Civic

The coveted St. Stephen Steps, Mahim beach and the Malabar Hills Forest Trail have much in common. Not so long ago, they used to be wastelands: covered in piles of garbage, overgrown with weeds and crumbling infrastructure. Then, a group of citizens decided to change it.  Today they are on their route to becoming, potentially, popular public spaces in the city. Their natural beauty is an open invitation for moments of pause, play and leisure. After months of lockdown, these projects offer some hope for residents, desperately looking for open space in a city as cramped as Mumbai.   Mahim Reti…

Translated by Sandhya Raju சென்னையின் சூழலியலில் முக்கிய பங்கு வகிக்கும் பக்கிங்ஹாம் கால்வாய் பல ஆண்டுகளாக,அதிகாரிகளின் புறக்கணிப்பால் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது; பரவலான ஆக்கிரமிப்பு மற்றும் கழிவுகள் மற்றும் கழிவுநீரை கொட்டுவது போன்ற நடவடிக்கைகாளால் அதன் ஆதார இருப்பை அச்சுறுத்தியுள்ளது. கடந்த காலங்களில், பல்வேறு அரசு துறைகள், கால்வாயை மீட்கும் திட்டத்தை பற்றி பேசி வந்தாலும், இது வரை எந்தவொரு மாற்றமும் இல்லை. ஆளும் திமுக அரசும், தங்களின் தேர்தல் அறிக்கையில், பக்கிங்ஹாம் கால்வாய் உள்பட அனைத்து நதிகளும் சுத்தப்படுத்தப்படும் என்று அறிவித்திருந்தது. ஸ்மார்ட் சிட்டி திட்டத்தின் கீழ் ஐடி எக்ஸ்பிரஸ்வேஅகழுபடுத்தப்படும் என்ற அறிவிப்பால், அதனோரம் அமைந்துள்ள கால்வாயும் புத்துயிர் பெறும் என மீண்டும் நம்பிக்கை எழுந்துள்ளது. இப்போது கழிவுநீருக்கான ஒரு வழித்தடமாக உள்ள பக்கிங்ஹாம் கால்வாயை இப்படி சித்தரித்து பாருங்கள்: ஒரு மியாவாக்கி காடு, குழந்தைகளுக்கான விளையாட்டுப் பகுதி, ஒரு சிற்பக் கூடம் மற்றும் ஒரு பாதசாரி பிளாசா. ஏட்டில் உள்ள…

50% adults vaccinated with first dose In a positive development, 50% of the country’s eligible adult population is now vaccinated with the first dose. It includes 99% coverage amongst healthcare workers and almost 100% among frontline workers. Also, the average number of vaccinations per day was 52.16 lakh doses in August, up from 43.41 lakh in June and 39.38 lakh in July. A record one crore doses were administered on August 27, according to government data. The union government also said supply issues have been sorted out and stabilised. There have been no complaints of shortage from states in recent…

Sessions Court and experts say shoddy builders to be held liable A sessions court has ruled in favour of a Bhandup housing society on a complaint against the builder for substandard construction. It was alleged that the construction was sub-standard as the material used was of inferior quality. The complaint was filed under sections of the Indian Penal Code sections related to endangering life or personal safety of others and common intention. The maximum sentence under the charge is imprisonment up to three months or a fine. The President of Cooperative Societies Residents & Users Association (CSRUA) said that Maharashtra…

One crore vaccinated in Bengaluru Urban district On Wednesday, the one-crore vaccination mark was achieved in Bengaluru Urban district. In addition to the 198 wards of BBMP, the district comprises five taluks, six town municipalities, one city municipality and 1,038 villages under 87 gram panchayats. The district administration officials said 1,00,34,598 people have been vaccinated at various centres. While 75.9 lakh people have been given the first dose, 24.4 lakh completed both vaccinations. With this, the district, barring the BBMP area, has achieved 90% of its vaccination target. In the BBMP area, 70% adults have been vaccinated with at least…

Exclusive vaccine camp to target senior citizens In a bid to vaccinate the elderly population in Chennai who visit hospitals as outpatients, the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) has inaugurated a dedicated vaccine camp at the geriatric ward of the institution. The hospital receives about 150 to 200 senior citizens as outpatients every day. The hospital also inaugurated a 24/7 vaccine centre for vaccinating outpatients. The Chennai Corporation had conducted a mega vaccination drive last week that clocked 1.25 lakh doses. The civic body had set up 400 camps that also 200 mobile camps. Source: The New Indian Express…

WHO says fake Covishield vials in circulation in India World Health Organization’s (WHO) global surveillance and monitoring system for substandard and fake medical products has identified fake Covishield ampoules in India. Covishield maker Serum Institute of India (SII) also confirmed that some vaccines at the patient level were fake. WHO has urged the Indian health authorities to increase vigilance on hospitals, clinics, health centers, pharmacies etc and increase vigilance along the supply chain. In another development, as per a study conducted by the University of Oxford, Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines have been found to be less effective against the delta…

Vaccinated Mumbaikars allowed to board local trains Around 35 lakh vaccinated Mumbaikars breathed a sigh of relief on August 16 as they finally boarded local trains. Although a power outage caused the harbour line to cease operations on August 18, the line has now resumed. Commuters living in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) especially rushed to stations in Mira Road, Dombivali, Vasai and other MMR locales. However, citizens are required to now purchase monthly passes if they wish to ride Mumbai's trains. This move has angered railway passenger associations as they say that non-regular travelers who have been vaccinated may…

OMR-ECR link work begins In a bid to reduce bottlenecks along the key roads, the state highways department has begun construction work to connect Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR) and East Coast Road (ECR) at Thoraipakkam junction. The construction work, estimated to cost Rs 204 crore, will connect Neelankarai directly with Thoraipakkam. The work will be carried out in two phases.The first phase, a 760 m stretch from Thoraipakkam to Buckingham Canal is underway. The road from the other side of the canal and a bridge will be constructed in the second phase. At present, OMR users use Lattice Bridge (LB)…

Revised guidelines Markets and commercial centres face some restrictions as the festival season kicked off with Varamahalakshmi and Muharram on August 20th. Shops, restaurants and mall owners have to ensure that their employees are vaccinated at least once and customers wear masks and maintain social distancing. Shop owners failing to enforce these rules face a fine or closure of their establishments. The Chief Commissioner has said 50 teams of marshals, home guards and police will patrol the city to enforece COVID appropriate behaviour rules based and punish people violating COVID norms. Travellers from Kerala or Maharashtra are required to show…