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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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