCR report, but will be…

Toxic foam caused by sewage flow into Marina Beach On Sunday, 8th February, snow-like foam appeared along Marina Beach from Napier Bridge to Kannagi Statue. People could be seen playing with the foam and going into the water. Researchers have pointed out that the foam is actually caused by toxic algal blooms when there is  free flow of sewage into water bodies. According to a report carried out by National Coastal Research Center, toxic algal blooms have appeared eight times in India over the last eight years or so.  In the case of Marina, researchers trace the sewage from the…

Mumbai University exams to be conducted offline Mumbai University will open its doors soon for undergraduate exams for this year's summer session. A detailed timetable is yet to be released, but the exam committee has devised a broad outline. Semester 2 will be offline for both regular and candidates with a backlog of exams, while Semester 4 exams will be entirely online for Arts, Science, and Commerce streams. Backlog candidates for Semester 1, 3 and 5 will appear for exams online.  A call on final semester exams will be taken based on data collected on vaccinated students and the public…

Cabinet nod for Peripheral Ring Road project The state cabinet gave administrative approval for the Bengaluru Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) project, which has been hanging for over a decade. PRR would be 100-metre wide, stretching a length of 73.5 km. The project, estimated to cost Rs 21,000 crore, will be done in the PPP-DBFOT (public-private partnership - design, build, finance, operate and transfer) model. The private firm will be able to collect toll from users for 50 years. Meanwhile, the High Court of Karnataka on Wednesday permitted the BMRCL (Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd) to fell 680 trees along the…

On January 10th, a 19-year-old teenager shared an incident of domestic violence in Mumbai on the city-based website Safecity, which encourages citizens to report all kinds of violence. “My friend has an abusive household where her mother was always beaten up. It hasn't changed and due to lockdown, things had gotten worse as they couldn't get out,” she said. Like her, many others have been reporting and sharing incidents of violence on the website. So far in 2022, over 20 citizens have reported domestic violence cases in Mumbai anonymously on Safecity. Indeed, domestic violence cases in Mumbai have risen. In the…

In continuation to the charter of demands submitted to the MLA candidates before the Assembly Elections held last year we, the  members of Community Welfare Brigade, are submitting the following Charter of Demands to all the potential candidates who are participating in the Corporation Elections in 2022 on behalf of the Residents of Ward 71 in Zone 6. As a citizen engagement group we would like to build a clean, safe and secure model neighbourhood community. On civic infrastructure and encroachments The traffic density on Perambur High Road, Madhavaram High Road and Paper Mills Road has increased significantly over the…

Translated by Sandhya Raju சைக்கிள் ஓட்டும் பழக்கம் சமீப காலமாக அதிகரித்துள்ளது. கொரோனா தொற்று காலத்தில் மேலும் பலரை ஊக்கப்படுத்தியுள்ளது. சைக்கிள் ஓட்டுனர்களுக்கு பாதுகாப்பை உறுதிப்படுத்த, பிரத்யேக சைக்கிள் ஓட்டும் பாதைகள் நகரின் சில பகுதிகளில் சோதனை முறையில் செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன. இது எதிர்காலத்திற்கு உதவும் என்றாலும், சைக்கிள் ஓட்டுதலை பரவலாக ஊக்கப்படுத்த மேலும் பல நடவடிக்கைகள் தேவை. ECR-இல் சைக்கிள் பாதை மகிச்சியான தெருக்களுக்கான பரிந்துரை - தெருக்களில் தேவயற்ற நடவடிக்களுகு தடை - சைக்கிள் ஓட்டுனர்களிடமிருந்து பெறப்பட்ட இந்த கோரிக்கைகள் வெற்றிக்கரமாக பெசன்ட் நகரில் அமல்படுத்தப்பட்டது. ECR-இல் சைக்கிள் பாதை அமைக்க இது உந்துதலாக அமைந்ததா என தெரியவில்லை, ஆனால் காவல்துறையிடமிருந்து இதற்காக அழைப்பு வந்த்து. இந்த சிந்தனையை முன்னெடுத்து, சென்னையில் சைக்கிள் ஓட்டுதலை ஆணையர் சங்கர் ஊக்கப்படுத்துகிறார். சைக்கிள் ரோந்து படை மூலம் மேலும் இதை ஊக்கப்படுத்த திட்டமிட்டுள்ளார். காவல்துறை மற்றும் பொதுமக்களை சைக்கிள் ஓட்ட மேலும்…

Guidelines for school reopening The Ministry of Education on February 3rd released guidelines for the reopening of schools across India. "We share these guidelines, which are advisory in nature, and states are free to make their own guidelines accordingly. These guidelines contain all SoPs for attending classes. Students can opt for online education," said the Education Ministry. Currently, 98.85% of teaching staff and 99.07% of non-teaching staff in central institutions have all been vaccinated. Social distancing and sanitation measures have been mandated to ensure safe physical schooling. Source: India Today Union Budget 2022-23: Key highlights Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on…

Night curfew lifted, other restrictions remain City police commissioner Kamal Pant issued orders withdrawing the night curfew, on Monday. But the prohibition on rallies, dharnas and congregations will remain. Three hundred guests in open places and 200 in closed places will be permitted at marriage functions. Fifty per cent occupancy will be allowed in cinema halls, auditoriums, swimming pools, gyms, sports complexes and stadia. The order will remain in force till 5 am on February 15. Those violating the order will be booked under the Disaster Management Act, IPC Section 188, and under Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act. Source: Deccan Herald…

Urban local body poll preparations underway Preparations are underway for the urban local body polls that are set to take place on February 19th. Counting for the same will happen on February 22nd. The Greater Chennai Corporation is working with the Chennai Police to identify sensitive polling booths and beef up security. A total of 1243 sensitive polling booths across 200 wards has been identified. Proceedings from these booths will be live streamed on the day of the elections. Additional monitoring will be carried out by banking staff roped in for this purpose. A total of 18000 police personnel will…