1. Chennai Crisis: First Train Carrying Water Leaves for Parched City
The first train, carrying water for Chennai, left for the parched city from Tamil Nadu's Jolarpet railway station on Friday, 12 July, news agency ANI reported. The train, with 50 wagons carrying 50 kilolitres each, will transport 2.5 million litres of water to Chennai, the report said.
To meet its target, of transporting 10 million litres of water to Chennai per day, the railway authorities have engaged two trains. The authorities are trying to supply at least 7.5 million litres a day to begin with. The Southern Railways will charge Chennai Metro Water Rs 7.5 lakh for each trip. The Tamil Nadu government has allotted Rs 65 crore for this project.
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2. Four TN Men Held for Attacking Man Over Photo of Him Eating Beef
A man was assaulted in Nagapattinam on Thursday, 11 July, for posting a photo of himself eating beef at a hotel. The local police have arrested the four accused and booked them under charges of attempted murder. 24-year-old Muhammad Faizan had posted two pictures on 9 July of him eating beef soup with the caption, ‘Aayiram thaan sollu, maatu curry maatu curry dhaan’ (You can say a 1,000 things but beef curry is beef curry).
Police said a heated argument between the men escalated when the four assaulted Faizan with a wooden log and iron rod on his left shoulder and wrist, the report said.
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3. Chennai Thief Plots Way Back to Jail as He Missed the Meals, Friends
Desperately missing his life in prison where he was served timely meals and had friends, a history-sheeter from Chennai hit upon a plan to get himself arrested once again. 52-year-old Gnanaprakasam, who had been out on bail, stole a bike from Kailasapuram First Street in Tambaram West and made sure that his face was caught on a nearby CCTV camera.
The police said that the accused had confessed that he enjoyed his time in jail where he got his meals on time. “He said he missed prison food as nobody taunted him for being lazy unlike at home. He also said that he wanted to meet his old friends," said P Asokan, ACP Tambaram.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
4. Tamil Nadu’s Plea Against Rs 100 Crore NGT Penalty Rejected
The Madras High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government, challenging the Rs 100 crore penalty imposed on the state by the National Green Tribunal for not cleaning up the Buckingham Canal, Adyar and Cooum rivers.
Directing the government to pay the penalty to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the NGT in its 13 February order had said the money shall be utilised to restore the water bodies. The tribunal had acted on a batch of petitions, including one from social activist Jawahar Shanmugam, seeking a direction to the state government to restore and revive the water bodies.
(Source: Deccan Chronicle)
5. Madurai Building Collapse: Documents Forged to Build a Second Floor, Reveals Probe
It has now come to light that the two-storied building that collapsed in Checkanurani, Madurai, on 5 July killing four construction workers, did not have authorisation for a second floor. The probe has revealed that documents were forged for the construction a second floor.
Usilampatti DSP Raja who was investigating the case tells that when they went through the site plans, certain discrepancies in it led them to discuss with the Panchayat officials. Panchayat Assistant Director Selvaraj who lead a team to investigate the documents further found out that Kokulam Panchayat Secretary Kasimayan flouted rules to forge documents.
(Source: The News Minute)
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