Civic

COVID-19 cases on the rise in Chennai With the daily tally of COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu crossing over 200, of which Chennai alone reported over 80 cases, Health Minister Ma Subramanian has said that the infection seemed to be spreading faster in healthcare institutions. The public has been advised to wear masks in public places, maintain social distancing and self-isolate if they show symptoms of infection. The Health Minister has said that the public need not panic as the current spread is only at the individual level and is not found to exist as a cluster. The GCC has…

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Max fatalities in fire accidents due to electrocution, common cause of fire in Mumbai are human errors Data shared by Prabhat Rahangdale, former chief fire officer in Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) and deputy municipal commissioner, disaster management, revealed that nearly 73% of human fatalities during fire incidents were caused due to electrocution after electrical circuit failures. Read more: Appapada fire: Did authorities do enough to support affected families? The data states MFB receives between 6000 and 7000 emergency calls in a year, of which nearly 90% were calls made for fire related complaints. Furthermore, Rahangdale also told The Indian Express…

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Withdraw FIRs: Sankey road protestors The Sadashivanagar police’s FIR against 70 people, who protested peacefully on February 19th against the proposed Sankey Road flyover, has drawn ire from citizens and Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs), activists, and civic organisations. The group wrote to the Police Commissioner C H Pratap Reddy, and met him on April 5th, demanding the withdrawal of “baseless allegations against the citizens”. The letter was endorsed by over 500 citizens and almost 100 organisations. The case has been transferred to the Halasuru Gate police station. The citizens have been charged with crimes under Sections 143, 341, 283 and…

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The Southern Railway, which has been chalking up plans to modernise the Egmore railway station, has finally released details. In what promises to be a complete sweep of the premises, the station will get a much-needed infrastructural upgrade. What is heartening is that the heritage aspect of the station is to be retained, with much of it being repurposed. But will the proposed modernisation dwarf the age-old edifice? That is an aspect that the railways will do well to ponder over even as it goes ahead with the makeover. Egmore station's growing infra needs There is no doubting the fact…

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One of the biggest developments from India at the COP27 held in November 2022 in Sharm-el Sheikh, Egypt, was the announcement of a Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy. This took place at the India pavilion, highlighting the theme of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment) initiative. LiFE aims to begin ‘a mass movement of environmentally conscious lifestyles that practise mindful and deliberate utilisation, instead of mindless and destructive consumption’. The energy sector has the potential to adopt such practices, cause shifts in demand behaviour and reduce emissions. The concept of an environmentally conscious lifestyle is not new. But…

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Retteri to supply water to Chennai Retteri's storage will be increased to 124 million cubic feet to cater to the rising water demand in Chennai. A sum of Rs. 44 crores is to be allotted for this work, said the Water Resources Minister in the State Assembly. Apart from this, the operations of Poondi, Chembarambakkam and Red Hills reservoirs would be automated at a cost of Rs. 32 crores. WRD has also planned to take up flood mitigation works in the Adyar basin, apart from desilting the canals in Kolapakkam, Manapakkam and Gerugambakkam, in the western part of Chennai. Source:…

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BMC starts preparations for rise in COVID numbers BMC plans to make 4,000 beds for COVID patients available gradually and has requested all hospitals under its jurisdiction to make preparations accordingly. Additionally, it has also asked private hospitals to do the same if the number of cases rises. As of March 31st, there are 663 active patients in the city and 52 are admitted to hospitals. BMC officials told the press that the situation is being monitored closely even as patient admission is low. The civic body also plans to reactivate its "war room", a dedicated department set up when…

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Poll plans roll out Many are worried that as civic officials have been posted to election duties for the upcoming Assembly polls on May 10th, the ongoing infrastructure projects will be affected. Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that urban apathy is a concern in elections. Against the 72% polling in the state in the 2018 Assembly elections, the city's constituencies had only around 55% polling. He said that the EC (Election Commission) has reached out to IT firms, colleges and start-ups to increase awareness. To increase voter participation, the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) listed out some initiatives…

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Infrastructure has been a focus area in recent budgets of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), with allocations running into crores. But a quick look around us shows the broken state of many of these structures be it footpaths or play equipment in parks.  Fixing existing deficiencies in public infrastructure before the creation of new ones will prevent the cycle of neglect and decay. The civic body must take steps to ensure that the existing infrastructure is repaired and its upkeep regular.  Instead of taking the people living in the neighbourhoods into confidence, plans for future infrastructure are also being undertaken…

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GCC issues guidelines for Area Sabhas in Chennai On March 23, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) issued guidelines for holding Area Sabhas across the 200 wards in Chennai. Each ward has 10 Area Sabha with the city having a total of 2,000 Area Sabhas. The guidelines were issued during the orientation conducted for the Area Sabha secretaries and Ward Committee secretaries. The meeting was presided by Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi. The functions of the Area Sabha secretaries and Ward Committee secretaries have been defined in the guidelines and the Councillors have also been directed to convene these meetings at…

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