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Tamil Nadu News Papers

Chennai City Corporations action plan

Tuesday, 26 November 2013 11:25
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News Today          26.11.2013

Chennai City Corporations action plan


 

 

 

 

Chennai: Motorists plying on various arterial roads in the city can soon heave a sigh of relief with the civic body gearing up to roll out an action plan that is intended at reducing smog along vital stretches across Chennai.

According to official sources, a slew of measures will be undertaken under trail basis in key roads such as 100-Feet Bypass Road, Velacheri and Velacheri-Tambaram Road.

An official says, 'The surfaces of these busy stretches are subjected to overuse thanks to surge in automobiles. The process of reducing sand deposits along these roads have started on a trial basis to curb pollution levels.' As per the main plan, Chennai Corporation will coordinate with various departments - Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB),  Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), traffic police, Chennai Metro water and transport department- to control air pollution across the city.

According to experts, the accumulation of sand on roads exceed the prescribed limit of Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM). Road users travelling from southern suburbs like Tambaram,  Seliayur and Medavakkam  feel that such a measure is the need of the hour to cut down pollution levels.

Deepa Ramakrishnan, a motorist at Velacheri Tambaram Road, says,Problems pertaining to respiratory problems is on the rise because of the smoke emitted by vehicles. People at the pink of health are becoming vulnerable to dust allergy and eye infection. It has become highly impossible to drive without pollution masks or covering face with handkerchief'.

The impenetrable smog in road sides can also lead to mishaps. 'Two-wheelers are likely to skid while negotiating heavy traffic on 100 Feet Bypass Road ', says Thyagarajan, a motorist. 'Less visibility amid cloud of dust toughens driving on this road', he adds.

However, these concerns of road users may become a thing of the past, if the action plan by the Corporation becomes a reality.

 

100 and going strong

Tuesday, 26 November 2013 10:42
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Deccan Chronicle        26.11.2013

100 and going strong

Chennai: Often referred to as Chennai’s own White House, the historic Ripon Buildings, where the city corporation has its headquarters, turns 100 on Tuesday.

One of the most loved landmarks of the city, located close to the Chennai Central Railway Station and opposite the Park Railway Station, it was built on November 26, 1913.

Both  beautiful and spacious, the heritage structure has rooms with ceilings so high that they measure 22 feet from the ground. The space this provides helps  keep Ripon’s interiors cool, notes former chief engineer of the city corporation, A. Swaminathan, recalling that during the early ’70s not many would even use a fan in its rooms. 

“ Only after the partitions came did the officials start using fans and later air conditioners. Even today it is the best eco- friendly building with better storm water drains than many parts of the city,” adds  the officer,  who served the corporation for 34 years.

Reflecting  Indo-Saracenic architecture, Ripon was built by Loganatha Mudaliyar and  took more than three years and  Rs 7.5 lakh to complete.  The 132 ft  tall building with corridors running over 252 feet,  was declared open by the then Viceroy and Governor General of India, Charles Hardinge.  

“It might be a little hard to believe but Ripon’s  clock tower is as tall as the rest of the building and is believed to be one of the biggest of its kind in the country. While the building is 30 meters tall, the clock tower adds another 28 meters to it,” says a senior corporation official.

While Ripon today has modern trappings like airconditioning, experts warn that it could suffer  damage because of them in the long run .  

“The civic body  has to bear in mind that the air conditioning inside Ripon could spoil the lime work in due course of time,” says Muzakkir Bijli, associate professor, Measi Academy of Architecture, explaining that the difference in temperature within and around the building created by the air conditioning could cause the lime plaster to peel off eventually.

 

Education department, corporation at loggerheads

Tuesday, 26 November 2013 10:39
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Deccan Chronicle        26.11.2013

Education department, corporation at loggerheads

Chennai: As many as 141 elementary, high and higher secondary schools in the city corporation’s extended areas, such as Perungudi, Tiruvo­tri­yur, Manali, Ambattur and Madhavaram, still function under the school education department even after the city corporation had requested it to hand them over.

According to Ripon Buil­ding sources, the top brass of the city corporation had sent a proposal to the state government for transfer of control. “We had submitted the proposal an year ago as the state government ext­ended our jurisdiction to include Chennai’s suburbs, including Perungudi, Tiru­votriyur, Manali, Ambattur and Madhavaram.

We are still waiting for the government’s nod to get these 141 schools under our control as we need to allot posts of existing teachers and headmasters as the new system is a cumbersome one,” a senior official said.

At present, the city corporation administers over 310 schools (elementary, high and higher) with a student strength of 98,857 and 4,041 teachers.

“The city corporation has been providing several schemes to meritorious students, including financial assistance to Class XII students, `25,000 every year for those who joined professional courses, such as MBBS and BE.

Even as the state’s school education department had been implementing various student welfare schemes in the 141 schools in the extended areas, we want to supplement them with our incentives,” the official said.

When asked about the city corporation’s proposal, a senior school education department official said that as it involved policy decisions to be taken at the State government’s level, they were clueless about the proposal.

 
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