Reed pens, ink bottles, stacks of papers — these are the first things you notice when you step into the computer-less office of The Musalman. Aged a venerable 91, what is possibly the world’s only handwritten newspaper (and the only one without a computer) shows no signs of signing off. In its office in Chennai, a dark green visiting card bears the newspaper’s name and that of its editor, Sayed […]
Hundreds of Coast Guard men, engineering students and fishermen are using their hands to clear a giant oil spill in the sea near Chennai, with a machine proving useless in pumping out the thickening sludge. Tonnes of oil spilled into the sea when two cargo ships collided on Saturday. Environmentalists are worried because nearly half a dozen turtles have died in the polluted area. In four days, half the oil […]
One hundred and fifty six Alexandrine parakeets were seized from a trader’s house in Chennai on Friday morning. The trader was then arrested from his house. Mujeed Hassan, who hails from Ayanavaram, had brought the parakeets from Andhra Pradesh and had meant to sold them in Chennai markets. Speaking to The News Minute, Pradeep, Inspector, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, said, “It was a joint operation by the Wildlife Crime Control […]
It has not rained in Chennai since about 4 pm, a little after Cyclone Vardah hit the Tamil Nadu coast on Monday afternoon making landfall about 15 km away from the capital. But after a one-hour lull, strong winds have started to blow again. The cyclone struck land with a wind speed of 120 and 130 kmph, bringing with it heavy rain that lashed the coast in Tamil Nadu and […]
The 204-year-old Madras Literary Society in Chennai is getting a new lease of life, thanks to youthful volunteers and a social media campaign. Karthik Subramanian finds out more. The sight takes your breath away. As you step in, you encounter bookshelf after bookshelf rising up from the floor to the ceiling. It is as though you have stumbled upon a waterfall of books. The Madras Literary Society library located in the […]
One person was killed and three others were injured in police firing in Bengaluru as the Cauvery water dispute took a violent turn on Monday following a Supreme Court order to Karnataka to release 12,000 cusecs of water from the river to Tamil Nadu till September 20. The court had, on September 5, ordered the state to release 15,000 cusecs a day By late night, curfew was imposed in 16 […]
With the awful memories of the last year’s floods still fresh in their mind, people in Chennai have begun preparations to tackle the worst situation in coming days. The MeT Department has issued a cyclone alert for north Tamil Nadu and south coastal Andhra Pradesh, predicting heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours. The reports say that the local civic body has deployed over 1000 officials to handle any emergency […]
A statue of the late pop star Michael Jackson has been installed in the southern Indian city of Chennai. The 10ft (3m) statue was sculpted by “diehard fan” Chandrasekaran, out of a single piece of black granite. Mr Chandrasekaran said he had tried to donate the statue to Jackson’s family and install it in Neverland Ranch, but had been unable to do so. The BBC was unable to independently verify […]
Even as Chennai is grappling to get back to normalcy and come to terms with the absolute devastation it underwent through the past week’s huge flooding, its ripples can be felt miles away at the Climate Change Summit in Paris too. The unnaturally high rains and the whopping intensity coupled with the tragic loss of life has not just left Indians in a state of shock but diplomats and officials […]
The govt. has started releasing 20,000 cubic feet per second of water from Chembarambakkam reservoir, the highest volume of outflow in several years. Heavy rains today pounded several parts of Tamil Nadu and inundating most areas of Chennai, severely disrupting flights, train and bus services and forcing postponment of half—yearly school exams even as the state braced for more showers in next four days. As the death toll in rain—related […]
