1. Fire Breaks out at Chitlapakkam Dump Yard
A fire broke out at the dump yard in Chitlapakkam around 6:30 pm on Sunday. Residents noticed the flames and alerted Panchayat officials. Fire and Rescue Services arrived around 8:30 pm and controlled the flames in about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, residents complained that the firefighters did not respond to the first call and arrived only after a second call was made after 8 pm.
The Panchayat had started clearing the dump yard in early October. Although the process was only supposed to take two to three weeks, about 6,000 tonnes of waste still remain. Executive officer of Chitlapakkam Panchayat Venkatesan said that more than half the waste had been transported to a scientific landfill in Kolathur and the remaining would follow in a couple of weeks.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. TN Engineering Student Killed by Friends, Allegedly over an FB Photo
Thanjavur police have detained three college students in connection to the abduction and murder of a 19-year-old engineering student near Kumbakonam. Investigations revealed that what was initially thought to be an abduction for ransom, was in fact a planned murder fuelled by jealously over the victim’s closeness to a mutual female friend.
On 4 January, S Munthazir, a second-year student reportedly told his mother that he will be heading to Thiruvidaimarudur to meet a friend. But when his mother called him at around 8:15 pm, an unknown person answered the phone and claimed that her son was being abducted and taken to Coimbatore. The next morning, however, her son was found dead in Thirubuvanam with his throat slit.
(Source: The News Minute)
3. 10 Sabarimala Devotees Killed in TN Road Accident
Ten residents of Andhra Pradesh were killed in a road accident in Tamil Nadu, while returning after worshiping Lord Ayyappa in Sabarimala. 14 devotees from Andhra Pradesh were travelling in a white van on the bypass road when a container lorry from the opposite direction, allegedly came into the wrong side of the road and smashed into the vehicle. Reports state that seven devotees died on the spot while three others succumbed to their injuries at the Pudukottai government hospital.
A police officer said, "The incident happened around 2:20 pm and there were 15 people in the van including the driver. Ten of them are dead and others have been taken to the hospital. They were travelling back from Kerala. The driver of the lorry is absconding."
(Source: The News Minute)
4. Cleaner Beach to Be a Big Draw
The Chennai Corporation is set to move projects on improving tourist infrastructure along the city's beaches into higher gear. “The machines can pick up even small objects like cigarette butts and leave behind only the sand. The machines will be officially launched next week,” said a civic official.
The civic body plans to develop open air gymnasiums at 16 locations along the beach, landscaping at six locations, deploy facilities to access the sands for persons with disabilities at two locations, install bins at 52 locations to prevent littering, lighting at 81 locations, public toilets at six locations and seating arrangements at 15 locations. The civic body has developed first-aid kiosks at three locations.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. Officials to Visit Hyderabad to Seek Krishna Water
With the city facing a bleak water scenario this summer, a team of Water Resources Department officials will travel to Hyderabad on 9 January seeking the release of Krishna water and also discuss the water-sharing issue. Officials from Tamil Nadu would seek discharge of 12,000 million cubic feet (mcft) of water that is due to Chennai as per the agreement between Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu under the Krishna water supply project.
It may be recalled that water from the Kandaleru reservoir located upstream in Andhra Pradesh was released for a brief period of one month since September-end last year. Though the Andhra Pradesh authorities assured the release of water again in mid-November, the request of Tamil Nadu was not fulfilled.
(Source: The Hindu)
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