Consultants have submitted report to Pollution Control Committee

The Puducherry Pollution Control Committee (PPCC) will shortly take a decision on clearance for setting up a sewage treatment plant near ‘Kanaganeri' at Kadirgamam. The consultants — Green Chem Solutions Private Limited and Creative Environmental Consultants — appointed by Public Health Division of the Public Works Department have submitted a Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment (REIA) report to the PPCC.

The Government of Puducherry will soon come out with an industrial policy targeted at non-polluting industries, particularly IT and ITeS sectors. The draft policy has already been prepared in consultation with various stakeholders, including institutions such as CII, he said.

Considering that there are good roads, availability of power, talent pool and connectivity to seaport (Karaikkal) as well as airport (in Chennai), “there is every reason for Puducherry to become a key investment destination,” said the Chief Minister of Puducherry, Mr N. Rangasamy.

Puducherry residents will soon “sell power”. The ministry of new and renewable energy is planning with the state government to install solar panels on rooftops of houses in Puducherry and excess power generated would be fed to the common grid.

Residents would get paid for excess production in summer and will be able to borrow power during rains for a nominal charge.Speaking at an event hosted by British High Commission and Inter-national Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI),

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Tuesday announced a Rs 700 crore package to provide immediate succour to cyclone Thane ravaged areas as authorities stepped up relief work and efforts to bring back normalcy.

The amount is in addition to Rs 150 crore released for immediate relief work, including putting back in shape badly damaged infrastructure in the coastal district of Cuddalore, most devastated by the cyclone last week, which claimed 47 lives in the state and neighbouring Puducherry.

The cyclone Thane in Tamil Nadu and Puduchery would have caused an economic loss of Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,000 crore, but the insurable loss is hardly Rs 100 crore. Though insurance companies are yet to assess the actual loss, initial estimates suggest that losses would be little over Rs 100 crore mainly from small and medium enterprises in that belt.

Relief operations were under way in south India on Sunday as residents struggled to repair damaged homes and property after a cyclone that claimed 42 lives.

Cyclone Thane, packing winds of up to 140 kilometres (85 miles) an hour, struck the east coast on Friday between Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu and the territory of Pondicherry before tearing inland, leaving a trail of destruction. One French national was among seven people killed in Pondicherry, a former French enclave, government officials in Paris said without giving further details.

Major roads blocked by uprooted trees and debris dumped by cyclone Thane in Cuddalore district and Puducherry were cleared for traffic on Sunday as relief operations intensified to restore power to the affected areas where the toll has gone up to 47. With reports of five more deaths coming from remote areas, the toll in Cuddalore has gone up to 31 including 10 women and two children, District Collector V Amudhavalli said.

Relief operations shifted gears in cyclone-ravaged Cuddalore district and Puducherry on Sunday as traffic resumed on arterial roads and efforts mounted for restoring electricity and supply of essential items even as the death toll increased to 47.

A public hearing, on Thursday, meant to record the opinions of local residents and NGOs on the disputed garbage dump yard at Kurumampet was disrupted by ruling party MLAs, who demanded that the project be shut down immediately.

Cyclone Thane, packing wind speed of 140 kmph, made landfall on the coast between Cuddalore in Tamil and Puducherry Friday morning, officials of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) here said.

“The cyclone is in the process of crossing between Cuddalore and Puducherry coast. The wind speed is around 140 kmph at Puducherry and Cuddalore. Waves measuring 1.5 metres height are hitting the shoreline,” an IMD official told IANS.