The maximum fare to travel in a Chennai Metro will now be Rs 50 instead of Rs 70. The minimum fare stands at Rs 10. The announcement was made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday. The decision was taken by the government following the demand of several commuters and the same comes into practice from Monday.
READ | Chennai: Reduced Metro fare comes into practice from Monday; Rs 10 for up to 2 km
The Coimbatore Forest Department Sunday arrested a mahout and his assistant on charges of attacking an elephant at the government’s annual rejuvenation camp at Thekkampatti near Mettupalayam. In a video that surfaced on social media, Vinilkumar (46) and his assistant Sivaprasad (32) were seen brutally thrashing Jayamalyatha, an 18-year-old female elephant of Andal Temple in Sri Villiputhur, with sticks.
READ | Mahout, assistant booked for brutally attacking elephant at rejuvenation camp
For assistance on COVID-19-related queries and mental health support in Chennai, citizens can contact the Greater Chennai Corporation's (GCC) COVID-19 helpline 044 46122300 | Citizens can find the nearest GCC-facilitated COVID-19 fever clinic here | For lodging rain-related complaints and assistance during the monsoon, citizens can contact the GCC's monsoon helplines 044 25384530 or 044 25384540 or the control room 1913 (available 24x7)
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister O Panneerselvam presented the state interim budget for the year 2021-22 at Chennai’s Kalaivanar Arangam on Tuesday. This was the 11th budget speech for OPS under the AIADMK government.
During his introductory speech, O Panneerselvam stated that a total of Rs. 13,352 crore had been spent by the state government on COVID-19 relief operations in Tamil Nadu following the outbreak of the pandemic in March, 2020. He said that the impact of the pandemic has been echoed in the interim budget.
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With rising costs, the budget indicated that the state’s fiscal deficit is expected to be 4.99 per cent. The state debt, which is currently at Rs, 4.85 trillion is set to increase to Rs. 5.7 trillion, said OPS. Following the presentation of the interim budget for the year 2021-22, revenue has been projected at Rs 1,80,700.62 crore.
While concluding the budget speech, O Panneerselvam added that the ruling AIADMK will return to head the government and will complete the projects stated in the budget.
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Following the conclusion of the interim budget session, Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal announced that the session will be reconvened on February 25 at Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai.
Approval has been granted for constructing an industrial park at Kallapalayam in Coimbatore district.
Approval has been granted for constructing an industrial park at Kallapalayam in Coimbatore district.
Following the presentation of the interim budget for the year 2021-22, revenue has been projected at Rs 1,80,700.62 crore.
With rising costs, the budget has indicated that the state's fiscal deficit is expected to be 4.99 per cent.
A total of Rs. 100 crore has been allocated to improve the residential accommodations of those belonging to the Adi Dravidar community with basic amenities.
The budget has also allocated Rs. 1932 crore towards the improvement of the community.
Rs. 1276 crore has been allocated towards the Tribal sub-project in the State.
Presnting the interim budget at Chennai's Kalaivanar Arangam today, Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said that the outbreak of the pandemic has led to an expenditure amounting to Rs. 12,913 crore in the state.
Stating that Tamil Nadu had attracted maximum investments amid the pandemic, OPS announced that 62 investment projects worth Rs. 39,941 crore had been granted approval.
The interim budget has allocated Rs. 6448 crore for the Chennai-Kanyakumari industrial route project.
The Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation has been allocated Rs. 200 crore in the interim budget.
A total of 3140 crore has been allocated towards development projects by the Greater Chennai Corporation.
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, while presenting the interim budget for the year 2021-22 announced that Tamil Nadu has received Rs. 1492 from the World Bank to finance the state's housing sector.
Announcing that road development projects in Tamil Nadu have been completed ahead of the targetted date, OPS said Rs. 5171 crore has been allocated for Phase 2 of the project.
A total of 2749 community health complexes will be constructed in the state for Rs. 144.33 crore.
Around 40 lakh households will be provided with drinking water connection at a cost of Rs 3,016 crore.
The subsidy for roofing under the Prime Minister's housing scheme has been hiked to Rs. 70,000.
Launching BJP’s attempts to connect with voters in Tamil Nadu focusing on Tamil language and culture, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh delivered a surprise in his public rally in Salem on Sunday. Singh, who began his speech with usual “Vanakkam” and a war cry “Vetrivel Veeravel (victorious & courageous Vel Murugan)”, went on to emphasise Tamil people’s contribution in enriching Indian culture.
He spoke about the contributions of Rajaraja Chola and Rajendra Chola to lay the foundation of India’s maritime and naval strength, projected Tamil culture as the Amma of Indian culture and even referred to the Sensex boom as a Jallikkettu.
Even while attacking the Congress, he threw a question to the crowd whether they considered the opposition party as “nallavara kettavara” (bad or good, in the lines of one of the iconic dialogues by Kamal Haasan in the film Nayagan).
The BJP state unit was apparently thrilled that Singh could deliver such a speech, touching upon the glories of culture and language.
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A total of Rs. 1374 crore has been allocated towards construction work in the state.
OPS stated that the Sarabhanga Pumping project and Athikadavu Avinashi project will be completed soon.
Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam announced that Rs. 4371 crore has been distributed to beneficiaries under the state marriage assistance scheme.
Further, gold worth Rs. 1791 crore has been distributed to 12.5 lakh people over the last 10 years under the state marriage financing scheme.
An additional Rs. 100 crore has been alloacted towards the state police for modernising the force.
The relief provided for loss of paddy due to natural disasters has been hiked from Rs. 13,000 per hectare to Rs. 20,000 per hectare.
Amma mini clinics, which had been launched in December last year to provide essential healthcare services to the downtrodden were allocated Rs. 144 crore in the budget.
The state school education sector has received Rs. 34,181 crore in the interim budget.
While presenting the interim budget for the year 2021-22, Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam stated that the green cover in the state has increased by 15,900 hectares and added that Tamil Nadu ranks second in tree diversity.
The main opposition DMK on Tuesday boycotted the presentation of interim budget for 2021-22 in the Tamil Nadu assembly and walked out of the House.
As soon as the House convened for the budget and for tabling the demands for advance grants, Speaker P Dhanapal called Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam to present the interim financial statement.
However, DMK Deputy leader Duraimurugan was on his feet and sought the Chair's permission to express the party's 'view'. The Speaker replied that the budget has to be tabled and whatever the DMK leader spoke would not go on record.
Following this, all the DMK members stood up and sought the Speaker's permission to allow Duraimurugan to convey the party's opinion. As Panneerselvam began reading the budget, DMK members walked out after raising slogans for a while against the government. (PTI)
The interim budget allocated Rs. 1700 crore towards special schemes for the disabled to provide them with ease of access and other facilities.
Rs. 1953 has been allocated for social welfare in the state.
As a further incentive towards farmers in the state, Rs. 5000 crore has been allocated towards crop loan waiver.
The interim budget for the year 2021-22 has allocated Rs. 1932 crore towards the Adi Dravidar department.
Rs. 6,453 allocated to the Water Resources Department.
Giving a boost to the fishing industry in Tamil Nadu, the state fisheries department has been allocated Rs. 580 crore.
The state judiciary has been allocated Rs. 1437 crore in the interim budget for the year 2021-22.
A total of Rs. 1953.98 crore has been allocated towards the state's nutrition program.
Tamil Nadu will be procuring electric buses at a cost of Rs.1580 crore.
Tamil Nadu highways sectors has been allocated Rs. 18,750 crore in the budget for the year.
A total of Rs. 3700 crore has been allocated under the Prime Minister's housing scheme.
Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said that Rs. 9567 crore has been allocated in the interim budget towards the Tamil Nadu police department.
The interim budget for the year 2021-22 has allocated Rs. 1738 crore towards the state's agriculture sector.
A total of 436 crore has been allocated to the state fire department.
Rs 5,478 crore has been allocated for higher education in the interim budget for the year 2021-22.
Rs. 6,683 crore has been allocated to commence the Metro Rail project in Coimbatore.
A total of Rs. 19.42 crore has been allocated to the state health sector. The sector has played a robust role in containing the spread of COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu since the outbreak of the pandemic in the state in March last year.
Presenting the budget, OPS said that the state's debt burden, which is currently at Rs. 4.85 trillion is set to increase to Rs. 5.7 trillion.
After being denied permission to speak ahead of the budget session, DMK MLAs staged a walkout from session.
The interim budget session for the year 2021-22 has commenced at Chennai's Kalaivanar Arangam.
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam, who will be presenting the interim budget in Chennai today offered prayers at a Ganesha temple ahead of the session.
Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam will be presenting the interim budget for the year 2021-22 at Chennai’s Kalaivanar Arangam at 11 am today. The ruling AIADMK government is likely to announce new schemes during the budget.
A 35-year-old doctor has been arrested for allegedly stabbing his wife and then running her over with his car near Maduranthakam in Chengalpet district of Tamil Nadu, police said on Monday.
According to the police, the incident took place on Friday, when Dr Gokul Kumar went to the house of his estranged wife and attacked her and her parents. While the 33-year-old woman died, her parents are in the hospital.
Officers said the couple were married three years ago. Kumar, who worked at a private hospital in Potheri, had left his job during the pandemic. His wife Keerthana worked in a hospital in Melmaruvathur in the Human Resource Development department.
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A total of 235 flights will be operated between Chennai and major cities today, with 118 arrivals and 117 departures scheduled at the Chennai International Airport.
The maximum fare to travel in a Chennai Metro will now be Rs 50 instead of Rs 70. The minimum fare stands at Rs 10. The announcement was made by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday. The decision was taken by the government following the demand of several commuters and the same comes into practice from Monday.
As per the release, the commuters will now pay Rs 10 for a distance of up to two kilometers. From two to five kilometers, it will be Rs 20; from five to twelve kilometers, it will be Rs 30; from 12 to 21 kilometers, it will be Rs 40 and beyond 21 kilometers, it will be Rs 50.
Also, the commuters who utilise the unlimited day passes at Rs 100 for 45-kilometer-long Phase-I of Chennai Metro, can now travel till Wimco Nagar at the same cost ie., for 54 kilometers (including Washermanpet-Wimco Nagar 9km stretch) they need to pay just Rs 100.
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Tangedco has announced a powercut in parts of Chennai from 9 am to 2 pm to carry out maintenance work.
Here are the affected areas:
Tamil Nadu recorded 447 positive cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the state tally to 8,48,724. Among these, Chennai reported 151 positive cases, bringing the city’s total to 2,34,491. The state recorded six deaths on Monday, putting the state toll at 12,460. All six of them had succumbed due to comorbidities. A total of 461 patients were discharged following treatment, taking the total number of recoveries to 8,31,706.
As of Monday, the number of active COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu is 4091. Till date, 5,12,864 males, 3,35,825 females and 35 transgenders have tested positive for the virus in the state.
According to a bulletin released by the Health and Family Welfare Department of Tamil Nadu, 1,71,70,947 samples from the state have been tested till date, with 50,202 samples having been sent yesterday. There are 257 COVID-19 testing facilities in the state, out of which 69 are government and 188 are private facilities.
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Welcome to the live blog from Chennai and Hyderabad where we bring to you the latest updates on Tamil Nadu interim budget, Tamil Nadu elections 2021, COVID-19 vaccination, COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, UK COVID-19 virus in Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh and more across Chennai and Hyderabad throughout the day. Follow the blog to stay up to date with the states in real time.
Elections to local bodies in rural areas in Andhra Pradesh, known as gram panchayats, were held in four phases on February 9, 13, 17 and 21. The polling percentage for all four phases combined was about 81 per cent. The elections are not held on a party basis but candidates are backed by political parties.
The ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) backed candidates swept the panchayat polls while the main Opposition was left a distant second. Elections were held in 13,097 gram panchayats out of which YSRCP won 10,382 while the TDP won 2,063 and others won 475. There were indications that YSRCP would sweep the polls as after counting of the first phase polls, YSRCP backed candidates bagged 2657 of the 3,249 panchayat seats for which polls were held. TDP finished a distant second with 501 seats.The BJP in alliance with Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena Party won 46 seats and others, including independents, bagged 45 seats. The YSRCP kept up its performance by winning 2635 seats in the second phase while the TDP backed candidates won 558 seats. In the third phase, YSRCP backed candidates won 2191 seats while TDP won 263.
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The Coimbatore Forest Department Sunday arrested a mahout and his assistant on charges of attacking an elephant at the government’s annual rejuvenation camp at Thekkampatti near Mettupalayam.
In a video that surfaced on social media, Vinilkumar (46) and his assistant Sivaprasad (32) were seen brutally thrashing Jayamalyatha, an 18-year-old female elephant of Andal Temple in Sri Villiputhur, with sticks.
Within a few hours of the clip going viral, several wildlife conservationists and activists demanded strict action against the caretakers. The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, which is holding the camp for the elephants, said they will conduct an inquiry and initiate necessary action. Kumar, a third-generation mahout who was taking care of the elephant since 2011, was later suspended.
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Telangana recorded 114 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, pushing the total caseload to 2,97,712, while the death toll rose to 1,625 with one more fatality, the state government said on Monday.
The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) accounted for the most number of cases with 24, followed by Rangareddy with 12 and Warangal Urban and Sangareddy districts with nine cases each, it said in a bulletin.
The cumulative recovered cases stood at 2,94,386, while 1,701 were under treatment. The bulletin said 14,744 samples were tested on February 21. Cumulatively, the number of samples tested was 84,71,684. The samples tested per million population was 2,27,611, it said.
The recovery rate in the state was 98.88 per cent while the case fatality rate in the state was 0.54 per cent. (PTI)
Bike taxi platform Rapido on Monday announced the launch of rental services for multi-point trips in six cities --Bangaluru, Delhi NCR, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata and Jaipur.
Rapido Rental can be booked under selected package duration of one hour, two hours, three hours, four hours and six hours, and a dedicated 'Captain' (Rapido driver partner) will be available with the customer throughout the trip, it said in a statement.
"Introducing the concept of 2W bike taxi rental services, the company aims to cater to those customers who have to complete multiple tasks at different locations and want to avoid the hassle of multiple bookings and waiting for the ride to arrive," it said. (PTI)