1. Four-Tier Security for Today’s IPL Match
Barely hours ahead of the IPL cricket match between the Chennai Super Kings and the Kolkata Knight Riders on Tuesday, the Chennai Police issued the Public Resort Licence (PRL) to the organisers late on Monday night. A four-tier security ring has been put in place in and around the MA Chidambaram stadium as the IPL authorities engaged hundreds of private security guards and volunteers amidst fears that protesters demanding the formation of the Cauvery Management Board might disrupt the match.
While intelligence agencies stepped up surveillance on the social media and kept tabs on the activities of suspicious persons, the local police were coordinating with political parties and Tamil organisations who might resort to agitations. Elaborate security arrangements have been made at the hotels where the players are staying with strict access control.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. US Ambassador to Lead Delegation at Defence Expo
A large and diverse delegation from the United States will take part in the DefExpo 2018 to be held at Thiruvidandhai on East Coast Road from 11-14 April. The delegation will be led by Kenneth I Juster, US Ambassador to India, and Major General Bryan Suntheimer, Deputy Commanding General of US Army Pacific.
About 19 US companies will be exhibiting their products at the expo and many more are participating, a press release from the US Consulate in Chennai said. A number of these companies have operated in India for years, the release said. The delegation will include active duty military officers, government officials and industry executives. The diversity of the delegation demonstrates the depth and breadth of the commitment to the defence partnership, the release said.
(Source: The Hindu)
3. Kodungaiyur Dumpyard Spews Smoke, Fume Residents
On Monday morning, residents around the Kodungaiyur dumpyard, miasmic in the best of times, were left gasping for breath after an extra dose of smoke engulfed their homes. Motorists too found it hard to ride by. “Around 11 am, I felt suffocated and realised smoke was all over the house. When I looked out, I found the garbage heap on fire. I closed the doors and windows and stayed inside,” said Nandini, in a tenement opposite the dumpyard.
Ganesan Perumal of Krishnamoorthy Nagar said the smoke persisted till 3 pm. He claimed that garbage was usually on fire at night, evidently referring to the fiery embers. “As most of us are asleep, we don’t realise it. Even if we complain, there is no action. So we adjust to it.” Muthuraj, an autorickshaw driver, said, “My eyes were burning. When I confronted them, the security guards at the yard just walked away stating they don’t know anything.”
(Source: The Hindu)
4. 44,000 Olive Ridley Turtles May Hatch This Season
The city’s beaches may see the birth of 44,000 Olive Ridley turtles this nesting season. Already, 16,000 hatchlings have been released into the bay safely. The remaining are yet to hatch. The incubation period is still on, said K Geethanjali, Wildlife Warden, Chennai.
In 2016-17, about 15,500 eggs were collected and 14,000 hatchlings were released. That year, Vardah had caused widespread damage in the city at the beginning of the nesting season. In 2015-16, in the aftermath of the December 2015 deluge, only 8,646 hatchlings were released. Students’ Sea Turtle Conservation Network and Tree Foundation are also involved in collecting the eggs and releasing the hatchlings.
(Source: The Hindu)
5. HC Heat on CRZ Violators Contesting Notices
The Madras High Court on Monday made it clear that all those who had received notices from the Greater Chennai Corporation for alleged violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules while constructing buildings between Neelankarai and Uthandi on the East Coast Road (ECR) should disclose all relevant details about their properties.
A Division Bench of Justices M Sathyanarayanan and P Rajamanickam wanted building owners, who had filed impleading petitions, to submit details such as the building plan approval obtained by them from the authorities concerned, the plinth area constructed and the purpose for which the buildings were used, with photographs.
(Source: The Hindu)
6. Govt Crash Course to Crack NEET Kicks Off
With less than a month left for the NEET 2018 examination, the school education department launched a free crash course for aspirants from across Tamil Nadu on Monday. The residential crash course, ‘Thoduvaanam’ is being taken up by 2,804 students in nine engineering colleges. The intensive course is designed to help them crack the competitive exam.
“Students from government and government-aided schools have been selected to attend this programme on the basis of their SSLC exam marks. Apart from the residential programmes, around 8,000 students have additionally enrolled for non-residential coaching classes to be conducted at centres across the state,” said Pradeep Yadav, Principal Secretary, School Education Department. The non-residential coaching classes will have nearly 6,260 students taking up classes in Tamil and 1,973 students attending the English classes.
(Source: The Hindu)
7. HC Refuses to Take Suo Motu Notice of Curbs on Marina
The Madras High Court on Monday refused to take suo motu notice of news reports related to the police having imposed several restrictions on public movement on the Marina beach here. The court told a lawyer, who brought the news reports to its notice, to file a public interest litigation petition if he wished to do so.
The First Division Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose told advocate ‘Mylai’ S. Sathya that it would look into his grievance only if a petition was filed in the court. Though the advocate said that filing a case would take time and that the issue required immediate judicial intervention, the Bench refused to budge.
(Source: The Hindu)
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