Chennai to get 250, including 100 mini-buses, says Transport Minister

Three thousand new buses will be introduced this year at a cost of Rs.548 crore for the State, and the city will get 250 buses, including 100 mini-buses, Transport Minister V. Senthil Balaji informed the Assembly on Tuesday The mini-buses will act as a transit transport facility between the residential locality of the commuter and bus stops/train stations.

All-time low of 29 against the maximum capacity of 143 feet

TIRUNELVELI: Even as storage level at Papanasam dam, the mainstay of the district's irrigation system, touched the all-time low of 29 feet against the maximum capacity of 143 feet on Tuesday, isolated rain spell was experienced in some parts of the district in the afternoon.

Though this brief drizzle has sowed hope among the farming

A total of 509 toilets have been constructed in schools against the district administration's target of 532. Moreover, toilets have been constructed in all the anganvadis in the district

The Green Ventures Carbon Fund has tied up with a few major European financial partners and are actively looking for Indian strategic partners and project developers either for carbon credits or to jo

2 persons hospitalised each week; 25 fish released in contaminated water died BY V KRITHIGA Tirunelveli The villagers of Poolangulam (near Alangulam), are in deep trouble and confusion due to repeated illnesses caused in their village. Though the villagers argue that the illness is due to the contaminated drinking water, the panchayat chairman claims it to be the handiwork of 'some persons' who want to bring down his reputation. Since December 2007, an average of two persons are admitted tothe hospital every week due to diarrhoea and vomiting. A couple of days back, six villagers were admitted to the Primary Health Centre in Pavoorchatram with complaints of diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach pain. The villagers pinpoint the contaminated drinking water as the major cause of continuous illness. They were stunned when around 25 fish which were put in this contaminated water died recently. The village has a population of around 3,000. Two bore wells, one open well and water from a combined drinking water scheme are the sources of drinking water. The panchayat chairman, Navaneedha Samy first said, that 'some persons' had mixed an unknown chemical in the drinking water in order to tarnish his reputation for him but later said the illness was not due to water contamination but due to regular consumption of beef by the villagers. 'The villagers consume beef regularly and around 100 kg of beef is sold every day in the village', he claims. According to Ramar of Poolangulam, 'our village is going through a bad phase for months due to repeated illness caused by the contaminated water. The panchayat chairman doesn't seem to be bothered about the villagers and does not visit those who get admitted to the hospital'. The villagers want the district administration to intervene immediately and check the level of contamination. They want a strict warning to be given to the the panchayat chairman for his uncaring attitude.

When the entire nation is working for the dream project of linking all the rivers across the nation, the Tamirabarani River, one of the two perennial rivers in Tamil Nadu, is going through a dark phase. as 70 per cent of the river stands polluted. The river, which originates more than 2,000 metres from a peak in hills of the Western Ghats above Papanasam in the Ambasamudram taluk, flows through the Tirunelveli & Thoothukudi districts. A study conducted by Prof N Khaja Mohideen, Department of Chemistry, Sadakathullah Appa College, Palayamkottai, has revealed the highly polluted nature of the Tamirabarani River. According to the study, over 50,000 goats are sacrificed on the day of Adi Ammavasai function held at Sorimuthu Ayyanar Temple at Papanasam. The blood drains into the river and on the same day, at least around 50,000 persons shave their head and the hair is also thrown in to the river. The river becomes an open toilet for the over-four lakh people who throng the festival. Effluents from 4,961 small-scale industries (4,203 in Tirunelveli and 758 in Thoothukudi) and 19 large and medium-scale industries functioning in the river basin are sidetracked to the river. There are around 866 cremation grounds in the district and the ashes and bones, which have not burned, are also thrown in to the river. Illegal and indiscriminate sand mining has also affect ed the river. At Tirunelveli, dead dogs and pigs can be seen in the sewage pools of the Tamirabarani river bed that serves as a drinking water source for four districts. Moreover, the drainage of Ganeshapuram, Sindhupoonthurai and Meenakshipuram areas in Tirunelveli and wastes of hotels and hospitals are let into the river. Raj Mohan, a professor of a private college working in the field of water pollution says making Tamirabarani pure is impossible but steps could be taken to control the river getting more polluted. He suggests that the government should closely monitor the process of discharge of effluents by the industrial units and must not grant any new license for any more industries to set up their establishments close to the river banks.