QChennai: Two Arrested for Building Collapse; Mettur Dam Fills Up

Here is your roundup of the top stories from Chennai.

While the structure of the building remains unscathed, it is the scaffolding and the iron girders of the generator room that caved in and caused the tragedy.

(Photo: Smitha Tarur/The Quint)

1. Chennai Building Collapse: Police Identify Company Involved, Arrest Two Persons

While the structure of the building remains unscathed, it is the scaffolding and the iron girders of the generator room that caved in and caused the tragedy.(Photo: ANI)

The Chennai police have arrested two persons in connection with the collapse of a hospital under construction in the Taramani area on Saturday evening. They have identified the construction company involved and are further investigating the chain of authority at the site in order to take others into police custody for enquiries.

One person died and 32 others were injured after the scaffolding of the building in Kandanchavadi collapsed. The police have filed an FIR and booked the site supervisor and building manager under sections 335 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt on provocation) and 336 (Act endangering life or personal safety of others). The building is an upcoming hospital on MGR Salai, across from SP Infocity.

(Source: The News Minute)

2. Mettur Dam Water Level Nearing Full Capacity

With water level nearing 120 feet at Mettur Dam, 7,500 cusecs water is released through the 16-vent surplus sluices in the dam in Salem District.(Photo Courtesy: Mettur Daily)

With inflow exceeding 60,000 cusecs on Sunday evening, the water level at the Mettur dam is inching closer to the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 120 ft. At 4 pm on Sunday, the water level stood at 117.740 ft, while the storage was 89.260 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft), as against the full capacity of 93.470 tmc ft. The discharge was 20,000 cusecs. Sources in the Public Works Department said that given the current level of inflow, the dam would reach FRL by Monday night, after which the discharge would be increased further.

Meanwhile, Collector Rohini R Bhajibhakare said that the discharge from the dam would be increased to 30,000 cusecs from 8 pm, as 70,000 cusecs had been discharged from dams in Karnataka.

(Source: The Hindu)

3. Police Threatening Villagers to Vacate Their Land: Farmers

S Janakarajan, retired professor from Madras Institute of Development Studies, said the feasibility report of the project provided no details. Representative image.(Photo Courtesy: Smitha TK/ The Quint)

A group of farmers who attended a meeting in Chennai on Sunday to discuss the proposed Salem-Chennai expressway alleged that the police were threatening them and the district administration was forcing them to give up their land for the eight-lane highway project.

“On Sunday morning, some farmers were supposed to leave their village and come here for the meeting. But last night, the police went to the village and warned the farmers not to go for the meeting. None of the farmers have come because of that,” claimed S Shanmugam, State secretary of the CPI (M) farmers’ wing. He charged that most of the villages in the proposed alignment of the project had become police posts.

(Source: The Hindu)

4. ‘NEET for Engineering Likely from 2019’

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) vice-chairman said there was a proposal to conduct NEET for engineering courses from 2019.(Photo: The Quint)

All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) vice-chairman MP Poonia said there was a proposal to conduct NEET for engineering courses and the tests would be conducted from 2019. While the AICTE had floated the idea of a common entrance exam for engineering on the lines of the medical admissions in 2017 itself, there had been resistance from many States against the test.

In Tamil Nadu, the opposition parties are still against the NEET for medical admissions. In this context, the AICTE vice-chairman has indicated the possibility of a NEET for engineering courses in the next academic year itself.

(Source: The Hindu)

5. Gang Frees Accused from Police in Filmi Style

The Palluruthy Police in Kochi had arrested three of his alleged associates in March this year, under the Kerala Money Lenders Act, 1958.(Photo: iStock/Photo used for representational purpose)

In a midnight drama that could have been a scene out of a movie, a key accused detained from Sriperumbudur by the Kochi City Police as part of Operation Kubera — a crackdown on illegal moneylending — was ‘rescued’ by members of his gang. The dramatic escape was pulled off by waylaying a four-member police team around 11.30 pm on Saturday.

P Maharajan (41) of Natesan Nagar near Virugambakkam in Chennai made the cinematic getaway near the Kaniyur Toll Plaza on the Salem-Kochi Highway. Over 10 men in two vehicles escaped with him in minutes. Maharajan is the main accused in a multi-crore money-lending racket that offered short-term loans at exorbitant rates of interest in many parts of Kerala.

(Source: The Hindu)

6. Skipped India for Personal Reasons, Not Safety, Swiss Squash Player’s Parents Tell TNM

The contingent from Switzerland is a depleted as their top-ranked player Ambre Allinckx has boycotted the tournament for safety reasons.(Photo Courtesy: Spotzwiki)

Swiss squash player Ambre Allinckx is one of the best in her country in the junior level of the game. The 16-year-old skipped the World Junior Squash Championship being currently held in Chennai, and her coach, Pascal Bruhin, cited safety in India as the reason for the young player missing the games. However, Ambre’s parents have now denied that they were concerned about her safety in the country.

Her father Igor elaborated, “We decided in September 2017 that for this season she would play European U17 but not Worlds because she can (and will) still play it twice as she is 16 only. (age limit is 19) Furthermore I had to plan the family holidays in July as in August I have to work and we will not have family summer holidays together for the coming years.”

(Source: The News Minute)

7. Metro Rail to Alter Alignment in Phase II to Prevent Road Cave-Ins

The CMRL decided to resort to this plan because an underground network will not need as much land as an elevated track would.(Photo: The Quint)

After experiencing several road cave-ins in phase I, Chennai Metro Rail has decided to be cautious in phase II of the project that is likely to begin soon. According to officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they have decided to make some changes in the alignment according to soil conditions.

“But these changes will be only minor ones. We have planned to do it as we had issues of roads caving-in in some areas in phase I because of loose soil and want to avoid them in this phase,” an official said. This will be significant as a major portion of phase II runs underground, unlike the phase I.

(Source: The Hindu)