Latest news with #Fengal
The Hindu
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Stalin twisting my remarks on HR and CE-run schools and colleges, says Edappadi Palaniswami
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Thursday alleged that Chief Minister M.K. Stalin was misrepresenting his views on the role of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department in managing educational institutions with temple funds. Addressing a gathering of party workers following a roadshow at Villupuram, Mr. Palaniswami said: 'The HR and CE Department cannot offer all the facilities by running educational institutions on its own. Only if such institutions are opened as government arts and science colleges, full-fledged amenities can be ensured. The Chief Minister has twisted my remarks to spread misleading propaganda, which is highly condemnable. Does the State government lack the funds to run these colleges?' He said that during the AIADMK's tenure in power (different periods), it established 67 government arts and science colleges, 21 polytechnic colleges, seven law colleges, four engineering colleges, five agricultural colleges, and 17 medical colleges. He recalled that during his tenure as Chief Minister, a 7.5% internal reservation for government school students in medical education was introduced and the State had recorded the highest Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education at 54%. Mr. Palaniswami criticised the DMK government over vacancies in colleges. He said, 'A total 96 out of 180 government arts and science colleges in the State are functioning without principals.' He also alleged that a university established by the AIADMK government in Villupuram in the name of former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa was abolished by the DMK government. Mr. Palaniswami alleged that Villupuram district was severely affected by Cyclone Fengal due to the DMK government's inadequate disaster preparedness. 'The Sathanur dam was opened at midnight without prior warning. The flooding in South Pennar led to extensive waterlogging across Villupuram, leaving residents in distress,' he added.
Indian Express
23-06-2025
- Climate
- Indian Express
Rapid warming, extreme weather hit Asia hard in 2024, killing thousands and impacting economies: report
With its average temperature 1.04 degree Celsius above the last 30-year average, 2024 ranked as Asia's warmest to second warmest year on record, owing to different dataset interpretations, and its warming was nearly twice as fast as the global average, said a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The impacts of this high rate of warming in 2024 manifested through a range of extreme weather events, such as 29 tropical cyclones, prolonged and intense heat waves, and extreme rainfall events, that together killed thousands. These weather events also caused substantial losses to local communities and economies at large. 'The warming trend between 1991-2024 was almost double of that during the 1961-1990 period,' said the State of Climate in Asia 2024 report. The report is prepared by WMO in collaboration with regional and international meteorological organisations. 'Extreme weather is already exacting an unacceptably high toll,' said Professor Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General, WMO. She added that the report highlights how changes in key climate indicators such as surface temperature, glacier mass and sea level will have major repercussions for societies, economies and ecosystems in the region. The surface temperatures were warmer than average for almost the entire region, the WMO report said, and they were particularly above average from western China to Japan, over the Indochina Peninsula, the Middle East and central northern Siberia. Japan, for instance, experienced its warmest year on record, exceeding the previous record set in 2023. The region was hit by intense land heat waves as well as marine heat waves. East Asia saw prolonged heatwaves from April to November, and monthly average temperature records were shattered in Japan, the Republic of Korea and China. In India, extreme heatwaves caused over 450 deaths across the country, the report said. India also saw deadly lightning events, killing about 1,300 people across the country. Among tropical cyclones, Yagi was the strongest and deadliest in 2024. It impacted the Philippines, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, China, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, and according to estimates, the damages ran into billions of dollars. The northern Indian Ocean, which is adjacent to Japan and the Yellow and East China seas, faced particularly severe or extreme intensity of marine heatwaves. In terms of its extent, marine heatwaves created a record in 2024, impacting an area of nearly 15 million square kilometres. While four tropical cyclones – Remal, Fengal, Dana – made landfall in the Indian sub-continent and killed about 90 people, Cyclone Asna, originating from the Arabian Sea, caused flooding in Gujarat and killed about 50 people. In terms of rainfall, above normal rain was observed in the Arabian desert, Balochistan, parts of Myanmar, certain islands in Japan and even in the Siberian plains. Very heavy rainfall affected western Asia in mid-April, with daily rainfall in some areas exceeding the long-term annual average rainfall. The Dubai airport received 162.88 mm in 36 hours on 15 and 16 April, including 142 mm on April 16. Meanwhile, Pakistan recorded its wettest April, and India witnessed the deadly rain-triggered landslide in Kerala's Wayanad district. Over 500 mm of rainfall in 48 hours was said to be one of the chief causes of the disaster, which killed over 350 people. Glaciers continued to lose mass, as per the report, with 23 out of 24 glaciers in the High Mountain Asia region of central-south Asia spanning the Himalayas, Pamir mountains, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush. 'Reduced winter snowfall and extreme summer heat in the central Himalayas and most of the Tian Shan intensified mass loss for most glaciers. Notably, Urumqi Glacier No. 1, located in eastern Tian Shan, recorded its most negative mass balance since measurements began in 1959,' the report. An award-winning journalist with 14 years of experience, Nikhil Ghanekar is an Assistant Editor with the National Bureau [Government] of The Indian Express in New Delhi. He primarily covers environmental policy matters which involve tracking key decisions and inner workings of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. He also covers the functioning of the National Green Tribunal and writes on the impact of environmental policies on wildlife conservation, forestry issues and climate change. Nikhil joined The Indian Express in 2024. Originally from Mumbai, he has worked in publications such as Tehelka, Hindustan Times, DNA Newspaper, News18 and Indiaspend. In the past 14 years, he has written on a range of subjects such as sports, current affairs, civic issues, city centric environment news, central government policies and politics. ... Read More
The Hindu
05-06-2025
- Climate
- The Hindu
State Highways to construct new bridge across Then Pennar river in Tiruvannamalai
The State Highways Department is planning to construct a new high-level bridge across the Then Pennar river between Agarampallipattu and Thondamanur village near Thandrampattu town in Tiruvannamalai as a replacement to the collapsed bridge there, as residents have been pressing for their demand of easy connectivity to reach nearby towns. The proposal of the Highways Department comes after the newly-opened ₹15.9-crore bridge across the river collapsed when excess rainwater of over two lakh cusecs was released from Sathanur dam, located 24 km from the village upstream, following heavy rainfall triggered by Cyclone Fengal in December. 'Ever since the bridge collapsed, we had had to trek at least 20 km to reach nearby towns like Thandrampattu and from then, it has been a long-standing demand of the residents of at least 8-10 villages,' D. Pulivendan, president, Thondamanur village panchayat, said. The bridge that collapsed was inaugurated by Minister for Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports E.V. Velu, on September 2, 2024. 'Technical design and estimated cost for the proposed bridge across the river is ready. Work on the new bridge will commence in the coming months,' a State Highways official told The Hindu. According to Highways officials, the project to construct the proposed bridge would be executed by the Construction and Maintenance wing of the Department, led by P. Gnanavel, Divisional Engineer (DE), State Highways (Tiruvannamalai), with funds sanctioned under the NABARD scheme. As per plan, the proposed high-level bridge will be 250 metre long and 12 metre wide. The height of the new bridge will be at least 12 metres — five metres higher than the collapsed bridge. Officials said that an increase in height, especially the decks of the bridge, would help the structure to withstand huge influx of excess rainwater released in the river during heavy rainfall. The rise in height of the new structure was decided based on a study of massive floods that happened over the past 100 years, officials said. Another key change is that the proposed bridge would be built away from the collapsed structure. Highways officials attribute change of river course to be the reason for moving away from the earlier location of the bridge. 'The new plan is to build the bridge at least 200 metre away from the collapsed bridge as the river course is much more straight now. The study found that the curved portion of the river could have been the reason for the structural instability of the earlier bridge that collapsed,' said an official. Highway officials said that the proposal for the new bridge has been sent to the State government for financial clearance as technical study for the project has been completed. The project will be announced by the State government in the coming weeks before tenders were floated for the new bridge.
New Indian Express
05-06-2025
- Climate
- New Indian Express
Thenpennai bridge washed away in December 2024 floods not designed per norms: Arappor Iyakkam
CHENNAI: The Rs 15.9-crore bridge built across Thenpennai river, connecting Agarampallipattu and Thondamanur villages in Tiruvannamalai district, which was inaugurated last September and washed away in the unprecedented floods in December during Cyclone Fengal, was not constructed as per the design standards recommended by the Indian Road Congress for high-level bridges. Soon after the bridge's collapse, the highways department had said that the bridge was designed to withstand flood levels up to 54,000 cusecs and on the day of the collapse (December 3), the water flow in the river was triple the level at 1.68 lakh cusecs. However, documents released on Wednesday by NGO Arappor Iyakkam showed that the maximum water discharge recorded in the last 100 years was not taken into consideration, as recommended by the IRC. It said that this is despite the Public Works Department communicating to the state highways before the finalisation of the contract for the bridge that a maximum discharge of 2.8 lakh cusecs was recorded in the river near the proposed site in 1972, which is 40 % lesser than the discharge witnessed during the floods in December.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
Virugambakkam canal choked with waste
Chennai: Although the past five months were an ideal period to restore and deepen canals, while strengthening boundary walls, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) did little to restore the Virugambakkam Canal, vital for draining storm water from several central neighbourhoods. GCC took possession of the canal from the water resources department earlier this year. This 6.5km-long canal, originating in Nerkundram, is clogged with silt and garbage, triggering fears of flooding, especially near Panimalar Engineering College at Aminjikarai, near the outfall point. Traversing through Virugambakkam, Arumbakkam, Aminjikarai, and ending at Cooum River next to Nelson Manickam Road, the canal is meant to prevent flooding of at least 18,000 houses in the neighbourhoods. However, over the past year, its flow drastically weakened due to heavy silt deposits, illegal dumping, and structural bottlenecks. Near its outfall point from the Nelson Manickam Road bridge, TOI spotted heaps of plastic and solid waste dumped and levelled. There's food scrap, liquor bottles, and even cardboard items narrowing the canal. GCC has not plugged sewage in any of the stormwater drain outfalls too. "Even short spells of rain lead to stagnation for hours, coupled with mosquito infestation," said K Vineeth, a resident. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Tukarkan Bitcoin dan Ethereum - Tanpa Dompet Diperlukan! IC Markets MULAI SEKARANG Undo "The canal overflowed during Cyclone Fengal, when 10cm of rainfall caused flooding in Nungambakkam, Koyambedu, and Aminjikarai. Water stagnated for more than a day," he added. GCC officials, however, said estimates are being prepared to restore the canal. "Of the 24 bridges across the canal, 11 with narrow two-ft-wide vents are set to be demolished and replaced with eight-ft-high culverts to improve flow. These old bridges cut flow from 1,700cusecs to 800, leading to flooding. It will be fixed," said a zonal official from Teynampet. GCC also plans a 2.5km cut-and-cover diversion drain from Aminjikarai to Cooum to ease the load on the canal's outfall. A bathymetric study with IIT-Madras is underway to desilt 35 choke points and restore the canal's original 19-metre width, reduced to five in some spots due to encroachments. Eviction notices have been issued, and the canal depth will be increased by up to five ft. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
