Groundwater level has increased by 0.6 metres
Rs. 20 crore has been allocated for supplying water across the State, says TWAD Board managing director The groundwater level has increased from 18.10 metres below ground level (pre-monsoon) to 17.5
Rs. 20 crore has been allocated for supplying water across the State, says TWAD Board managing director The groundwater level has increased from 18.10 metres below ground level (pre-monsoon) to 17.5
Suspended particulate matter found above permissible limit at 15 monitored locations Residents across the city on Sunday felt the effects of pollution, with Bhogi fires burning across the city. At all 15 locations monitored by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, pollution levels were found above the permissible limit. Virugambakkam residents experienced the highest level of dust pollution on Bhogi day with the locality recording 389 microgram/cubic metre of respirable suspended particulate matter (RSPM). The permissible limit for RSPM is 100 microgram/cubic metre.
Drive carried out by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board Nine illegal dyeing units that were functioning near River Cauvery at Pallipalayam in Tiruchengode Taluk were removed in a drive carried out by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) on Wednesday. TNPCB sources said that all the units were manual dyeing units.
Unlike during Deepavali, the Chennai Moffusil Bus Terminus (CMBT) and surrounding areas may not face as many traffic snarls this festive season caused by the special bus services introduced by the government for Pongal. For Deepavali the government had announced 1,000 additional buses to tackle the rush. But due to this traffic movement was affected for two days. This year, the Chief Minister has announced 5,612 buses for between January 11 and 13.
The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board has detected four unauthorised dyeing units that were discharging effluents into River Noyyal through drains, during raids conducted over the last few days. Official sources said of the units, three were located at K. Chettipalayam and Thennampalayam in the Tirupur knitwear cluster and one in the hinterland. “Two of the units have installed large scale winches that are capable of dyeing almost 500 kg of fabric in a ‘single lot’,” officials said. Of the other units, one was involved in the dyeing of accessories used in the apparels and another in small-scale dyeing of fabrics.
1,139 CFLs to be installed in 292 habitations this year Rural habitations in the district will not get just lights but energy-efficient ones under the Tamil Nadu Village Habitations Improvement (THAI) Scheme. The district administration has decided to go in for CFLs (compact florescent lamps) to standardise procurement and also bring down the village panchayats’ expenditure on power, says N. Venaktesh, Additional Collector, District Rural Development Agency.
One measure adopted was to extend the Health Department’s surveillance from government health institutions alone to include private hospitals capable of treating the disease. From a level of 22 fresh cases every single day during the months of September to November last year when the epidemic was peaking in the city, incidents of dengue have come down to between zero and two per day during the first week of January.
“Cleanliness of kitchens in marriage halls is a top priority” The scope of Food Safety and Standards Act has been extended to marriage halls and caterers also. It is mandatory for every ‘kalyana mandapam’ and those who are engaged in food catering business to register and get proper licence from the food safety wing. At the same time, the cooks employed by catering units should obtain medical fitness certificate to ensure hygiene. An awareness meeting about the need to get food safety licence was conducted here on Sunday for the owners of marriage halls in the city.
The State Government has allotted Rs. 44 crore to initiate measures to prevent human-animal conflict, Minister for Forests K.T. Pachamal has said. At the inauguration of the 20th State Forest Department Sports Meet at the Tamil Nadu State Forest Academy on Sunday, he said that the Department would utilise the money to dig trenches to prevent the animals from entering human habitations. Tamil Nadu had 17.5 per cent of its land area under forests. To improve the green cover, the Chief Minister had ordered planting 64 lakh saplings. Likewise, with the help of Japanese funding, the State was implementing a scheme to conserve forests. The allocation for the scheme was Rs. 686 crore.
“With the withdrawal of North-East Monsoon, the temperature during the day time is likely to increase gradually,” states the short-term weather report from the Agro Meteorological Advisory Services (AAS) that is attached to the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (TANUVAS). Head of AAS A. Natarajan said that the sky was expected to be clear for the next few days and maximum day time temperature that was around 32°C over the last few weeks could climb to 34°C in the days to come. The report states that the minimum night temperature could come down to as low as 18°C.
As many as 90 bids have been received by the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) for a quantum of 500 megawatt (MW). This is in response to the Tangedco’s tender for the purchase of solar power to the tune of 1,000 MW. On Friday, technical bids were opened by the Tangedco officials in charge of the tender. After scrutiny, price documents of eligible bidders will be taken up for consideration. The entire exercise of selecting developers is likely to be completed in a month, a source says.