Higher Education Minister P. Palaniappan has appealed to engineering students to come up with cost-effective technologies to augment power generation using renewable energy sources.

There is an immediate need for innovative, low-cost technologies to enhance power generation using renewable energy sources, including solar power, as the energy requirement in the country continues to grow, the Minister pointed out while speaking at the Academic Excellence Award function held at Kongu Engineering College here on Sunday.

Residential areas covered by blanket of smoke for five days

Vendipalayam and many other residential areas near the town are covered by a blanket of smoke for the past five days as heaps of garbage dumped in the Erode Corporation's yard continue to burn. A major fire broke out in the yard in Vendipalayam last Sunday night. The flames spread quickly to most parts of the yard despite the efforts made by the fire and rescue services personnel along with workers from the civic body to put out the fire.

“It appears that the municipality has joined hands with textile processing and tannery industries, which have been causing irreversible damage to the environment by dumping untreated, toxic effluents, many residents in the town say.

The farmers have been fighting for years to protect River Cauvery and its tributaries from the textile processing and the tannery units.

Erode Corporation has completed preparation of a detailed project report for its ambitious Uratchikottai Water Supply scheme with the cost estimated to be Rs. 407 crore.

The civic body will implement the scheme with funds from Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL) with assistance from German Development Bank (KfW).

CHENNAI: In a bid to make the state slum-free, the Tamil Nadu government has selected nine urban agglomerations under the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY) for preparing proper rehabilitation plans.

Official sources told Express that the likely nine cities are Chennai, Madurai, Coimbatore, Erode, Tiruppur, Tiruchy, Tirunelveli, Salem and Vellore.

In a bid to discourage people from using plastic and polythene bags that were harmful to the environment, NCC cadets from various schools took out a rally in Erode town on Saturday.

Flagged off at Brough Road, the rally passed through important thoroughfares including Panneerselvam Park Road, Eswaran Kovil Street and Thillai Nagar Road.

Flagged off by Collector C. Kamaraj on the Erode Corporation premises, the rally passed through important thoroughfares in the town before culminating at the VOC Park grounds. Over 1000 students from various schools participated in the rally. They carried placards and raised slogans urging the people to shun plastic and polythene bags and take to bags made of jute, cloth and recycled paper.

Waste material accumulates on inner roads in Erode and suburbs ERODE: Heaps of uncollected trash are rotting on the sides of roads, at the entrance of residential colonies, and in front of the markets in Erode town as the local administration here has grossly failed to ensure proper garbage collection.

Air horns removed from 20 vehicles

Traffic personnel removing air horns fitted in buses in Erode town on Wednesday.