1. Officials to Take Up Desilting of Drains
Chennai Corporation will start desilting stormwater drains ahead of the onset of the northeast monsoon. Officials from all 15 zones of the civic body have been asked to identify the stretches that require desilting as the exercise will begin this month.
“The regional deputy commissioners in the southern, central and northern regions have been empowered to issue administrative sanction after due whetting of the proposals. Tenders will be called in the 15 zones. All zones will complete the process and start work by the end of September,” said G Prakash, Chennai Corporation Commissioner. As the Corporation is yet to identify affordable technology for desilting stormwater drains, hundreds of farm labourers from northern districts are set to carryout the work in a few weeks, the officials said.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Teen Stabbed to Death in Front of Family in Besant Nagar Beach
A 19-year-old youth was stabbed to death by a group of men in front of his mother, brother and friends at the Besant Nagar beach on Saturday night when they had come to witness the chariot procession at the Velankanni Church festival. The deceased, M Benny Raj of Shenoy Nagar in Aminjikarai, was in the profession of playing percussion instrument in death processions.
“Around 11:30 pm Benny Raj, his mother Amal, brother and two friends were sitting behind the Karl Schmidt Memorial at the Elliot’s Beach. Benny had gone to play in the amusement rounds set up for the church festival. When he was returning to his family members, around seven youngsters got into an argument with him even as there were people sleeping around them after the chariot festival,” said a police officer.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
3. Aavin Working to Get Food Safety System Certification
In keeping with industry standards, Aavin has embarked upon food safety system certification for its dairies at Ambattur, Madhavaram and Sholinganallur that supply mainly to the city. The dairies already have have ISO 9001:2005, HACCP certification (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point is an internationally accepted technique for preventing microbiological, chemical and physical contamination along the food supply chain) and FSSC 22000 certification.
“Stage I audit has been completed for these dairies. Recently, our Tiruvannamalai dairy that also has the capability to process milk into whole milk powder and butter, got the FSSC 22000 certification — Food Safety System Certification,” explained C Kamaraj, Managing Director, Aavin.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Couple Held for Dubious Death of Child
A couple were detained in connection with the death of a three-year-old child at Puzhal on Monday. Police said Bhavani (21) and her second husband Asif (24) brought Yazhni, Bhavni’s child from her first marriage, on Sunday night to a private hospital in Red Hills, claiming that she was unwell. But doctors declared that the child was already dead.
There were injury marks on the girl and hence, based on a complaint lodged by Ramesh (24), Bhavani’s first husband, the Puzhal police have registered a case and detained the couple. They have sent the body for autopsy. Further investigations are on.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
5. All Toll Plazas in State to Go Electronic By November
Over 90% of the 476 lanes at the 40-odd toll plazas on National Highways in the State are electronic toll collection (ETC)-enabled. By November, the remaining lanes will be covered, officials said.
“We have to cover only some 60 lanes, where work is under way to install electronic readers that will automatically deduct the amount from vehicles using radio frequency,” said an official of the National Highways Authority of India that manages these roads. To reduce congestion at toll plazas, the Centre announced that all lanes at toll plazas would be declared FASTag from 1 December. One hybrid lane would be available at all plazas to allow very large vehicles, where other modes of payment too would be accepted.
(Source: The Hindu)
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