Gone are the days when there used to be a mad scramble to get Rs 99 tickets to Bangalore or bid online for Re 1 tickets to Chennai. Such tickets just don't exist anymore. After giving several Indians a taste of no frill,

With 15 states and several union territories voicing their concern about the severe shortage of vaccines following the closure of public sector manufacturing units by the Health Ministry in January, the Government is now looking towards private players to meet the demands of the affected states.

RIL To Kickstart Spot Crude Market With Indicative Benchmarked Price ENERGY major Reliance Industries (RIL), which is set to kick off the first spot crude oil market in the country, will be inviting price quotes from oil refining companies shortly.

Residents of a few pockets in the Okkiyam Thoraipakkam village panchayat, have been suffering due to the round-the-clock burning of plastics, kitchen waste and other forms of garbage. The village panchayat is among the 25 rural local bodies of St. Thomas Mount Panchayat Union (also called St. Thomas Mount Block). On the city's fringes and located off Rajiv Gandhi Salai or Information Technology Corridor, it has been witnessing massive development in construction of software and residential complexes.

To arrest seawater intrusion at Besant Nagar, the Groundwater circle of the Public Works Department has proposed a pilot project to divert rainwater from Taramani and its neighbouring places to recharge the Besant Nagar and Thiruvanmiyur areas. The project was approved by the State-level steering committee under the chairmanship of PWD secretary and has been sent to the Ministry of Water Resources for approval.

The drinking water situation in Chennai is comfortable and the city will not face any water shortage even during peak summer, Secretary to Public Works Department S. Audiseshiah said here on Saturday.

Tourism Minister Malladi Krishna Rao told the Assembly on Tuesday special tourism initiatives for Chennai-Mahabalipuram-Puducherry would start soon after holding talks with the Tamil Nadu Tourism department. Replying to the debate on demands, he said the department would take steps to obtain permission to start boat rides along the beach at a cost of Rs. 1 crore.

TAMBARAM: Gram sabhas, held on Thursday in 25 panchayats of St. Thomas Mount Panchayat Union (also called Mount Block) in connection with May Day, discussed the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and how it could benefit men and women aged above 18, seeking jobs. It is mandatory for these rural local bodies to convene gram sabhas or village council meetings on important national days. The subjects usually covered at the meetings in the St. Thomas Mount Block pertained to basic amenities and the welfare assistance for senior citizens and women.

THE movement of Nargis, the cyclone, is all set to raise the heat in Chennai in the next few days. Nargis, situated 550 km eastnortheast of Chennai, is predicted to intensify into a severe cyclonic storm and move towards the northerly direction and then turn northeast towards Bangladesh. This effectively means hopes of rain that people harboured, looking at cloudy skies, have been dashed. Chennai is unlikely to get even the isolated showers or thundershowers predicted earlier.

THE Madras High Court has restrained Sri Padma Chemicals Private Limited in Choonambedu village in Kancheepuram district from dumping its chemical waste on the lands outside the factory premises. The First Bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Prabha Sridevan gave the direction on Friday last, while passing interim orders on a public interest writ petition from K Umanath of Thothacherry village. The bench also ordered notice to the authorities concerned returnable by June 9, 2008.