1. Leaders Condemn Nod to Hydrocarbon Project
Political leaders, including DMK president M K Stalin, PMK founder S Ramadoss and AMMK leader TTV Dhinakaran have condemned the permission granted to Vedanta and ONGC to conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to extract hydrocarbon in Villupuram and Puducherry. Recalling the people’s protest against the project, Stalin said the move to grant permission violated the election rules since the model code of conduct was still in force. “On the one hand, the BJP government and its ally, the AIADMK, have granted permission and environmental clearance for the project, and on the other, they have allowed public opinion just for namesake,” Stalin said.
Demanding the cancellation of the permission till a new government is formed at the Centre, Stalin said if the BJP government refused to cancel the project because of its ‘closeness’ with the Vedanta group, the Election Commission should intervene and cancel the permission granted for the project.
(Source: The Hindu)
2. Girl Has Boyfriend Abducted, Assaulted, Robbed
In a scene straight out of movies, a 20-year-old girl allegedly hired three men to attack her boyfriend near Anna Nagar because he took away her cell phone and hit her with a helmet, recently. The girl, G Vasavi, who is settled in the US along with her parents, had come down to India a few days back, for some work and also to meet her boyfriend.
On Thursday night at around 11:15, the victim, Navith was riding his two-wheeler towards his house, when three men on a motorbike intercepted him. “Two men got off the bike and got on to Navith’s bike. While the third man followed them on his bike. They took him to Mogappair and Madhavaram and then to Jafferkhanpet, where they attacked him and robbed his Rs 15,000-worth watch and his mobile phone worth Rs 25,000,” said a police officer.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
3. All Must Abide By Court Order on Cauvery Dispute – Governor
Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Saturday said that as law-abiding citizens, it was necessary for all stakeholders to adhere to the directions of the Supreme Court in the Cauvery river water dispute. Speaking at the launch of the book River Cauvery The Most Revered Yet The Most Battled (r)ed at a function organised by Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers Welfare Association, he said after a long and tortuous path traversed, “today we are at the stage of hand-holding and seeing through to success the mechanism for ensuring proper implementation of judicial directions.”
Only the smooth operation of the mechanism would ensure appropriate distribution of waters among the three states and the union territory in a lawful and orderly manner, he added.
(Source: The Hindu)
4. Tannery Waste Blamed for Contamination of Ground Water
Residents of Sastri Nagar and surrounding areas at Moolakadai near Madhavaram complain of groundwater pollution allegedly caused by tannery units located nearby. They say ever since the leather industry was set up 40 years ago, water obtained from bore wells is contaminated as an oily layer forms on top. Also, the water is black sometimes.
Locals said water from the bore wells appeared to be normal when drawn, but later after storing it overnight, an oily layer forms on top. Experts in the field said if effluents were not properly treated, there is a large possibility for the shallow aquifer to get contaminated over the years.
(Source: The New Indian Express)
5. Number of People Below Poverty Line to Increase in City
The number of people below the poverty line in the city is likely to increase, as more than 28 lakh residents of notified and non-notified slums are expected to be included in the BPL list. So far, officials have compiled a list of 7.12 lakh BPL families, of the 17.88 lakh families in the city. The data already points to 40% people under the poverty line in the city.
The percentage of BPL families is high in zones such as Tondiarpet, Royaouram and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, with 45% under the poverty line. But southern zones such as Adyar have just 30% families below the poverty line. Southern zones such as Sholinganallur and Perungudi have 35% BPL families.
(Source: The Hindu)
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