The Hindu                            27.02.2013

Popular Amma canteens at GH and CMBT next?

The Rajiv Gandhi Govt. General Hospital receives at least 10,000 visitors a day and needs an eatery to supplement its canteen —File Photo

Following the popularity of ‘Amma Unavagam’, the budget restaurants begun by the Chennai Corporation in the city, the civic body now has a new initiative in mind.

It is planning to commission similar restaurants to help people who visit the city from other parts of the State and country, and intends to set them up at crowded hubs here such as the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus, Chennai Central railway station and the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, among others.

The Corporation’s health department has asked zonal officials to identify suitable locations such as these to commission the budget restaurants. These restaurants will have relatively higher prices, but will still be for affordable visitors, and will serve healthy food. Prices have not been decided as yet, but zonal officials have started to study locations where people from other cities, towns or villages gather in large numbers.

The most important beneficiaries are likely to be visitors from less-privileged economic backgrounds, who come to referral hospitals in the city. The Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital, which receives the largest number of patients from across the State, has 2,722 beds and they are permanently occupied. On an average, the hospital receives around 10,000 visitors who come to see their relatives or friends, hospital dean V. Kanagasabai said. A budget restaurant would supplement the hospital’s much sought-after canteen, he added.

The other three tertiary care hospitals are also badly equipped food-wise. An official at the Government Royapettah Hospital said of the total number of patients it receives only 10 per cent are from the city. Since the hospital caters to a large population, it desperately needs a budget restaurant.

Chennai Central station also receives a large load of visitors, with at between one to two lakhs persons thronging the premises every day.

The Hindu                              27.02.2013

Tribunal declines to vacate interim order on Periya Eri

Staff Reporter 

The National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench, on Tuesday expressed its displeasure over non-implementation of its order restraining the Pallavaram municipality from dumping garbage into the Periya Eri (lake) and also declined to accede to the plea of commissioner to vacate its interim order and to permit the local body to use the site temporarily.

In September last, the Tribunal granted an interim injunction restraining the municipality from dumping garbage in the lake following an application from S.P. Surendranath Karthik, Madipakkam. In his application, Mr.Karthik had said the lake, one of the major water resources for the entire locality, was facing problems such as dumping of garbage.

Again on February 14, the petitioner’s counsel brought to the Tribunal’s notice that the municipality continued to dump garbage in spite of its order. Hence, the Tribunal had directed the Municipal Commissioner to appear before it and explain why the civic body continued the practice.

S. Ramamoorthy, the Commissioner, appeared in person on Tuesday before the Bench comprising its judicial member Justice M.Chockalingam and expert member R.Nagendran. The Commissioner also sought the Tribunal to vacate the ex parte interim injunction and to permit the municipality to use the land temporarily as no alternative land was available.

In his counter, the Commissioner said, “As there is no other land available in municipal limits, the said piece of land that lies outside the waterspread area of the lake has been in use for the past 40 years for dumping garbage. Till date, there has been no objection from any person living in the area around the said land.”

“There is no other available site for the disposal of garbage of 100 tonnes per day till the formation of a solid waste management project at Venkatamangalam other than the present site at Periya Eri. The garbage has to be cleared on daily basis, failing which the authority will be failing in its duty to public,” the Commissioner said.

Declining to vacate the interim order as sought by the Commissioner, the Tribunal said, “The explanation put forth by the Commissioner is thoroughly unsatisfactory. The interim injunction continues to be in force.”

Posting the matter to March 3, the Tribunal directed the petitioner’s counsel to file his response to the plea made by the Commissioner.