QChennai: Delta Districts Alerted; New Trekking Policy for TN

Here is your roundup of the top stories from Chennai.

The state government has sounded a high alert along delta districts. They do not want another repeat of 2015 floods.

(Photo: PTI)

1. High Alert Sounded Along Delta Districts

The state government has sounded a high alert along delta districts. (Photo: The Quint)

With the Cauvery and Coleroon rivers in spate on account of the record discharge of surplus water from the Mettur reservoir, the state government has sounded a high alert along delta districts. The entire inflow of water into the Mettur and Bhavani Sagar dams in Erode district and the Amaravathi dam in Tirupur district is being discharged. While about 1.70 lakh cusecs was released into the Cauvery from the Mettur dam on Thursday evening, about 45,000 cusecs was discharged from the Bhavani Sagar dam.

Several houses and fields in low-lying areas along the Cauvery in Karur and Tiruchi districts were inundated due to the heavy flow. As many as 56 houses were flooded at Thavuttupalayam,forcing officials to evacuate 157 persons. As a precautionary measure, the Tiruchi-Kallanai road has been closed for traffic.

(Source: The Hindu)

2. Kurangani’s Aftermath: TN Govt to Introduce New Policy for Trekkers

A fire broke out in the Kurangini hills, when a group of 39 had gone to trek. This is an image taken by a trekker a week before the tragedy.(Photo Courtesy: Manoj TR)

The Tamil Nadu government will soon table a new policy for trekkers and organisations that conduct adventure treks to the hills. The policy, which is in its final stages of drafting by the Department of Forests and Environment, will be the rulebook that would regulate the ecotourism industry in the state.

According to a report, the policy makes it compulsory for the organisers of treks to register themselves with the Forest department and not just organise treks online. The policy, which is expected to be released in a week, was prepared by a team of officials after studying the trekking policies in other states. The new policy will also place restrictions on the routes taken by the organisations and on the number of participants at a time.

(Source: The News Minute)

3. Greater Chennai Corporation Wants Green-Signal on Waste Collection Fee

It is learnt that the Chennai Corporation has asked the state government to pass the government order under section 353-A of Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act,  1919. Representative image only.(Photo: PTI) 

Greater Chennai Corporation has approached the state government to issue an order allowing it to start charging user fees for municipal waste collection. This move comes even as the civic body is receiving feedback for the Draft Solid Waste Management Bye-Laws, 2016 it released in June. According to sources in the civic body, this draft, which was supposed to have been finalised by August has hit a roadblock and this move is a circumvention measure.

The corporation’s move to charge door-to-door waste collection had already come under flak from former municipal councillors who accused the corporation of functioning behind closed doors.

(Source: The New Indian Express)

4. One More Biopic Planned on Former CM Jayalalithaa

A veteran filmmaker has also expressed interest in making a film on late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa’s life.(Photo: Rhythum Seth/The Quint)

Filmmakers seem to be queueing up to make biopics on the life of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. While one was announced on Wednesday, a second by A Priyadarshini of Papertale Pictures was announced on Thursday. Both films will head for a likely release in 2019.

Industry sources said that a well-known veteran filmmaker also has expressed his wish to make a film on Jayalalithaa’s life, which, if fructifies, will be the third film on the iconic leader. Filmmaker Vijay has been roped in to direct one of the biopics, produced by Vibri Media.

(Source: The Hindu)

5. ‘Walkie-Talkie’ Burglar, Aides Arrested

The police have arrested three persons, including Dinakaran, a close associate of notorious burglar Thiruporur Murugan, in connection with robberies in the city. Dinakaran and Murugan used walkie-talkies to be in touch with each other while looting houses. Following a series of burglaries in Anna Nagar, Tirumangalam, Nolambur and Mogappair, a team was formed.

The police also recovered 3 kg gold, 5 kg silver, a car, 1,000 euro currencies, two walkie-talkies, a crow bar and ropes. “Murugan and Dinakaran used to do a recce of the locality. They placed a bunch of pamphlets on the door of locked houses. In the evening if the papers were intact, they broke into the house,” said an officer. The two never used mobile phones. “They used walkie-talkies. While one person used to stand outside and kept watch, the other stole valuables,” added the officer.

(Source: The Hindu)

6. Regupathi Commission Chief Resigns, Expresses Disappointment at Madras HC Order

In his resignation letter, retired Justice R Regupathi blamed the Commission’s inaction in the past three years for the repeated cases in court and subsequent hearings. (Photo: iStock)

R Regupathi, chief of the Inquiry Commission looking into the alleged financial irregularities during construction of the new Secretariat building during the DMK regime, resigned on Friday. In his resignation letter, retired Justice R Regupathi blamed the Commission’s inaction in the past three years for the repeated cases in court and subsequent hearings. He also said that he had done his best during the limited period that the Commission worked.

The former Justice also said that Justice Subramaniam’s comments on post-retirement jobs has caused extreme disappointment to the retired judges. The Commission had sent summons to late former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi, former deputy Chief Minister MK Stalin and former PWD Minister Duraimurugan, in 2015.

(Source: The News Minute)

7. Vacant Seats No Criteria for Admission: High Court

Students who do not qualify for admission to a particular course cannot be accommodated in such a course even if many seats are lying vacant, the Madras High Court has ruled. (File Photo: IANS)

Students who do not qualify for admission to a particular course cannot be accommodated in such a course even if many seats are lying vacant, the Madras High Court has ruled. Accommodating unqualified students in vacant seats would set a bad precedent and lead to anarchy in the field of education, it said.

Justice S Vaidyanathan ruled thus while dismissing a writ petition filed by a woman who had completed her undergraduation in zoology at a government college in Begumpet, Hyderabad and wanted to join a postgraduate course in a college in Chennai since she had moved here after her marriage. The judge pointed out that though the petitioner was in possession of a Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate issued in Andhra Pradesh, it could not be used to claim reservation in Tamil Nadu.

(Source: The Hindu)