Urban News

The Hindu 30.08.2009

Chennai Corporation to begin green initiative on September 15

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation will start a green initiative on September 15, in which a sapling will be planted to commemorate the birth of every child in the city.

Speaking at a function organised to distribute free colour television sets here on Saturday, Mayor M. Subramanian said, “Every birth certificate issued by the Corporation will require the Corporation officials to plant a sapling near the house of the parents.”

A certificate with details of the location, date of planting and other particulars of the tree would be issued to the parents, he said.

As the tree would be named after the child, the parents would have the obligation of maintaining and nurturing it, said Mr. Subramanian.

Saplings for babies of those parents residing in houses on rent would be planted in other locations . Around one lakh saplings would be planted in the city every year as part of the initiative.

The inauguration of the initiative to control global warming would be part of the birth anniversary celebration of former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai, said Mr. Subramanian.

Around 3.3 lakh free colour television sets have been distributed to beneficiaries in Chennai so far. A total of 4,350 sets were distributed in ward 142 of Mylapore on Saturday. A total of 75.41 lakh television sets have been distributed in the State.

Member of Legislative Assembly S.Ve. Sekar said the free colour television set would be a tool for people in gaining more awareness of news. Deputy Commissioner (Education) M. Balaji participated.

The Hindu 30.08.2009

Buildings lacking in fire-fighting gear

Deepa H Ramakrishnan

— Photo: M.Karunakaran

Making Assessment: Professional safety auditor G.N. Venkatasubramaniam (centre) with Fire and Rescue Service personnel at an electrical godown in north Chennai on Friday.

CHENNAI: Several buildings, including banks, jewellery shops, godowns and multi-storey complexes, in the city do not have the necessary fire-fighting equipment, according to the Department of Fire and Rescue Services.

Speaking to The Hindu on Saturday, Director-General of Police and Director, Fire and Rescue Services, R. Natraj said that loose wires, stacking of inflammable things, blocking emergency exits and storing goods at passageways were some of the problems that teams identified during fire audits being conducted.

On Saturday, a team of officials in north Chennai visited cracker shops and greeting-card stores. “We found that the cloth warehouses on Godown Street had not implemented any safety measure. They are cramped for space and exits are blocked. In some places, wires are just plugged into switch boards to draw power. We have advised them to install safety equipment. Even one spark could lead to major fires,” said a senior officer who was part of the fire safety audit team.

Teams consisting of two assistant divisional fire officers and one fire station officer visited over 278 major establishments. Chemical manufacturers and sellers on Nainiappa Naicken Street too did not have any safety measures.

Professional safety auditor G.N. Venkatasubramaniam, who went along with the personnel to north Chennai, said he asked them to look for possible points that could catch fire. Places where heat is generated from lighting, loose wires and old wiring could all cause sparks and in chemical warehouses this could lead to fire accidents, he said.

In Chennai south, over 900 establishments were inspected in Vadapalani, T. Nagar, Adyar and Mylapore. “Some shops had systems but they were not in good condition. In many cases, the employees do not know how to operate extinguishers and in others there is no periodical maintenance of the equipment,” said another officer.

“In a bank, we found documents being stacked up in an unsafe manner. Our teams have given suggestions to those who do not have proper fire safety measures and will be doing a re-check,” Mr. Natraj said.

He said that the idea of the audit was prevention. “Next year, they [shops and other establishments] have to get fire licences and we are conducting this checking as a precursor to that.”