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CHENNAI: Chennai's water bodies may be contaminated with Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), also known as 'forever chemicals', but Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) says there is no mandate nor technology available to treat them, both in drinking water and wastewater. The submission was made by CMWSSB superintending engineer Sivakumar in an affidavit before the Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The tribunal had registered a suo motu case based on media reports highlighting alarming levels of PFAS in waterbodies, including drinking water sources such as Chembarambakkam lake. A recent study by IIT Madras, published in a scientific journal, found PFAS concentrations in the city's water to be nearly 19,400 times higher than the safety levels set by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The chemicals were detected in groundwater near the Perungudi dumpyard, and in the Adyar river, Buckingham Canal, and Chembarambakkam lake. 'Forever chemicals', due to their persistent nature and strong carbon-fluorine bonds, are widely used in products like non-stick cookware, food packaging, and firefighting foams. When present in drinking water, they pose serious health risks, including links to cancer and liver ailments. A metro water official stated that current treatment facilities are not equipped to remove PFAS due to inadequate infrastructure and limited technical expertise. However, CMWSSB maintains that it meets Indian Standard (IS:10500) requirements for treated water. Sivakumar said the Union Environment Ministry and the Central Pollution Control Board must issue specific guidelines for PFAS regulation. Though advanced PFAS treatment methods are being explored in the US, EU, Australia, and China, their adoption in developing countries remains limited due to high costs and lack of expertise.
New Delhi: The house-listing operations for the forthcoming census will begin from Apr. 1, 2026, marking the start of the first phase of the decennial exercise, the Registrar General of India has said. In a letter to Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories, Census Commissioner and Registrar General of India Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan said the House-listing Operations and Housing Census shall begin on Apr. 1, 2026. Before that the appointment of supervisors, enumerators and work distribution among them shall be done with cooperation from States and District Administrations, it said. ...Read More >
CHENNAI: The Water Resources Department (WRD) has commenced flood mitigation works to address waterlogging in the southern parts of Chennai. This is part of the 12 integrated flood mitigation projects for which the department received approval from the State government. These projects, which were announced in the State budget, would alleviate flooding in Chennai, Tiruvallur, and Kanchipuram districts, said a statement, adding that the government has allocated Rs 338 crore for the projects for 2025-26 financial year. In the first phase of the work that was launched on Monday by Water Resource ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) YouTuber Samay Raina appeared before the National Commission for Women (NCW) in Delhi on Tuesday, months after he was summoned in connection with allegedly offensive and sexist content aired during his show "India's Got Latent", officials said. Raina was also among the five social media influencers who appeared before the Supreme Court in a case seeking action against them for ridiculing persons suffering from disabilities. Raina submitted his statement in response to the allegations to NCW officials. Officials said further steps will be considered after reviewing his ...Read More >
BALASORE: In a heart-wrenching incident, a man was forced to carry his 17-year-old daughter's body on a trolley rickshaw for around 7 km to a community health centre in Balasore's Baliapal for postmortem after reportedly failing to afford an ambulance. Asha Bindhani, a minor girl suffering from mental illness, reportedly died by suicide on Thursday afternoon in Deula village under Baliapal police limits. After spotting her, locals informed her father Madhu Bindhani and the police. Madhu, a daily wage labourer, rushed to the spot and found his daughter dead. Shortly after, police arrived and ...Read More >
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Bihar and West Bengal on August 22. He will lay the foundation stone and inaugurate multiple development projects worth around Rs 13,000 crore at Gaya in Bihar at around 11 am. He will also flag off two trains and address the gathering. Thereafter, he will visit and inaugurate the Aunta-Simaria bridge project on the River Ganga. PM Modi will also flag off metro train services on the newly constructed sections in Kolkata at around 4:15 pm and undertake a metro ride from Jessore Road Metro Station to Jai Hind Bimanbandar and back. Further, he ...Read More >
Jaipur: Police in Didwana have stepped up their probe into a cross-border smuggling case in which they arrested two arms and drug smugglers on June 27 for supplying Austrian Glock and Chinese Norinco pistols. It has emerged that the case has links to a massive Rs 300-crore heroin consignment seized by Punjab's Amritsar police near the India-Pakistan border in Barmer on June 30. Canada-based Joben Kaler was identified as the main overseas handler of the heroin consignment. Didwana-Kuchaman police had arrested Mohammad Ilyas from Khunkhuna and Amarjeet Singh Takhar, alias Prince, from Jalandhar ...Read More >
Kanpur: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has raised grave concerns regarding water contamination and health complications arising from the presence of chromium, mercury, fluoride, and iron in Kanpur, Kanpur Dehat, and adjacent Fatehpur. The tribunal has commissioned the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, to investigate these issues thoroughly, noting insufficient rigour in govt assessments.The amicus curiae advocate's findings revealed dangerous concentrations of chromium, mercury, fluoride, and iron in soil and groundwater samples. Govt health camps detected elevated ...Read More >
ess than 24 hours after he asserted in Nigeria's Abuja that stepping out of the comfort zone, innovating and creating new paths has now become the very essence of today's India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday told the gathering of world's most influential leaders converged in Rio de Janeiro for the G20 Summit that the main reason for India's success lies in his government's 'back to basics' and 'march to the future' approach. Addressing the G20 session on 'Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty' at the bayside museum of modern art during the two-day 19th G20 Summit, ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) Two people died and four others were injured after a fire broke out at a house in east Delhi's Old Govindpura area on Tuesday evening, an official said. Police have identified the deceased as Tanveer (28) and Nusrat. A call was received at Jagatpuri police station at 8.46 pm regarding a fire incident at Band Gali, Old Govindpura, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said. When a police team reached the spot, it found that 10 people were trapped inside a residential building that caught fire, the DCP said. With the help of police personnel and fir ...Read More >
Berhampur: A case has been registered against a Class IV employee for allegedly offering urine instead of water to a newly appointed engineer of the rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) department at R Udayagiri in Gajapati district, recently."Police swung into action after an FIR was lodged by Sachin Gouda, the engineer, at R Udayagiri police station on Thursday evening," said Suresh Tripathy, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), R Udayagiri. Police sought sample of the water which was served to the engineer for laboratory test.The employee was identified as Siba Narayan Nayak. During in ...Read More >
Chandigarh: Officials of Municipal Corporation Chandigarh have revealed that the top 20 property tax defaulters of the city are yet to clear dues of over Rs 190 crore, while property tax arrear cases worth Rs 62 crore are under litigation in the Punjab and Haryana high court. Citing different reasons, occupants of seven properties, out of the top 20, have challenged the MC's arrears amount, following which the authority failed to recover the amount from them. All these properties fall under the commercial category. As per official data of the Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, commercial prope ...Read More >
New Delhi, Jun 29 (PTI) The Congress on Sunday attacked the Centre and Rajasthan governments over the reported plan to redraw the boundaries of the Sariska Tiger Reserve for the reactivation of over 50 mining operations, saying the move would be "ecologically devastating". The opposition party also said that with the Rajasthan and Union environment ministers both being from Alwar, this "double engine" cannot be supporting such a move. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared on X a media report which claimed that a plan to redraw the boundaries of Rajasthan's ...Read More >
NEW DELHI: Signalling the government's intent to move ahead with the impeachment motion of Allahabad High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Thursday said that main opposition parties have given their in-principle approval to support the motion in the upcoming monsoon session scheduled for July21-August 21. Rijiju said that the government is yet to decide whether the motion would be brought in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. For the Lok Sabha, signatures of a minimum 100 MPs is required. The requirement is the support of at least 50 MPs in the Rajya Sabha. H ...Read More >
Samastipur (Bihar) [India], July 8 (ANI): In a continued effort to modernise and upgrade railway infrastructure in Bihar, Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw on Monday laid the foundation stone and inaugurated several key projects worth Rs 17.30 crore at Karpoorigram Station under the Samastipur division. At the outset, Vaishnaw inspected the Digha Bridge Halt and thoroughly reviewed passenger amenities, safety, cleanliness, platform condition, drinking water, lighting, and security arrangements, according to a statement from the Ministry of Railways. He directed officials to work t ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], July 13 (ANI): Sneha Debnath, a 19-year-old girl from Sabroom in South Tripura district, reportedly went missing in the national capital. Following this, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha gave necessary instructions to the police to take immediate and appropriate action on the matter. Also Read | Trump Announces 30% Tariffs on EU Goods as Trade Talks Stall. In a statement posted on its official social media account, the Tripura Chief Minister's Office stated, "The report of Miss Sneha Debnath, a resident of Sabroom, who has reportedly gone missing in New Delhi, has come t ...Read More >
New Delhi: Protest at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) against a recently announced fee hike, the long-standing suspension of students' union elections and calls for administrative accountability have entered their sixth day, with students boycotting classes and staging sit-ins at the Bab-e-Syed gate (the iconic entrance of the varsity). The fee structure for different courses has witnessed a sharp revision. Students say the hike ranges from 25% to over 60% across various programmes. Many claim they first learned of the revised fees only while trying to pay through the university's online ...Read More >
Gurgaon: Two days after a law student died and his friend suffered critical injuries when a car knocked them down as they stood near railing on the service lane of Delhi-Jaipur highway in the early hours of Tuesday, a civil engineer was arrested on Thursday.Mohit (31), an employee of a private company in the city, told police that he got drowsy while driving. He is staying at a PG facility in Sector 14.The student who died, Harsh Singhal (25), was a resident of Om Nagar colony. His friend Abhishek Kumar (23), who is from Shanti Nagar in Sector 11, is undergoing treatment at a private hospital ...Read More >
Hyderabad: In a major crackdown on illegal water supply operations, HYDRAA (Hyderabad Residents Awareness and Action Association) filed a formal complaint against several water tanker operators accused of illegally drawing polluted water from Sunnam Cheruvu in Madhapur and supplying it to hostels and residential areas. Acting on the complaint, Madhapur Police registered a case against multiple private tanker operators who were reportedly extracting water from unauthorised borewells and selling it under the pretext of clean drinking water. HYDRAA revealed that the contaminated water was being ...Read More >
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Jabalpur High Court has sought expert opinion on the viability of using a plastic-coated landfill to dispose of chemical waste from the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) at Pithampur. On Monday, the bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Dinesh Kumar Paliwal directed that representatives from the National Institute for Research in Environmental Health (NIREH), National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) be present for the next hearing scheduled for July 31. T ...Read More >
NEW DELHI/BATHINDA: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday conducted searches at 22 de-addiction centres across Punjab, including in Chandigarh, Barnala and Ludhiana, after its investigation revealed illegal sale of drugs by these centres. The agency also searched a premise in Mumbai linked to the accused.Dr Amit Bansal, who runs these 22 centres, is prime accused in the case, sources said. Bansal, against whom Punjab Police has registered multiple FIRs, is alleged to be engaged in illegal sale of drugs from his de-addiction centres.Privately-run drug de-addiction centres in Punjab are ...Read More >
New Delhi: Traffic in central Delhi will be affected on Thursday as the traffic police has issued an advisory due to the Janmashtami and Tazia processions.According to police, the traffic movement in Paharganj is likely to be affected from 1.30pm in view of the shobha yatra for Janmashtami and the Tazia procession.The Janmashtami procession will start from Mandir Shri Banke Bihari Ji in Paharganj's Sangatrasan Bazar and pass through Desh Bandhu Gupta Road, Chuna Mandi, Main Bazar, Munja Chowk and Arakashan Road. The Tazia procession will start from Ajmeri Gate and proceed through Pul Paharganj ...Read More >
Bengaluru: For millions of people, the sudden, sharp pain of tooth due to sensitivity can turn a sip of cold water into a jolt. Now, researchers at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in collaboration with Bengaluru-based deep-tech startup Theranautilus, have engineered "CalBots" - magnetic nanobots that can seal the problem at its source.As per IISc, CalBots are 400-nanometre particles loaded with a calcium silicate-based bioceramic formula, designed to travel 500 micrometres deep inside dentinal tubules, the tiny tunnels in the tooth that lead to nerve endings. Guided by an external magnetic ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], September 15 (ANI): The Association of Healthcare Providers of India (AHPI) and the Indian Medical Association (IMA) Hospital Board raised alarm over health">Star Health Insurance's suspension of cashless services at several prominent hospitals across India, leaving patients in distress. AHPI and IMA hospital board, including some of the large tertiary care hospital chains, are facing an alarming situation, after 'health">Star Health Insurance' has suspended cashless services, leaving hospitals to manage irate and distressed patients who are suddenly denied the most basic f ...Read More >
New Delhi, Feb 3 (PTI) The BJP on Monday assailed the AAP government over water "crisis" in south west Delhi's Bijwasan, highlighting the water pipes being supplied to the homes of the locals through electric poles and influence of water mafia in the area. BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra during his visit to Bijwasan said there was severe water crisis in the area and the tangled web of pipes of water on the electricity poles expose the 10 year "misrule" of the AAP. "I have travelled across India and many cities around the world but this sight of water flowing through pipes hanging from ...Read More >
BENGALURU: Coming from Yedugundlapadu, a small village in Andhra Pradesh, where she was the first engineer ever, Professor Madhavi Latha is now among the technical minds behind the Chenab Rail Bridge -- the world's tallest railway bridge -- inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday. Madhavi, who hails from a family of farmers, completed her entire schooling in government school. The youngest of four siblings, she had initially dreamt of becoming a doctor. But with limited resources, her parents suggested engineering, which was more affordable through government colleges. Madhavi ...Read More >
New Delhi [India], June 8 (ANI): BJP MP Gulam Ali Khatana, who was part of the all-party parliamentary delegation to Europe, said that during their recently conclued visit they successfully communicated India's development story and its resolute stand against terrorism, particularly emanating from Pakistan. Highlighting the delegation's key discussions during the tour, Khatana told ANI, 'We discussed how we dismantled the terrorism factory in Pakistan by responding... We also talked about tourism infrastructure, G20 Summit, and projects like the six-lane roads, bridges, solar initiatives, our ...Read More >
Bahraich, June 28: Two minors allegedly killed a man by slitting his throat and then crushed his head with a stone to steal his iPhone to create "high-quality reels" for more likes, police said on Saturday. Police have held both the accused and initiated investigations. The victim, Shadab (19), who lived in Bengaluru, was visiting his ancestral village of Nagaur in Bahraich for his maternal uncle's wedding. Additional Superintendent of Police, Ramanand Prasad Kushwaha, said that the incident occurred on the night of June 20. "Shadab was reported missing on June 21, and his body was discovered ...Read More >
Bengaluru: In a major financial push to address the drinking water crisis in Bayaluseeme (arid region), the state cabinet Wednesday approved an additional Rs 1,900 crore for the ongoing Yettinahole project, which aims to help parched districts including Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur and Kolar.Chief minister Siddaramaiah, who chaired the cabinet meeting, said the govt had asked the finance department to place the proposal for approval."The project cost was revised to Rs 23,251 crore, and Rs 17,147 crore was spent. There is Rs 6,103 crore to be spent on the project. However, the govt has learn ...Read More >
Navi Mumbai: Cidco began crafting a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Navi Mumbai and the Navi Mumbai Airport Influence Notified Area (NAINA) regions. This initiative seeks to establish sustainable and inclusive transport solutions extending to 2054. The programme emphasises safety, efficiency, and environmental consciousness whilst connecting various transport modes and encouraging public transit usage. According to Cidco, the plan takes an all-encompassing view, considering public transport, private vehicles, and non-motorised options like walking and cycling, whilst addressing urbanisat ...Read More >
Pune: For the past six days, around 270 flats in Baner's Anjor society, 14 flats of Carnation society, and nearby homes in Veerbhadranagar have been receiving contaminated water that appears muddy and carries a foul, drainage-like odour. Initially, residents of Anjor society assumed that their own water tank needed cleaning. However, when the quality of water supply did not improve despite cleaning out the tank, they complained to the ward office on Wednesday this week. According to the residents, for the next two days, ward officials kept passing the buck. Finally, on Friday morning, they con ...Read More >