Senior Citizens of Chennai can travel free in Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses

Senior citizens in Chennai will soon be able to travel free in non-airconditioned Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses 10 times every month. The scheme will come into effect on February 24, the birthday of chief minister Jayalalthaa. The scheme will be first implemented in Chennai, and depending on the response, will be extended to other cities and towns in the state.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 19 February 2016.

Under the scheme, those who are aged 60 and above can avail of the scheme and can get tokens and identity cards from the MTC depots and offices concerned. Each senior citizen will be eligible to get 10 tokens every month after they fill in an application with photograph.
As per the 2011 census, Chennai had 4.57 lakh people aged 60 or above and, subsequently, the population of the elderly has increased because of several areas on the outskirts being merged with the city corporation. As a result, the number of people who make use of MTC buses has also increased, with the corporation plying more buses from the heart of city to Chengalpet or beyond.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Chetpet Lake in Chennai to be a tourist hub

Chetpet Lake in Chennai is spread over 12 acres and had been given up for lost - but, it is being renovated and will become a tourist hub and a major attraction in central Chennai - it is expected to be thrown open in March 2016.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 21 January 2016.

The renovation work had been undertaken by the state fisheries department in July 2015 at an estimated Rs 42 crore. It has divided the facility, near the Chetpet railway station, into a boating area and an angling (fishing) spot. A 1.4-km jogging track paved with concrete goes around the facility and it includes a children's park, food court, an open air auditorium, a multimedia center, guest houses and a multilevel parking lot capable of holding 200 cars. Moreover, there will be six paddle boats on offer for those who want to cruise around the lake.
The fishing area can accommodate about 30 anglers. There used to be an anglers club at the lake and it had been functioning until 1940 - it attracted enthusiasts from far and wide.
The lake is at least 15 ft at its deepest and empties into the Cooum river.

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Chennai firemen to get ladders to reach up to 102-m height

In view of increasing number of high-rise buildings in the city, Chennai fire and rescue services department plans to procure ladders that can reach up to 102-m high to tackle fires. The department plans to purchase two aerial ladder platforms, each of which can reach a height of 102m. Since the height of each floor is roughly 3m, such a ladder can reach the height of a 34-storey building.
As indicated by a senior fire safety official, they now have two fire tenders with ladders that can reach a maximum height of only 54m. This is inadequacy considering the fact that there are now around 30 high-rise residential buildings in the city that are 60m high. Obviously, such buildings are, at present, out of reach of firemen in case of an emergency.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 November 2015.

Incidentally, Mumbai's fire brigade has recently commissioned a 90-m hydraulic ladder at a cost of 16 crore - it can reach buildings up to 30 floors high. Its ladder is believed to be the tallest snorkel in the country. Once Chennai acquires its ladder, it will steal a march over Mumbai.

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#INDvsSA #ViratKohli #abdevilliers #SureshRaina It was another interesting ODI at Chennai between South Africa and India – and, thanks to some useful batting, India managed to put up a score of 200 for 8. Virat Kohli scored a century, it was his 23rd, and that laid the foundation of a 35-run win for the home team.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 22 October 2015.

It was an innings that Virat Kohli will cherish because he was desperate to end a run of 12 completed innings without a century dating back to India's World Cup opener on March 15. It was his first against South Africa and, his 138 was key to India's series-levelling victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
Suresh Raina also chipped in with a 53 and appeared to have returned to form after his failures in the earlier ODIs of the series.
However, AB de Villiers could have spoiled India’s show because he also hit a century and his awe-inspiring 112 threatened to seal the series for South Africa. But, the series is now level at 2-2, with the last ODI scheduled at Mumbai – it would be a contest worth looking forward to.
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Chennai to enforce ban on thin plastic bags from August 15

Chennai plans to strictly enforce a total ban on thin plastic bags that are less than 40 microns in thickness with effect from Independence Day and, while it would be a laudable step, it is anybody’s guess how successful it would be.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 14 August 2015.

Chennai produces 429 tonnes of plastic waste per day and stands second only to Delhi that generates 689 tonnes. In the Swatchh Bharat rankings that the ministry of urban development has recently released, Chennai is placed at 61 among 476 cities.
Corporation of Chennai has indicated that the ban on plastic has been in force but local bodies will now increase enforcement so that it ensures compliance with the Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011. Under this rule, it is not permitted to use any plastic of thickness less than 40 microns.
However, the plastic industry is worried. Chennai Plastic Manufactures and Merchants Association says that a complete ban on plastic is impractical. This is because there are more than 10,000 plastic manufacturers in the state. They generate direct and indirect employment for many thousands of people. If a total ban is introduced, it would affect them adversely.
It is a well-known fact that plastic pollution is harmful to the environment and, if a ban has to really be introduced, the authorities need to work out how best to rehabilitate those who depend on plastic bags for livelihood. (Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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As per statistics revealed by HelpAge India, 92% youth of Delhi are unwilling to act followed by 64% in Chennai, 45% in Hyderabad, 41% in Ahmedabad, 37% in Bengaluru and 35% in Mumbai.
This has be reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 16 June 2015.

The survey was carried out in 200 households selected from 20 middle and upper class localities in 10 cities. The country head of HelpAge India has said that financial reasons were the most perceived factor for elderly abuse.
Moreover, 'attitudinal and relationship issues' also played a prominent role.
Incidentally, the reasons of elderly abuse in the past had been attributed to son and daughter-in-law.
The survey report was released at India International Centre, New Delhi and many elderly persons were present on the occasion. As one of them has lamented – the children have no time to talk because the son and daughter-in-law are busy with work and the grandchildren are busy with their mobile phones. As a result, the elders feel isolated at home.
Another elderly person lamented that he had spent most of his savings in buying a house for the family and children's education. Now, when he approaches them for money for small things, they often refuse.
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Delhi-Chennai bullet train - on 27 November 2014, a news report in thehindu.com indicated that China was hoping to bag the contract of a possible bullet-train deal with India along the 1,754-Km Delhi-Chennai high speed rail corridor.
In the report, it was also revealed that Japan also had its eyes on the market and had pledged to offer India a more attractive funding scheme. Moreover, based on a report there were apprehensions that the Sino-Indian partnership in the field of high-speed rail was not well-received by the Indian public.

An Indian delegation had gone to China to work out the “terms of reference” of the feasibility study. This would be undertaken by the Chinese authorities to establish a high-speed rail corridor between Delhi and Chennai. Once completed, it would reduce travel time between Delhi and Chennai to around 6 hours.
Of course, mere finalization of the study was no guarantee that the Delhi-Chennai corridor high-speed rail contract would go to a Chinese company.
Mumbai- Ahmedabad bullet train – a strong contender for this sector appears to be Japan. As reported in asia.nikkei.com dated 5 March 2015, its shinkansen bullet train technology is the leading candidate for the 500-Km bullet train that would connect the western city of Mumbai to Ahmedabad.
The Indian and Japanese governments had initiated a joint feasibility study in late 2013 before the Modi government came to power in 2014 and a final report is to be released in July 2015. As indicated by a top official in India's Ministry of Railways, Japan's technology is the best in the world and that India is hopeful of linking up with Japan to work on this project.
On a rough estimate, this link will cost 700-800 billion rupees ($11.3 billion to $12.9 billion) and would include 12 stations to be built along the route. The train is expected to have a top speed of 320-Kmph and would drastically travel time to around two and a half hours from the eight hours it takes now.

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#BangaloreBlast #IED #counterterror It was an IED blast outside the Coconut Grove restaurant on Church Road in Bengaluru on Sunday night that killed one woman and injured one other in the central business district of Bangalore. The Police commissioner has described it as a "low intensity IED blast" which occurred between 8:30 and 9pm on a footpath outside a popular restaurant.
The woman who died was 38-year-old Bhavani Devi – she was a resident of Mount Road in Chennai and had come to Bangalore four days ago to celebrate #Christmas with her family. Her two daughters and eight other family members was with her when the blast occurred. She died due to shrapnel wounds she suffered to her head.
Investigations are on but it seems the IED that had been used appears to be similar to the ones used in three other occasions - in Uttarakhand's Roorkee district on December 6 near a venue of a Vishva Hindu Parishad meeting, in Pune outside a police station on July 11 and in a train at Chennai railway station on May 1.
In the opinion of a counter terror official, the blasts had the imprints of a module that was used by the outlawed SIMI - its members had escaped from Madhya Pradesh’s Khandwa jail last September.