Anna Arches to go missing for a while, to make way for flyover

Thanks to last week’s rain, one of the city’s oldest landmarks – the twin ornamental arches in Anna Nagar – was given a reprieve of a few more days. 

But this weekend, the arches will make way for two flyovers that are coming up at the junction at a cost of Rs. 117 crore. 

Residents who are used to using the structures as guideposts on their regular route home, are bound to miss their bus stops if they aren’t careful. When the arch is pulled down by the Highways Department, many bus passengers will only find a void there. 

“When the work began and they cut down the huge tress at the junction, we missed them. Now it is the turn of the arch to go,” said K. Vanya, who changes buses at the Arch bus stop. 

Using diamond cutters and two cranes, the contractor will start from the top and remove portions of the arch. “We had planned to demolish the structure last week, but the rains delayed us. The police have now permitted us to carry out the work on Saturday and Sunday nights. This is the first time we are attempting something like this,” said an source in the department. 

The arch was constructed by the Madras Corporation at a cost of Rs. 12 lakh to commemorate the platinum jubilee of former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai. It was inaugurated on January 1, 1986, by the then Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran. 

It is 57-feet high and was checked for structural stability in order to withstand cyclones. The arches were designed by Ganapathy Sthapathi and completed in a span of just 105 days. 

The Highways Department has taken steps to make an exact replica of the arches and will install them on 3 Avenue near the bridge over the Cooum River. “The arch is made of cement and is called sudhai. We have taken photographs from every possible angle and have even asked the Corporation for design drawings. We have also spoken to the contractor who constructed it. The new arches will be designed in such a way that they withstand earthquakes too, as Chennai is in seismic zone 3 now,” said an official. 

Courtesy: www.thehindu.com

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Chennai: Thousands throng Vailankanni shrine

Chennai: As the hoisting of the flag marked the beginning of the 10-day annual fest at the Annai Vailankanni Shrine in Besant Nagar, thousands of devotees thronged the church to offer prayers on Wednesday. Sister Beed, who was holding guard of the Mother Mary shrine where devotees left their prayer letters, says that it was the universality of the festival that drew people from across religions.

The grilled wall around the shrine is quite a sight with thousands of devotees putting up their requests to god. Small cradles with baby dolls, yellow threads, prayer rosarys, locks and prayers written on rolled paper dotted the wall. Sister Johana says, “Mostly, people who want to be blessed with a child, girls waiting to get married, those with illnesses and people who want to do well in business or studies come here.” Pointing at the locks, she goes on, “These locks are left by those who are hoping to own a house.”

Explaining the significance behind the 75-foot flag mast erected to celebrate the 40th year of the festival, Father Francis Michael, Rector and Parish Priest, says that when one looks up at the flag, he is looking towards the sky and heaven. The flag is also a sign of the presence of people, he adds.

Explaining why people from across religions flock to the church, he says, “The Roman Catholic faith has assimilated local cultural practices which has made it more open for people of all faiths to be a part of it. We don’t try to convert people, but we welcome them to come and find their peace.”

Schedule
August 30– Religious Day: 7.30 am- Mass in English, 5.15 pm- Rosary, Novena, Mass in Tamil and car procession
August 31 - Day of Pius Association: 4pm - Procession on Elliots Beach Road
Sept 1 – Day of Sick:
7.30 am – Mass in English
10.30 am – Mass in Tamil
12 noon- Mass in Tamil
Sept 2 – Source of Faith
Blood donation camp
Sept 3 – Workers Day
7.30 am – Mass in English
Sept 4 – Day of Youth
Sept 5 – Day of Teachers
Sept 6 – Day of family
Sept 7 – Day of Annai Vailankanni: 5.15 pm - Pontifical High Mass and grand car procession
Sept 8 – Birthday of Blessed Virgin Mary

Courtesy: www.http://ibnlive.in.com

 

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Baby found dead with alleged rat bites in Chennai hospital, two doctors among nine suspended

Chennai: Two doctors and seven workers of the Government Kasturba Hospital in Chennai have been suspended for negligence. The face of a prematurely born baby who died on Sunday night was found disfigured on Monday when it was handed over. The parents had alleged that it was due to rat bite.

Chief Minister Jayalalithaa who chaired a high-level meeting today said in a statement that "an enquiry has clearly revealed that the baby's face got disfigured only after she died". She added that "the hospital should have handed over the body to the parents immediately when there was no need for a post-mortem. But the wrapped body was left in the hospital overnight" and that an investigation is on to find out how the baby's body got disfigured".

Meanwhile, the state government has decided to take measures to improve conditions in government hospitals in Tamil Nadu. Irula tribals who are known for their skills to catch snakes and rats would be employed in hospitals to keep them free from rodents. Visitors would not be allowed to consume food in hospital premises and mobile outlets selling food would be banned in hospitals. Visitors can meet patients only during designated hours. Bodies of patients who die ought to be handed over to families immediately if they don't require post-mortem. And bodies have to be kept only in mortuary.

Courtesy: ndtv.com

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Police on the lookout for Alagiri’s son, 11 others

Police have alerted immigration authorities to help them in preventing Durai Dayanidhi, union minister M.K. Alagiri’s son, and 11 others from leaving the country in connection with alleged illegal granite quarrying into which the State government has launched a crackdown.

“We have requested immigration department to detain them at airports and inform us if they are spotted. We understand some have already left India and some are trying to flee the country,” a top police official who did not wish to be named, said.

He said police have no authority to issue a lookout notice and can only make a request to immigration authorities.

Besides Mr. Durai Dayanidhi, others named include Maharajan, Nagarajan, P Sureshkumar, P Senthilkumar, P K Selvaraj, Veeramani, Periyasamy and four others of different granite companies.

Police said a special team is searching for them and had already frozen the companies’ accounts.

They said a team of auditors was collecting the banking transactions of these companies. Auditors of the companies and some officials of Tamil Nadu Minerals are also being questioned, they said.

On August 7, cases were registered against 10 persons, including Mr. Durai Dayanidhi, charging companies owned by them with mining sand and granite without permission.

The action came close on the heels of a detailed survey of 175 granite quarrying sites by the district administration on a report by former District Collector U. Sagayam, estimating loss to the state exchequer by illegal quarrying at Rs. 16,338 crore.

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Now, absent teachers add to woes of Pachaiyappa’s College

Till about a fortnight ago, students of Pachaiyappa’s College had several problems — lack of drinking water, no functional bathrooms on the campus and shortage of bus passes. While most of these have been sorted out, the students now have a bigger concern. 

The teachers in their college, particularly those from the history and Tamil departments, seldom turn up to take classes because they are out teaching in other colleges in the city, students say.

“It has been over two months since college began but I have seen my Tamil professor just once,” a student says. 

Other teachers admit the irregularity exists and it is mainly because the government has not appointed teachers in the last ten years. Most of them, therefore, are enrolled as guest lecturers in one college and as permanent faculty in another. 

Every department in the college has just 12 lecturers, in place of the mandated 18. “The vacancies have never been filled, so the college runs more or less on guest lecturers,” says a lecturer.

Students say that some of the teachers come in as early as 8.45 a.m., mark their attendance for the day, and leave for another college, either in Tambaram or Chromepet, where they teach till noon. Each of them has at least three lectures in the morning but they never turn up. While some of the teachers blame it on lack of strength in classrooms, others cite financial reasons.

One such lecturer admits to teaching in two colleges since the past two years and says he does it to make up for his paltry salary. “I earn only Rs. 6,000 at Pachaiyappa’s College while the other institute pays me Rs. 10,000. Even that money is not enough to run a family of five,” the lecturer says. He says, he has tried taking morning lectures in the college but only two or three students turn up for them.

“Except for those in the science departments, the other students are irregular. Most of them come to class only by mid-day as they work till late in the evening,” the lecturer says. 

Another faculty says he taught in three colleges a few years ago. “But with age catching up, I cannot run around, and so, stick to two colleges now,” says the Tamil professor. Many of his colleagues who work as guest lecturers have taken up other odd jobs in the evenings to supplement their meagre incomes, he says.

Courtesy : thehindu.com

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Six-lane road to Port’s gate by March

Work to widen the narrow 1.6 km road leading to the zero gate of Chennai Port is expected to be completed by March 2013. A part of the Ennore-Manali Road Improvement Project (EMRIP), the road from S.N. Chetty Street to N4 Police Station, is a crucial link for the completion of the project in north Chennai. 

Recently, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which is implementing the project to widen four major roads, had cleared land inside the Kasimedu fishing harbour where fish was being sold and dried. Sources said that one vehicular underpass and two pedestrian underpasses have already been completed, and that work on one vehicular underpass is progressing well, while another is ready.

After excavation, the construction of a retaining wall and four additional lanes will be taken up. In effect, the road will be 10.5 metres wide and have six lanes. The work on the additional carriageway will be completed and traffic diverted on it, after which work on the present carriageway will be taken up. A temporary service road will be constructed for the easy movement of fisherfolk near the auctioning area, without disturbing their daily routines, the official said.

Chennai Port Trust has meanwhile applied for Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) permission to take up reclamation work. It has been sent to the district-level committee, which is headed by the District Collector. It will then be sent to the State-level committee. As soon as CRZ clearance is obtained, work will be taken up and completed within 45 days. The port has also promised to take up dredging work within 30 days, and is currently waiting for the arrival of a crane. Dredging is likely to be taken up in a couple of days. 

Source: thehindu.com

 

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IIT-Madras to withdraw case

Representatives of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) on Saturday apologised for the attack on a news photographer and assured the withdrawal of the case against him which pressed charges of harassment.

On Tuesday evening, The New Indian Express photographer Albin Mathew was assaulted by an IIT-M professor and security guards on the campus after Mr. Mathew had taken photographs of a ladies hostel building where a student committed suicide. Mr. Mathew lodged a complaint and the Kotturpuram police registered a case and arrested three guards. A hostel warden then registered a complaint against the photographer.

Amidst a gathering of media persons at the police commissionerate in Egmore on Saturday in protest against the attack, N. Siva Prasad, registrar of IIT-M, read out an apology note on behalf of the institution.

Mr. Mathew will not be withdrawing his complaint.

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Ahead of monsoon, Chennai gears up to desilt waterways

The city’s waterways, which are clogged with weeds and waste, will soon be cleaned up, with the Water Resources Department (WRD) planning to initiate the project in a week to arrest flooding during the northeast monsoon.

The WRD is awaiting a government order to sanction funds of Rs. 4.43 crore. Officials said that over 70 km of various city waterways would be cleaned up under the project. “We expect to obtain the government order in a week. We have split the work on the stretches into 71 packages to simultaneously clean up the entire length before the onset of the monsoon by October-end,” said an official.

The department has begun de-weeding and desilting three waterways – Otteri Nullah, North Buckingham canal and Virugambakkam canal – running to a length of nearly 35 km under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Besides the stretch of Central Buckingham canal between Chepauk and Adyar, the surplus course of Ambattur and Korattur lakes would also be desilted and de-weeded. Only five to six km of the Cooum River would be cleaned up. “We have identified certain stretches of the river near Mehta Nagar, Koyambedu, Padikuppam and Naduvankarai where silt gets deposited regularly,” said an official.

Similarly, the department has identified nine points on the Adyar river to clear accumulated waste. Apart from Velachery surplus channel, eight drains that bring inflow and carry surplus from the Chembarampakkam reservoir such as the Virugambakkam, Manapakkam and Porur surplus courses would also be relieved of garbage.

The surplus courses of 12 tanks, including those at Keelkattalai, Adambakkam, Sembakkam and Chitlapakkam, , would be cleaned up.

Other works would include cleaning up of Otiampakkam drain and pappaan channel that drain floodwater from West Tambaram and Perungalathur into the Adyar river near Tiruneermalai. The silt dredged up from the waterways would be carried and dumped at low-level areas in the outskirts of the city. 

Courtesy : The Hindu 

 

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