Production of electricity from the Koodankulam nuclear power plant could start within the next month, according to Minister of State in the PMO, V Narayanasamy.

Speaking at the airport, en route to his customary weekend visit to Puducherry on Saturday, Narayanasamy said that the safety committee appointed by the Centre was “almost done” with their inspection.

With increasing congestion and traffic woes in the city, the only way forward from here on will be to use public and non-motorised transport, said V Tamizh Arasan, Retired Prof of the department of Civil Engineering from IIT-Madras. He delivered the annual E R R Thillainayagam Endowment Lecture on sustainable transport, organised by the The Institution of Highway Transport.

Highlighting the current and future scenario with respect to India’s demography, economy and energy consumption, Tamizh Arasan cited several government reports that said that transportation is the most rapidly growing consumer of the world’s energy.

Chief Minister N Rangasamy told the Legislative assembly on Tuesday that the Puducherry administration is committed to protecting groundwater, the main source of drinking water and agriculture.

Agriculture minister M Chandrakasu said the administration was taking steps in regulating the construction of tube wells by industries to prevent depletion of water table. Tubewells can be constructed by industries only after obtaining permission from the state groundwater authority as per existing rules. Those constructing tubewells without permission are made to close the borewells with due notice by the State Groundwater authority besides imposing penalty.

The Velachery Lake is in for a major facelift. Preliminary work began recently on removing the thick layers of water hyacinth that cover the eastern part of the lake. Soon, a proposal to build a walkers’ path around the lake’s perimeter could take off. This is part of the larger development proposal for the lake, which includes parks and boating services.

Officials of the Water Resources Department of the PWD are currently preparing wide development proposals for the Velachery Lake. This is expected to be completed in a week’s time, after which officials and elected representatives are expected to decide on the final road map.

In the event of climate changes occurring due to an increase in temperature,the world will face a common but differentiated impact.

In yet another push to bring a marked development in Chennai’s civic infrastructure, which would significantly contribute to decongest traffic, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday ordered building of flyovers and subways at an estimated cost of `231.68 crore.

According to an official release here, a flyover and a subway will be built at the intersection of Shandy Road and Kundrathur Road in Pallavaram at a cost of Rs 80.74 crore.

As many as 35 houses in Ayyanadaipu village in Thoothukudi district have started receiving renewable enery with the installation of a 240W DC solar power plant.

Tamil Nadu Energy Development Agency (TEDA), in association with Minda NexGenTech Ltd, a private company with an objective to promote the use of new and renewable sources of energy and energy conservation activities, has implemented the project.

Tamil Nadu would approach the Supreme Court and will not be a 'silent spectator' if Kerala Government went ahead with its plan to build a dam across the Siruvani river, Public Works Minister K V Ramalingam has said.

"Tamil Nadu will not give up its rights with regard to Siruvani and Mullaperiyar," he told reporters here yesterday. He said Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had written to the Prime Minister asking him to advise Kerala not to proceed with the irrigation scheme or any other project on the Siruvani at in violation of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal's final order.

Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Tuesday flagged off 826 buses on 304 routes across the State, through videoconferencing from the Secretariat, and handed over the keys for seven buses to the drivers.

While the first bus was operated from the CM’s constituency Srirangam to Trivandrum, buses on seven routes, including T Nagar-Koyambedu Bus Terminus (J27), Udumalai-Coimbatore, Namakkal-Coimbatore, Srivilliputhur- Thiruthangal, were operated in her presence.

The report of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a part of the World Health Organisation, that diesel fumes are as cancer-causing as asbestos, arsenic, mustard gas and tobacco is the