Civic

Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Dry Food, Wet food, Biscuits? Check. Spare Collar? Check. Phone. Check? Anxiety and love, Check? And Priya Chetty Rajagopal is ready to go out on her morning walks around Chalukya Circle, in Bengaluru. First up, time for a daily roll call of all the neighbourhood street dogs – Ringtone, present, Chime, present, 4GMother, present. Then exchange pleasantries, talk gibberish, pet them, feed them till she moves on to the next lane towards the BSNL building.  Priya is part of Canine Squads, a locality-based group of community volunteers who work to ensure both animals and humans are cared…

Wearing mask made mandatory in public places The Tamil Nadu Government has reinstated the rule that masks should be worn in Chennai and across the state while out in public . According to Health Secretary J. Radhakrishnan, the imposition of a Rs. 500 fine will be imposed for non compliance with the rule. The official told reporters that while fining was relaxed, at no point was there an exemption from wearing masks.  The official also mentioned that there was an overall drop in thermal screening, use of hand sanitisers and masking at public places. According to him, testing would be…

Byculla station goes through a restoration The 125-year-old Byculla station was restored and its completion will be inaugurated on April 29th. It is one of five heritage stations in Mumbai. "This project had been initiated by 'I Love Mumbai Foundation' in memory of BJP leader Shaina NC's father, the former Mumbai Sheriff late Padmashree Nana Chudasama with the support of Bajaj Trust Groups, and Abha Narian Lambah Associates as their CSR initiative with the guidance and co-operation from Central Railway," a spokesperson said. The restoration project aimed to restore the station to its original architecture within 8 months, but because of the…

Action after garbage trucks cause fatal accidents After three fatal accidents caused by BBMP garbage trucks, the city traffic police conducted a special drive and booked 307 trucks for violations such as signal jumps and defective number plates. BBMP has made fitness certificates mandatory for the trucks, and marshals have been deployed to inspect the vehicles at mustering points every day. BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said the new garbage contracts would include a clause mandating the use of new vehicles. BBMP also decided to install speed governors in 600 compactors to restrict their speed to 35 kmph. BBMP, along with…

Chennai pedestrians need saving. Statistics of Chennai pedestrians dying on the road are alarming. But first: Is Chennai a walkable city? Not for the faint-hearted, the elderly or the disabled. Not for children, surely. The city acquires a busy character from its congested quaint enclaves like Mylapore, Triplicane, Mambalam, Saidapet and George Town with their warren of narrow streets. But old enclaves or new, Chennai does not really support walking. Things are so bad that the Smart City’s Pedestrian Plaza on Pondy Bazaar became a talking point for how it helped walkers. Poor record of road safety If road safety…

This story is one of a two-part series on the roles and structure of the Mumbai Police. Santosh Sapkal, a Junior Constable in the Goregaon Police Chowki operates the phone. He writes down complaints for non-cognizable crimes, informs senior officials, and follows up with the complainant to later get a statement on the issue, whether the complaint was resolved or not. “Most of the complaints we get on a daily basis are noise complaints from society residents and lost documents,” he says. “Often, people lose their documents like birth certificates, school admission letters, and they need police verification to issue…

Low demand for booster dose Only 8,041 people in the 18-59 year age group had taken the COVID booster dose in Karnataka as of April 14, five days after private hospitals were allowed to administer it. Of them, 86.97% (6,994 people) are from BBMP limits. Bengaluru has the highest number of private hospitals and private vaccination centres in the State. Given the low demand, the offer by vaccine manufacturers to compensate the slashed vaccine prices with additional doses has not gone down well with private hospitals. Many want a refund from the manufacturers instead. Dr H M Prasanna, president of…

Slight spike in COVID-19 cases On April 12th, Mumbai reported 52 new COVID-19 cases, a 50% spike in the recorded cases in a day. On April 11th, 26 cases were reported. A general trend still suggests a decline in daily cases. On April 12th, there were 309 active cases in the city with the recovery rate at 98%. The positivity rate was at 0.005%, with a doubling rate of cases is 16,537 days. Since the emergence of the new XE variant some concern has risen but there is no evidence right now to prove that it is significantly different from…

Peripheral areas to get piped water supply According to the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), residents of OMR, ECR, Madhavaram, Thiruvottiyur and Manali will get piped water supply and an underground sewage system soon. The Metro Water board plans to call tenders for around Rs. 2900 crore for water supply and underground sewage systems in areas in Neelankarai and Semmencherry. According to a resident in Neelankarai, lack of effective septic tanks in the area have led to leakages, causing mosquito menace. In addition, the area is plagued by illegal brokers and bore wells. These areas actually came…

Mumbai reports first case of new COVID-19 variant  On April 6th, Mumbai reported the country's first case of the XE variant of COVID-19, a more transmissible sub-variant of Omicron. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) confirmed that a 50-year-old woman who travelled from South Africa in February was found asymptomatic with the variant. On her arrival on February 10th, the woman was found negative, but on March 2nd during a routine check-up at a suburban diagnostic centre, she was tested positive for COVID-19. The XE mutant is reportedly ten times more transmissible than the BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron, which so far was considered…