Men in khaki sweat it out as sea of people bid an emotional farewell to Kalaignar

With all roads leading to Rajaji Hall and the Marina, it was a sea of heads, as lakhs of people thronged to catch a last glimpse of Kalaignar.  As soon as news of DMK leader M Karunanidhi’s passing was confirmed, people started gathering at the Cauvery hospital and later at the residences of Kalaignar.

It was an emotional outburst for many, and some of the crowd started venting their ire at the government’s decision on land allotment for the final resting place of the leader. With leaders from across the country in the city to pay their homage, the men in khaki had to sweat it to out to ensure that all went smooth and right.

Meanwhile, the Chennai Corporation has collected 18 tonnes of garbage along the procession route generated presumably by the crowds gathered to pay their last respects.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Chennai Corporation mulls energy from waste to reduce landfills

The Chennai Corporation is all set to resume work on reducing waste at the dumpsites in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur and is turning to mass incineration to generate energy from waste.  The project that will seek clearance from the Ministry of Environment will set up 32 MW waste-to-energy conversion plants over an implementation period of 5 years. These waste processing facilities will come up in the existing sites of Perungudi and Kodungaiyur.

Source: The Hindu  

State government buses to have wide-angled mirrors to ensure safety

The State Government will use the funds allocated for road safety to fit blind spot mirrors, wide angle mirrors and close proximity mirrors to all state-owned buses. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has earmarked 10 per cent of funds allocated to state roads under Central Road Fund for safety works. Government buses account for around 8 percent of road accident deaths every year.

Source: The New Indian Express

Chennai to be under complete CCTV surveillance

The Chennai Police has been continuously sensitising city residents on the need to install CCTV surveillance at homes and streets to ensure safety and help nab criminals. The police has a few successful case histories where they have been able to nab culprits based on the surveillance images, the incident involving the Swati murder being the prime one.

The City Police is planning to bring the entire city under camera surveillance and has roped in comedian Vivek for a promotional film.

Source: The Hindu

Ban on multi-storeyed construction lifted

The state government has issued an order lifting the ban on construction of multi-storeyed buildings in the city. This move will allow more space within the city for construction of multi storey projects. It is to be noted that CMDA regulations allow such developments only on roads with width of 60 feet. However, the department maintains that there will still be restrictions on the construction in select areas like Cooum river, Buckingham Canal, Napier Bridge, Redhills which are aquifer-recharge areas.

Source: The Times of India

[Compiled by Sandhya Raju]