Unit 2 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), the largest nuclear plant in India suffered an outage on Thursday, owing to a “loss of power supply to control rods”.&nbsp;

Located in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Kudankulam plant’s unit 2 has a capacity of generating up to 1,000 MW of power.&nbsp;

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Unit 2 at India's Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TamilNadu?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TamilNadu</a> suffers outage, after "loss of power supply to control rods" 
 
Incident on 6th Jan, Thursday at 11:13am 
 
KKNPP is India's largest 
 
Units 1&amp;2 produce 1000MW each &amp; units 3,4,5,6 are being built<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/india?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#india</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NuclearEnergy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NuclearEnergy</a> <a href="https://t.co/plDBxnlGfO">pic.twitter.com/plDBxnlGfO</a>
— Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) <a href="https://twitter.com/sdhrthmp/status/1479356541551591424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 7, 2022</a></blockquote>
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According to the Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POCOSO), the outage which has been classified as a “forced outage”, took place at 11:13 am on Thursday. As per available data, Unit 2 of KKNPP had generated 415 MW of power, on Thursday prior to the outage. However, there was no time specified for its expected resumption of operations.&nbsp;

Simply put, a control rod is a device that is used to absorb neutrons. Control rods are meant to provide real-time control of the fission process in a nuclear reactor and ensure that it remains active. The nuclear reaction taking place in the reactor core can be slowed down, accelerated or stopped completely by using the control rods. Likewise, the power output of a nuclear power plant can also be regulated by means of a control rod.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/with-3-more-14-terrorists-killed-in-indias-jk-in-last-8-days-442832" hreflang="en">With 3 more, 14 terrorists killed in India’s J&amp;K in last 8 days</a>

KKNPP comprises six units of Light Water Reactors (VVERs), each of 1000 MW capacity. Set up in technical cooperation with the Russian Federation, the reactors at Kudankulam are state-of-the-art in terms of safety. They incorporate a combination of advanced, multi-layered safety features ensuring the highest level of safety for the plant, the public and the environment.

Being implemented in three phases of 2x1000MW each, units 1 &amp; 2 are operational, whereas 3 &amp; 4 are about 50 per cent into construction. The construction of Units 5 &amp; 6 is expected to take up to seven years. The completion of all these projects over the coming years will provide 6000MW clean energy to the country.&nbsp;

Unit 2 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), the largest nuclear plant in India suffered an outage on Thursday, owing to a “loss of power supply to control rods”.

Unit 2 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP), the largest nuclear plant in India suffered an outage on Thursday, owing to a “loss of power supply to control rods”. Located in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Kudankulam plant’s unit 2 has a capacity of generating up to 1,000 MW of power. Unit 2 at India's Kudankulam Nuclear Power plant in #TamilNadu suffers outage, after "loss of power supply to control rods" Incident on 6th Jan, Thursday at 11:13am KKNPP is India's largest Units 1&2 produce 1000MW each & units 3,4,5,6 are being built#india #NuclearEnergy pic.twitter.com/plDBxnlGfO — Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) January 7, 2022 × According to the Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POCOSO), the outage which has been classified as a “forced outage”, took place at 11:13 am on Thursday. As per available data, Unit 2 of KKNPP had generated 415 MW of power, on Thursday prior to the outage. However, there was no time specified for its expected resumption of operations. Simply put, a control rod is a device that is used to absorb neutrons. Control rods are meant to provide real-time control of the fission process in a nuclear reactor and ensure that it remains active. The nuclear reaction taking place in the reactor core can be slowed down, accelerated or stopped completely by using the control rods. Likewise, the power output of a nuclear power plant can also be regulated by means of a control rod. Also read | With 3 more, 14 terrorists killed in India’s J&K in last 8 days KKNPP comprises six units of Light Water Reactors (VVERs), each of 1000 MW capacity. Set up in technical cooperation with the Russian Federation, the reactors at Kudankulam are state-of-the-art in terms of safety. They incorporate a combination of advanced, multi-layered safety features ensuring the highest level of safety for the plant, the public and the environment. Being implemented in three phases of 2x1000MW each, units 1 & 2 are operational, whereas 3 & 4 are about 50 per cent into construction. The construction of Units 5 & 6 is expected to take up to seven years. The completion of all these projects over the coming years will provide 6000MW clean energy to the country.

Unit 2 at India’s largest nuclear power plant in Kudankulam suffers outage

As per aviation analytics firm ‘Cirium’, India’s Chennai airport is the only one from the country to feature in the Top10 global list for On-time performance, in the year 2021.&nbsp;

To arrive at this, Cirium had analysed and compared data from ‘large airports.&nbsp;

"For Chennai Airport, on-time departures to 70 routes globally analysed by Cirium stand at 89.32 percent.The achievement "represents customer service quality and operational excellence," said the aviation analytics firm.&nbsp;

The other airports that featured in the Top10 list were from Japan, Europe etc.&nbsp;

This report comes at a time when the aviation industry is on the revival path and air travel is winning back passengers post pandemic turbulence.&nbsp;

Increased footfalls are forecast, and accordingly, airports and airlines are augmenting their facilities and services.&nbsp;

The most recent traffic figures for Chennai Airport indicate more than 80% recovery in domestic traffic, and is not far away from reaching pre-COVID levels.&nbsp;

"Stakeholder engagement and collaborative decision-making in airport processes has helped Chennai Airport gain passenger and industry confidence.Besides that, the steps taken to enhance airside capacity(number of take-offs and landings that can be handled in a certain period) of Chennai Airport has augured well leading to this achievement, predominantly the commissioning of Rapid Exit Taxi way(C-1), N&amp;R parallel taxiways", says Dr. Sharad Kumar, Airport Director, Chennai Airport.

Cirium reviews the total number of flights in a given month for every airport globally in an ordered list, then looks at where the percentile demarcations fall. For the annual on-time performance review, Cirium takes the total number of flights in a given year for every airport. The firm’s on-time performance reporting for airlines and airports is an objective, third party perspective on on-time performance data, overseen by industry experts with an unbiased view of the industry.

Chennai achieved the 8th rank in On time performance among larger airports wouldn’t have been possible without the consistent efforts of airlines and stakeholders bringing synergy to smooth airport operations. It is a proud moment that an Indian airport is in the top 10. Kudos to the entire aviation fraternity of Chennai Airport, "opined Sh. K.P. Kumar, Chairman, AOC, Chennai Airport.

As per aviation analytics firm ‘Cirium’, India’s Chennai airport is the only one from the country to feature in the Top10 global list for On-time performance, in the year 2021.

As per aviation analytics firm ‘Cirium’, India’s Chennai airport is the only one from the country to feature in the Top10 global list for On-time performance, in the year 2021. To arrive at this, Cirium had analysed and compared data from ‘large airports. "For Chennai Airport, on-time departures to 70 routes globally analysed by Cirium stand at 89.32 percent.The achievement "represents customer service quality and operational excellence," said the aviation analytics firm. The other airports that featured in the Top10 list were from Japan, Europe etc. This report comes at a time when the aviation industry is on the revival path and air travel is winning back passengers post pandemic turbulence. Increased footfalls are forecast, and accordingly, airports and airlines are augmenting their facilities and services. The most recent traffic figures for Chennai Airport indicate more than 80% recovery in domestic traffic, and is not far away from reaching pre-COVID levels. "Stakeholder engagement and collaborative decision-making in airport processes has helped Chennai Airport gain passenger and industry confidence.Besides that, the steps taken to enhance airside capacity(number of take-offs and landings that can be handled in a certain period) of Chennai Airport has augured well leading to this achievement, predominantly the commissioning of Rapid Exit Taxi way(C-1), N&R parallel taxiways", says Dr. Sharad Kumar, Airport Director, Chennai Airport. Cirium reviews the total number of flights in a given month for every airport globally in an ordered list, then looks at where the percentile demarcations fall. For the annual on-time performance review, Cirium takes the total number of flights in a given year for every airport. The firm’s on-time performance reporting for airlines and airports is an objective, third party perspective on on-time performance data, overseen by industry experts with an unbiased view of the industry. Chennai achieved the 8th rank in On time performance among larger airports wouldn’t have been possible without the consistent efforts of airlines and stakeholders bringing synergy to smooth airport operations. It is a proud moment that an Indian airport is in the top 10. Kudos to the entire aviation fraternity of Chennai Airport, "opined Sh. K.P. Kumar, Chairman, AOC, Chennai Airport.

This Indian airport featured in top 10 global list for on-time performance

Amid fast-rising COVID-19 cases, the Tamil Nadu government has announced a night curfew (from 10pm to 5am) across the state starting from Thursday (6th Jan) and a full lockdown on Sundays. During these hours, only public transport, private bus services, fuel stations, ATMs, and essentials such as delivery of milk, newspapers would be permitted to function.&nbsp;

Those working night shifts in essential industries have been advised to carry company-issued ID cards and vaccination certificates. The government has advised flight, bus, and train passengers travelling during the curfew/lockdown hours to carry their ticket copies to prove their credentials. Those who have valid travel tickets can use autos and taxis to get around during the curfew hours.

On Sunday lockdowns, only essential services would be permitted, besides online food delivery services and take-aways at hotels, which can function between 7 a.m. and 10 pm. During Sunday lockdowns, even public transportation would be inoperable.

Only classes in grades 9–12th grade will be permitted to have in-person schooling. Training and coaching centres are not permitted to function. Buses, metros, and local trains can accommodate only up to 50% of their seating capacity. All colleges, other than medical and paramedical colleges, have been asked to remain closed till January 20th.

Government and private celebratory events for Pongal festivities are cancelled. All entertainment and amusement parks are closed. However, the public will be able to visit beaches alone for walking. All places of worship will be closed on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.&nbsp;

Hotels, lodges, restaurants, clothing and jewellery stores, gyms, yoga centers, clubs, cinema halls, indoor stadiums, salons, spas, and beauty parlours will be limited to 50% occupancy.

Amid fast-rising COVID-19 cases, the Tamil Nadu government has announced a night curfew (from 10pm to 5am) across the state starting from Thursday (6th Jan) and a full lockdown on Sundays.

Amid fast-rising COVID-19 cases, the Tamil Nadu government has announced a night curfew (from 10pm to 5am) across the state starting from Thursday (6th Jan) and a full lockdown on Sundays. During these hours, only public transport, private bus services, fuel stations, ATMs, and essentials such as delivery of milk, newspapers would be permitted to function. Those working night shifts in essential industries have been advised to carry company-issued ID cards and vaccination certificates. The government has advised flight, bus, and train passengers travelling during the curfew/lockdown hours to carry their ticket copies to prove their credentials. Those who have valid travel tickets can use autos and taxis to get around during the curfew hours. On Sunday lockdowns, only essential services would be permitted, besides online food delivery services and take-aways at hotels, which can function between 7 a.m. and 10 pm. During Sunday lockdowns, even public transportation would be inoperable. Only classes in grades 9–12th grade will be permitted to have in-person schooling. Training and coaching centres are not permitted to function. Buses, metros, and local trains can accommodate only up to 50% of their seating capacity. All colleges, other than medical and paramedical colleges, have been asked to remain closed till January 20th. Government and private celebratory events for Pongal festivities are cancelled. All entertainment and amusement parks are closed. However, the public will be able to visit beaches alone for walking. All places of worship will be closed on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Hotels, lodges, restaurants, clothing and jewellery stores, gyms, yoga centers, clubs, cinema halls, indoor stadiums, salons, spas, and beauty parlours will be limited to 50% occupancy.

COVID-19: Night curfew in Tamil Nadu from January 6; full lockdown on Sundays 

According to police, a sensational case of robbery at gun-point, in the early hours, has turned out to be a drama staged by a railway staffer to steal money. &nbsp;&nbsp;

On Monday, Tika Ram Meena, a railway ticket issuer at Chennai's Thiruvanmiyur local train station, had approached the police saying he was robbed at gun-point by three assailants, who stole Rs 1.32 lakh cash from the ticket counter.&nbsp;&nbsp;

As per his complaint, the assailants had entered the ticketing counter, threatened him at gun-point and tied him up, before getting away with the cash and his mobile phone. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/omicron-indias-state-of-delhi-to-impose-weekend-curfew-from-this-week-amid-rising-covid-cases-442129" hreflang="en">Omicron: India’s state of Delhi to impose weekend curfew from this week amid rising COVID cases</a>

Based on this, cops registered complaints under multiple sections and started a probe, which was led by&nbsp;Tambaram Police Commissioner, ADGP Dr Ravi (IPS). &nbsp;

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Sensational early mrng gunpoint robbery case at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chennai?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chennai</a> Thiruvanmiyur local train station was a staged drama.. Rly ticketing staff asked wife to visit stn, tie him up, escape wit cash &amp; his phone.. he then filed police complaint. cops say he lost money in online gambling.. (1/2) <a href="https://t.co/AWBiCdgMAt">pic.twitter.com/AWBiCdgMAt</a>
— Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) <a href="https://twitter.com/sdhrthmp/status/1478265743590379523?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
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On receiving evasive replies from the complainant amid the questioning, cops suspected something amiss and visited the complainant's residence to investigate. Cops found the stolen amount of Rs.1.32 lakh in cash and the mobile phone of Tika Ram, at his residence. &nbsp;&nbsp;

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The Rs.1.32lakh that was said to be stolen and his phone was recovered from his residence by cops... Thet cracked the case after railway staffer (victim) gave evasive replies to cops during questioning... (2/2)
— Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) <a href="https://twitter.com/sdhrthmp/status/1478266246126653445?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 4, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Later, they found that Tika Ram had asked his wife to visit the station where he was working, in the wee hours on Monday. On his instructions, she had tied him up and decamped with the cash and his mobile phone, following which he had filed a police complaint based on the imagined gun-point robbery. &nbsp;

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-reports-over-37000-new-cases-124-deaths-as-omicron-tally-reaches-to-1892-442124" hreflang="en">India reports over 37,000 new cases, 124 deaths as Omicron tally reaches to 1,892</a>

It was also learnt that Tika Ram had lost upto Rs 1.9 lakh, while playing online rummy.&nbsp;

According to police, a sensational case of robbery at gun-point, in the early hours, has turned out to be a drama staged by a railway staffer to steal money. On Monday, Tika Ram Meena, a railway ticket issuer at Chennai's Thiruvanmiyur local train station, had approached the police saying he was robbed at gun-point by three assailants, who stole Rs 1.

According to police, a sensational case of robbery at gun-point, in the early hours, has turned out to be a drama staged by a railway staffer to steal money. On Monday, Tika Ram Meena, a railway ticket issuer at Chennai's Thiruvanmiyur local train station, had approached the police saying he was robbed at gun-point by three assailants, who stole Rs 1.32 lakh cash from the ticket counter. As per his complaint, the assailants had entered the ticketing counter, threatened him at gun-point and tied him up, before getting away with the cash and his mobile phone. Also Read: Omicron: India’s state of Delhi to impose weekend curfew from this week amid rising COVID cases Based on this, cops registered complaints under multiple sections and started a probe, which was led by Tambaram Police Commissioner, ADGP Dr Ravi (IPS). Sensational early mrng gunpoint robbery case at #Chennai Thiruvanmiyur local train station was a staged drama.. Rly ticketing staff asked wife to visit stn, tie him up, escape wit cash & his phone.. he then filed police complaint. cops say he lost money in online gambling.. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/AWBiCdgMAt — Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) January 4, 2022 × On receiving evasive replies from the complainant amid the questioning, cops suspected something amiss and visited the complainant's residence to investigate. Cops found the stolen amount of Rs.1.32 lakh in cash and the mobile phone of Tika Ram, at his residence. The Rs.1.32lakh that was said to be stolen and his phone was recovered from his residence by cops... Thet cracked the case after railway staffer (victim) gave evasive replies to cops during questioning... (2/2) — Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) January 4, 2022 × Later, they found that Tika Ram had asked his wife to visit the station where he was working, in the wee hours on Monday. On his instructions, she had tied him up and decamped with the cash and his mobile phone, following which he had filed a police complaint based on the imagined gun-point robbery. Also Read: India reports over 37,000 new cases, 124 deaths as Omicron tally reaches to 1,892 It was also learnt that Tika Ram had lost upto Rs 1.9 lakh, while playing online rummy.

Indian Railways staffer fakes robbery at gun-point to steal money, reveal cops  

Indian drone firm Garuda Aerospace is working on fulfilling orders from foreign customers for 8,000 drones that serve purposes including agriculture (pesticide spraying), industrial inspection, and mapping.

Besides these drones that will have to be delivered to clients across the UAE, Malaysia, and Panama, the company is working on fulfilling orders with Indian government-run and private entities.

WION&nbsp;spoke to Agnishwar Jayaprakash, the Founder and CEO of Garuda Aerospace, to understand how the company is scaling up capacity to meet the demand.&nbsp;

Garuda’s drones recently completed mapping of over 1000 villages for Survey of India - Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh as part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swamitva scheme, which aims to provide digital records of land ownership. When queried about the pace at which this was done and the scale of operation, Agnishwar explained that a single drone was able to map five villages (each measuring up to 3 sq km) in a day and that they had deployed a sizable fleet to map 1000 villages in a month. Their work involved not just aerial mapping, but also providing the final output of processed map data.&nbsp;

Their work for clients in India includes services such as pipeline inspection for Indian Oil Corporation Limited, the National Highways Authority of India Surveillance Project (to monitor highway construction) and catering to the mapping and topographical survey needs of energy companies like Reliance, Adani, Vedanta, and Tata projects, among others.&nbsp;

On the steep target of having to deliver 8,000 drones to foreign clients by March 2022, Agnishwar said that the company has ramped up manufacturing capacity by opening two new facilities. "Earlier, we could churn out up to 30 drones per day from our lone Chennai facility, but with the new units in Gurgaon and Hosur, we can produce up to a total of 100-150 drones a day. We had the opportunity to invest and expand this way owing to the new orders and encouraging revenue, " he added.&nbsp;

According to Agnishwar, selling agriculture and mapping drones to foreign countries would mean that Garuda would have to setup an assembly facility and provide support services in the respective countries, as well. "They will give us the land and manpower support. We’ll send a small team, parts, tools, and equipment to supervise and provide training.

While he does admit that delivery of all 8,000 drones by March 2022 is an aggressive target, he hopes to enable delivery of a significant portion of the order within the deadline.&nbsp;

Indian drone firm Garuda Aerospace is working on fulfilling orders from foreign customers for 8,000 drones that serve purposes including agriculture (pesticide spraying), industrial inspection, and mapping.

Indian drone firm Garuda Aerospace is working on fulfilling orders from foreign customers for 8,000 drones that serve purposes including agriculture (pesticide spraying), industrial inspection, and mapping. Besides these drones that will have to be delivered to clients across the UAE, Malaysia, and Panama, the company is working on fulfilling orders with Indian government-run and private entities. WION spoke to Agnishwar Jayaprakash, the Founder and CEO of Garuda Aerospace, to understand how the company is scaling up capacity to meet the demand. Garuda’s drones recently completed mapping of over 1000 villages for Survey of India - Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh as part of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swamitva scheme, which aims to provide digital records of land ownership. When queried about the pace at which this was done and the scale of operation, Agnishwar explained that a single drone was able to map five villages (each measuring up to 3 sq km) in a day and that they had deployed a sizable fleet to map 1000 villages in a month. Their work involved not just aerial mapping, but also providing the final output of processed map data. Their work for clients in India includes services such as pipeline inspection for Indian Oil Corporation Limited, the National Highways Authority of India Surveillance Project (to monitor highway construction) and catering to the mapping and topographical survey needs of energy companies like Reliance, Adani, Vedanta, and Tata projects, among others. On the steep target of having to deliver 8,000 drones to foreign clients by March 2022, Agnishwar said that the company has ramped up manufacturing capacity by opening two new facilities. "Earlier, we could churn out up to 30 drones per day from our lone Chennai facility, but with the new units in Gurgaon and Hosur, we can produce up to a total of 100-150 drones a day. We had the opportunity to invest and expand this way owing to the new orders and encouraging revenue, " he added. According to Agnishwar, selling agriculture and mapping drones to foreign countries would mean that Garuda would have to setup an assembly facility and provide support services in the respective countries, as well. "They will give us the land and manpower support. We’ll send a small team, parts, tools, and equipment to supervise and provide training. While he does admit that delivery of all 8,000 drones by March 2022 is an aggressive target, he hopes to enable delivery of a significant portion of the order within the deadline.

This Indian firm to deliver 8,000 agro, mapping, and inspection drones to UAE, Malaysia, and Panama

Four workers at a firecracker unit near Sivakasi, died in an explosion on Saturday, as work was underway to mix chemicals within the factory premises. The factory is understood to have been performing the customary ritual of starting work on New Year’s Day. Residents in the vicinity had alerted the police, fire and rescue departments after having heard an explosion.&nbsp;

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4 workers lost their lives and upto 8 workers are undergoing treatment at the Sivakasi govt hospital, after a blast occurred at a firecracker unit in the area 
 
Work to mix chemicals is said to have been underway, when the blast ripped through the building 
 
Probe on by officials <a href="https://t.co/wr68tt3XAJ">pic.twitter.com/wr68tt3XAJ</a>
— Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) <a href="https://twitter.com/sdhrthmp/status/1477222344431005697?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Up to eight others were also injured as a result of this explosion, and are undergoing treatment at the Sivakasi government hospital. As a result, nearly three rooms in the factory were reduced to rubble as a result of the blast impact. Police and district officials are conducting a probe to ascertain the details of the incident.&nbsp;

Videos from the site showed the public gathered around the factory, in large numbers and earthmovers clearing the rubble. Rescue personnel were also seen at work, preparing an ambulance bed to rescue those who were involved in the unfortunate accident.&nbsp;

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Rescue personnell seen preparing an ambulance bed to carey the firecracker factory blast victims to the nearest hospital... <a href="https://t.co/nG2r5jFlQw">pic.twitter.com/nG2r5jFlQw</a>
— Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) <a href="https://twitter.com/sdhrthmp/status/1477223475316092931?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Similar tragic blasts at firecracker units are common occurrences and repeat multiple times a year, despite stern warnings from the courts that such units must be regulated, inspected by authorities, and made to follow adequate precautions.

Four workers at a firecracker unit near Sivakasi, died in an explosion on Saturday, as work was underway to mix chemicals within the factory premises. The factory is understood to have been performing the customary ritual of starting work on New Year’s Day.

Four workers at a firecracker unit near Sivakasi, died in an explosion on Saturday, as work was underway to mix chemicals within the factory premises. The factory is understood to have been performing the customary ritual of starting work on New Year’s Day. Residents in the vicinity had alerted the police, fire and rescue departments after having heard an explosion. 4 workers lost their lives and upto 8 workers are undergoing treatment at the Sivakasi govt hospital, after a blast occurred at a firecracker unit in the area Work to mix chemicals is said to have been underway, when the blast ripped through the building Probe on by officials pic.twitter.com/wr68tt3XAJ — Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) January 1, 2022 × Up to eight others were also injured as a result of this explosion, and are undergoing treatment at the Sivakasi government hospital. As a result, nearly three rooms in the factory were reduced to rubble as a result of the blast impact. Police and district officials are conducting a probe to ascertain the details of the incident. Videos from the site showed the public gathered around the factory, in large numbers and earthmovers clearing the rubble. Rescue personnel were also seen at work, preparing an ambulance bed to rescue those who were involved in the unfortunate accident. Rescue personnell seen preparing an ambulance bed to carey the firecracker factory blast victims to the nearest hospital... pic.twitter.com/nG2r5jFlQw — Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) January 1, 2022 × Similar tragic blasts at firecracker units are common occurrences and repeat multiple times a year, despite stern warnings from the courts that such units must be regulated, inspected by authorities, and made to follow adequate precautions.

Four dead, eight injured in explosion at firecracker factory in India's Sivakasi

American tech giant Apple has placed its iPhone contract manufacturer Foxconn’s Chennai unit on probation, over cleanliness and hygiene issues at their staff dormitory and dining areas.

WION visited one such dormitory where the women staff had been staying. During the visit, it was found that the women were made to stay in crammed spaces and poor conditions.

During the visit, a team of Tamil Nadu Police personnel were seen occupying the rooms who had placed their belongings there. However, the cops refused to divulge the reason for their presence there.

&nbsp;

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Thread: (1/n)What I witnessed at an offsite dormitory where <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Foxconn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Foxconn</a> women workers stayed, near the Sriperumbudur factory 
 
Each dorm room was barely 150sqft and up to 7 women used to stay in the room, without bed/mattress, under a single fan. No attached bath/wash<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Chennai?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Chennai</a> <a href="https://t.co/8ViMpvUKEm">pic.twitter.com/8ViMpvUKEm</a>
— Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) <a href="https://twitter.com/sdhrthmp/status/1476599202436157441?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
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The dormitories building was a short walk away from and fairly unnoticeable from the nearby main road. Painted in pale yellow, the three-storeyed appeared fairly clean, but offered a vastly different picture while entering the rooms. With over 50 rooms, the building was once occupied by over 250 women workers.

All of 150sqft and fitted with a lone ceiling fan, each room is learnt to have been used by up to seven women workers. Despite having a window, owing to a fairly high compound wall blocking it, the ground floor rooms had hardly any natural ventilation.

There were no beds or mattresses in any of the rooms. Neither did they have attached bathrooms or toilets. The toilets, bathrooms and the washing area were at the corner of the building.&nbsp;

At the other corner of the building, there was a space that was used as a cooking area. It was just an open space with large vessels that hardly had any kitchen facilities. Here too, the cleanliness and hygiene standards were questionable. Parts of the cooking area were surrounded by the compound walls whereas another side was covered with a tin sheet.

Just a few steps from the cooking area was a closed toilet that looked extremely unclean even from the outside. Nearby, there was a passage that led to the common washrooms. The rear portions of the building seemed to lack a concrete boundary wall&nbsp;instead, there were only tin sheets erected to purportedly serve the same purpose.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
(6/n) 
Some pics from around the place to give an overall feel of why the women were totally distraught by the facilities provided or the lack thereof... 
 
Hope <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/foxconn?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#foxconn</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Apple?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Apple</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/tim_cook?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@tim_cook</a> ensure accountability and TN Govt supervises the facility and supports the women... <a href="https://t.co/0rHAV5nQPe">pic.twitter.com/0rHAV5nQPe</a>
— Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) <a href="https://twitter.com/sdhrthmp/status/1476605277952626703?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 30, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Foxconn technology group issued a statement saying, “The safety and wellbeing of our employees is our top priority. We have been investigating recent issues at our Sriperumbudur facility in Tamil Nadu and have found that some offsite dormitory facilities do not meet the required standards.”

Besides apologising for the plight of their employees, the company also said they were taking immediate steps to enhance the facilities and services at remote dormitory accommodations.

In addition to restructuring the local management team, Foxconn said that it would also continue to pay its employees while making necessary improvements before restarting operations.&nbsp;

According to an Apple spokesperson, the tech giant has dispatched independent auditors to undertake additional detailed assessments following recent concerns about food safety and accommodation conditions at Foxconn’s Sriperumbudur unit.

It was also said that some of the remote dormitory accommodations and dining rooms being used for employees did not meet their requirements.

“Foxconn’s Sriperumbudur facility has been placed on probation and we will ensure our strict standards are met before the facility reopens. We will continue to monitor conditions closely” the statement added.&nbsp;

Earlier this month, nearly 150 women workers of Foxconn staying at an offsite dormitory had fallen ill and were admitted to hospitals, owing to food poisoning. They alleged that the food provided to them at the dining facility in the dormitory was unhygienic.

Turning up in large numbers, the women workers had blocked the arterial Chennai-Bengaluru highway and protested against their Foxconn management, demanding better facilities.&nbsp;

According to Kannan, deputy general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Tamil Nadu, the details of the recent instance of food poisoning were not shared with the victims’ parents, which then led to protest.

“Not only iPhone but all brands of phones are also being manufactured at the Foxconn Sunguvarchatram plant. Nearly 10,000 employees are engaged in production activity here, but they all have been hired on a contract basis, despite doing a job that is of perennial nature. This is a major concern for workers to come out and protest,” Kannan told WION.

On behalf of CITU, he emphasised that the Tamil Nadu government, Apple and Foxconn management come forward and resolve the issue immediately.

American tech giant Apple has placed its iPhone contract manufacturer Foxconn’s Chennai unit on probation, over cleanliness and hygiene issues at their staff dormitory and dining areas.

American tech giant Apple has placed its iPhone contract manufacturer Foxconn’s Chennai unit on probation, over cleanliness and hygiene issues at their staff dormitory and dining areas. WION visited one such dormitory where the women staff had been staying. During the visit, it was found that the women were made to stay in crammed spaces and poor conditions. During the visit, a team of Tamil Nadu Police personnel were seen occupying the rooms who had placed their belongings there. However, the cops refused to divulge the reason for their presence there. Thread: (1/n)What I witnessed at an offsite dormitory where #Foxconn women workers stayed, near the Sriperumbudur factory Each dorm room was barely 150sqft and up to 7 women used to stay in the room, without bed/mattress, under a single fan. No attached bath/wash#Chennai pic.twitter.com/8ViMpvUKEm — Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) December 30, 2021 × The dormitories building was a short walk away from and fairly unnoticeable from the nearby main road. Painted in pale yellow, the three-storeyed appeared fairly clean, but offered a vastly different picture while entering the rooms. With over 50 rooms, the building was once occupied by over 250 women workers. All of 150sqft and fitted with a lone ceiling fan, each room is learnt to have been used by up to seven women workers. Despite having a window, owing to a fairly high compound wall blocking it, the ground floor rooms had hardly any natural ventilation. There were no beds or mattresses in any of the rooms. Neither did they have attached bathrooms or toilets. The toilets, bathrooms and the washing area were at the corner of the building. At the other corner of the building, there was a space that was used as a cooking area. It was just an open space with large vessels that hardly had any kitchen facilities. Here too, the cleanliness and hygiene standards were questionable. Parts of the cooking area were surrounded by the compound walls whereas another side was covered with a tin sheet. Just a few steps from the cooking area was a closed toilet that looked extremely unclean even from the outside. Nearby, there was a passage that led to the common washrooms. The rear portions of the building seemed to lack a concrete boundary wall instead, there were only tin sheets erected to purportedly serve the same purpose. (6/n) Some pics from around the place to give an overall feel of why the women were totally distraught by the facilities provided or the lack thereof... Hope #foxconn and @Apple @tim_cook ensure accountability and TN Govt supervises the facility and supports the women... pic.twitter.com/0rHAV5nQPe — Sidharth.M.P (@sdhrthmp) December 30, 2021 × Foxconn technology group issued a statement saying, “The safety and wellbeing of our employees is our top priority. We have been investigating recent issues at our Sriperumbudur facility in Tamil Nadu and have found that some offsite dormitory facilities do not meet the required standards.” Besides apologising for the plight of their employees, the company also said they were taking immediate steps to enhance the facilities and services at remote dormitory accommodations. In addition to restructuring the local management team, Foxconn said that it would also continue to pay its employees while making necessary improvements before restarting operations. According to an Apple spokesperson, the tech giant has dispatched independent auditors to undertake additional detailed assessments following recent concerns about food safety and accommodation conditions at Foxconn’s Sriperumbudur unit. It was also said that some of the remote dormitory accommodations and dining rooms being used for employees did not meet their requirements. “Foxconn’s Sriperumbudur facility has been placed on probation and we will ensure our strict standards are met before the facility reopens. We will continue to monitor conditions closely” the statement added. Earlier this month, nearly 150 women workers of Foxconn staying at an offsite dormitory had fallen ill and were admitted to hospitals, owing to food poisoning. They alleged that the food provided to them at the dining facility in the dormitory was unhygienic. Turning up in large numbers, the women workers had blocked the arterial Chennai-Bengaluru highway and protested against their Foxconn management, demanding better facilities. According to Kannan, deputy general secretary, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Tamil Nadu, the details of the recent instance of food poisoning were not shared with the victims’ parents, which then led to protest. “Not only iPhone but all brands of phones are also being manufactured at the Foxconn Sunguvarchatram plant. Nearly 10,000 employees are engaged in production activity here, but they all have been hired on a contract basis, despite doing a job that is of perennial nature. This is a major concern for workers to come out and protest,” Kannan told WION. On behalf of CITU, he emphasised that the Tamil Nadu government, Apple and Foxconn management come forward and resolve the issue immediately.

They help make iPhone, but here's where they stayed: Inside Foxconn Chennai offsite dorm room

Monday, August 24th, 2020, is a date that will remain etched eternally in the memory of Indian-American Velchamy Sankarlingam. In fact, his work involves striving to ensure that what happened on that day doesn’t repeat. Zoom Video Communications, the popular video conferencing service, where he has been President, Product, and Engineering, had suffered a major global outage.

This, at a time when the service was being used by over a 300million daily meeting attendees, amid a pandemic that had forced people across geographies into Lockdowns. In an exclusive conversation with WION, he threw light on his experience of helping improve Zoom’s services, while also improving its privacy and security, amid widespread concerns.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/parents-didnt-go-to-college-but-let-me-pursue-my-dreams-zooms-president-of-product-and-engineering-419269">Also read |&nbsp;'Parents didn’t go to college, but let me pursue my dreams': Zoom’s President of Product and Engineering</a>

Having joined Zoom in June 2020, on the insistence of his longtime friend and ex-colleague and Zoom’s Founder, CEO, Eric Yuan, Velchamy had to hit the ground running. The challenge at hand was unenviable - help scale up a product that was witnessing a 30-fold growth, in terms of the number of daily meeting attendees and attending to the growing concerns of privacy and security, expressed by individual users and Governments.

“Even prior to my joining Zoom and after my joining, there are nights when we built capacity to handle the next day’s needs. However, a lot of credit goes to Eric(CEO), as the product is built really well. Zoom can run on our own data center and on the public cloud, this ensures flexibility to expand” Velchamy recalls about the beginning of his tenure at Zoom.

Also see |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/from-metaverse-to-nft-here-is-all-you-need-to-know-about-tech-buzzwords-of-2021-439134" hreflang="en">From metaverse to NFT: Here is all you need to know about tech buzzwords of 2021</a>

He admits that it was a lot of pressure on the team to scale up rapidly, however, he also believes that it is their company culture to do what’s right and keep customers happy. “When the pandemic hit, Eric could have prioritised his premium customers and shut down the free service. Instead, he went on to expand the free service and offer it free-of-cost for schools” he explains.&nbsp;

Hailing from Virudhunagar, in the Southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu, Velchamy had moved to the US after completing his engineering from Anna University, in the Southern Indian metropolis of Chennai. With a specialised qualification in Computer science and business, Velchamy worked at leading firms in the Software-as-a-Service industry(including IBM, Webex, VMware).

According to him, WebEx acquiring Presenter.com (the startup he was working for) was a major turning point in his career. It provided him the opportunity to help WebEx grow, while also being mentored by renowned tech industry leaders. It was at WebEx that Velchamy had met and worked with Eric Yuan (Zoom’s Founder, CEO).

“If you’re not paranoid, then this isn’t the job for you”

24th September 2020 happened to be a Monday, when even Zoom, which enabled WFH for millions across the globe, suffered Monday blues. During the morning hours, outages were reported across America, Europe and also in India and Australia. The service is said to have been restored by noon. “It was caused due to an error we made in our billing. It took us a couple of hours to resolve… It was not a full disruption, but a significant one” Velchamy recollects.&nbsp;

Learning from their own mistakes and those of others, Zoom worked towards ensuring that availability of service remains a top priority. “We will be able to run the service even if a data center goes down… Our product is resilient and can run from different data centers worldwide. There’s a lot of architecture built-in… Its not about feeling good about what is right, we must always look at what can go wrong… If you’re not paranoid, this job isn’t for you… ” he quips about the nature of his work.

That might sound like a lot of work-related stress, but playing a few hours of Golf is all he needs to get back with renewed vigour. But, when faced with challenges and in need for motivation, he looks to icons from his part of the world - Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam(Former Indian President and aerospace scientist) and K.Kamaraj (Indian freedom fighter and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu). “Since I am from Virudhunagar, I know a lot about Chief Minister Kamaraj. I have also read a lot about Dr. Abdul Kalam. I admire both of them for their integrity, values and selflessness” Velchamy says with pride.

True to its name, the company just Zoomed ahead during the pandemic - going from 10million daily meeting attendees(pre-pandemic) to nearly a 300million, during the pandemic. In India, the growth in daily meeting attendees was more than 60-fold. To cater to this user base, Zoom established data centers in India cities and even began accepting the Indian Rupee as a mode of payment. However, this growth was not without widespread concerns - the company’s alleged China ties, Security and Privacy issues, among others.&nbsp;

Queried about the China ties and related controversies, Velchamy said that Zoom is an American company and that it was built so by Founder, CEO Eric Yuan, who is also an American citizen. He added that the company had its major data centers in the US and how the company was funded by mainstream US investors and meant to provide service globally.&nbsp;

Elaborating on the China issue, he said that security options were provided for both Free and Premium users- For all the free users, none of the traffic goes through China, whereas we’ve given our paid users the option to join from 20 data centers around the world. “If you have meeting attendees in China and want them to join from China, you can. If you don’t have meeting attendees from China, then you have the choice to pick which country(data center) and how the data flows” he explained.

On the questions raised over privacy and security of the service, he responded that the company had spent 90 days on enhancing these facets and ensuring that a slew of new features were added. “Now, meeting hosts can lock the meeting room once all guests are in, attendees can be sent out of a meeting, the meeting can be frozen and hosts can find out who is doing what. We also have a Trust and Safety team to investigate any reports that come in” said Velchamy.

Asked specifically on the number of Governments that use Zoom services, he said, “Parts of the US Government, UK Government and Singapore use Zoom and recently the Indian Government had also issued an advisory saying Zoom was safe for use for Government purposes. A lot of Governments worldwide use Zoom”.

Immediately after the service outage in 2020, Zoom had sent an apology e-mail to its affected customers, but the responses overwhelmed the Zoom team, recalls Velchamy. “Pretty much all responses were about how Zoom helped them(the users)… We felt even worse(to have let them down), after reading their replies.. We realized how big a difference Zoom is making and that’s what makes us work harder” he signs off.

Monday, August 24th, 2020, is a date that will remain etched eternally in the memory of Indian-American Velchamy Sankarlingam. In fact, his work involves striving to ensure that what happened on that day doesn’t repeat.

Monday, August 24th, 2020, is a date that will remain etched eternally in the memory of Indian-American Velchamy Sankarlingam. In fact, his work involves striving to ensure that what happened on that day doesn’t repeat. Zoom Video Communications, the popular video conferencing service, where he has been President, Product, and Engineering, had suffered a major global outage. This, at a time when the service was being used by over a 300million daily meeting attendees, amid a pandemic that had forced people across geographies into Lockdowns. In an exclusive conversation with WION, he threw light on his experience of helping improve Zoom’s services, while also improving its privacy and security, amid widespread concerns. Also read | 'Parents didn’t go to college, but let me pursue my dreams': Zoom’s President of Product and Engineering Having joined Zoom in June 2020, on the insistence of his longtime friend and ex-colleague and Zoom’s Founder, CEO, Eric Yuan, Velchamy had to hit the ground running. The challenge at hand was unenviable - help scale up a product that was witnessing a 30-fold growth, in terms of the number of daily meeting attendees and attending to the growing concerns of privacy and security, expressed by individual users and Governments. “Even prior to my joining Zoom and after my joining, there are nights when we built capacity to handle the next day’s needs. However, a lot of credit goes to Eric(CEO), as the product is built really well. Zoom can run on our own data center and on the public cloud, this ensures flexibility to expand” Velchamy recalls about the beginning of his tenure at Zoom. Also see | From metaverse to NFT: Here is all you need to know about tech buzzwords of 2021 He admits that it was a lot of pressure on the team to scale up rapidly, however, he also believes that it is their company culture to do what’s right and keep customers happy. “When the pandemic hit, Eric could have prioritised his premium customers and shut down the free service. Instead, he went on to expand the free service and offer it free-of-cost for schools” he explains. Hailing from Virudhunagar, in the Southern Indian State of Tamil Nadu, Velchamy had moved to the US after completing his engineering from Anna University, in the Southern Indian metropolis of Chennai. With a specialised qualification in Computer science and business, Velchamy worked at leading firms in the Software-as-a-Service industry(including IBM, Webex, VMware). According to him, WebEx acquiring Presenter.com (the startup he was working for) was a major turning point in his career. It provided him the opportunity to help WebEx grow, while also being mentored by renowned tech industry leaders. It was at WebEx that Velchamy had met and worked with Eric Yuan (Zoom’s Founder, CEO). “If you’re not paranoid, then this isn’t the job for you” 24th September 2020 happened to be a Monday, when even Zoom, which enabled WFH for millions across the globe, suffered Monday blues. During the morning hours, outages were reported across America, Europe and also in India and Australia. The service is said to have been restored by noon. “It was caused due to an error we made in our billing. It took us a couple of hours to resolve… It was not a full disruption, but a significant one” Velchamy recollects. Learning from their own mistakes and those of others, Zoom worked towards ensuring that availability of service remains a top priority. “We will be able to run the service even if a data center goes down… Our product is resilient and can run from different data centers worldwide. There’s a lot of architecture built-in… Its not about feeling good about what is right, we must always look at what can go wrong… If you’re not paranoid, this job isn’t for you… ” he quips about the nature of his work. That might sound like a lot of work-related stress, but playing a few hours of Golf is all he needs to get back with renewed vigour. But, when faced with challenges and in need for motivation, he looks to icons from his part of the world - Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam(Former Indian President and aerospace scientist) and K.Kamaraj (Indian freedom fighter and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu). “Since I am from Virudhunagar, I know a lot about Chief Minister Kamaraj. I have also read a lot about Dr. Abdul Kalam. I admire both of them for their integrity, values and selflessness” Velchamy says with pride. True to its name, the company just Zoomed ahead during the pandemic - going from 10million daily meeting attendees(pre-pandemic) to nearly a 300million, during the pandemic. In India, the growth in daily meeting attendees was more than 60-fold. To cater to this user base, Zoom established data centers in India cities and even began accepting the Indian Rupee as a mode of payment. However, this growth was not without widespread concerns - the company’s alleged China ties, Security and Privacy issues, among others. Queried about the China ties and related controversies, Velchamy said that Zoom is an American company and that it was built so by Founder, CEO Eric Yuan, who is also an American citizen. He added that the company had its major data centers in the US and how the company was funded by mainstream US investors and meant to provide service globally. Elaborating on the China issue, he said that security options were provided for both Free and Premium users- For all the free users, none of the traffic goes through China, whereas we’ve given our paid users the option to join from 20 data centers around the world. “If you have meeting attendees in China and want them to join from China, you can. If you don’t have meeting attendees from China, then you have the choice to pick which country(data center) and how the data flows” he explained. On the questions raised over privacy and security of the service, he responded that the company had spent 90 days on enhancing these facets and ensuring that a slew of new features were added. “Now, meeting hosts can lock the meeting room once all guests are in, attendees can be sent out of a meeting, the meeting can be frozen and hosts can find out who is doing what. We also have a Trust and Safety team to investigate any reports that come in” said Velchamy. Asked specifically on the number of Governments that use Zoom services, he said, “Parts of the US Government, UK Government and Singapore use Zoom and recently the Indian Government had also issued an advisory saying Zoom was safe for use for Government purposes. A lot of Governments worldwide use Zoom”. Immediately after the service outage in 2020, Zoom had sent an apology e-mail to its affected customers, but the responses overwhelmed the Zoom team, recalls Velchamy. “Pretty much all responses were about how Zoom helped them(the users)… We felt even worse(to have let them down), after reading their replies.. We realized how big a difference Zoom is making and that’s what makes us work harder” he signs off.

Exclusive: A global outage, privacy and security concerns, how Zoom Video set it right

The Tamil Nadu government has acknowledged the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Chennai city and is ramping up health infrastructure to deal with the surge.

According to Health Minister M. Subramanian, 194 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Chennai on Tuesday, whereas the number is expected to go well past 250 on Wednesday. This comes at a time when the Omicron variant is showing increasing prevalence across Indian cities.&nbsp;

As per the government health bulletin issued on Tuesday, 43 cases of Omicron have been recorded in Tamil Nadu, of which 16 patients are undergoing treatment and the rest have been discharged from hospitals.

Referring to the possible emergence of more Omicron cases, the Minister added that 129 samples where S-Gene drop (an indication of an Omicron case) was observed were sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune. However, the final confirmation of Omicron in these samples has yet to be officially ascertained.&nbsp;

Regarding the condition of those undergoing treatment for the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the Minister said that most of them were fully vaccinated, asymptomatic and did not require ICU or oxygen beds. He also emphasised the importance of completing a double vaccination in order to prevent severe disease.&nbsp;

According to the Greater Chennai Corporation, daily RT-PCR testing in the city was increased from 23,000 to 25,000, and measures were being taken to get more beds ready in large COVID Care Centers.

In addition to the 500 beds that are available in three centres on the outskirts of the city, an 800-bed facility with an oxygen supply is also being readied at the city’s largest exhibition venue, the Chennai Trade Center.

The city’s civic body also urged those who suspect COVID-19 to not take their own vehicles and travel to hospitals. Instead, they advised the public to call 1913, if they needed support.

According to the civic body, on calling 1913, they were offering vehicles to take COVID-19 suspects to government-run screening centers, from where they could be guided to further treatment.

The Tamil Nadu government has acknowledged the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Chennai city and is ramping up health infrastructure to deal with the surge. According to Health Minister M.

The Tamil Nadu government has acknowledged the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Chennai city and is ramping up health infrastructure to deal with the surge. According to Health Minister M. Subramanian, 194 cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Chennai on Tuesday, whereas the number is expected to go well past 250 on Wednesday. This comes at a time when the Omicron variant is showing increasing prevalence across Indian cities. As per the government health bulletin issued on Tuesday, 43 cases of Omicron have been recorded in Tamil Nadu, of which 16 patients are undergoing treatment and the rest have been discharged from hospitals. Referring to the possible emergence of more Omicron cases, the Minister added that 129 samples where S-Gene drop (an indication of an Omicron case) was observed were sent to the National Institute of Virology, Pune. However, the final confirmation of Omicron in these samples has yet to be officially ascertained. Regarding the condition of those undergoing treatment for the Omicron COVID-19 variant, the Minister said that most of them were fully vaccinated, asymptomatic and did not require ICU or oxygen beds. He also emphasised the importance of completing a double vaccination in order to prevent severe disease. According to the Greater Chennai Corporation, daily RT-PCR testing in the city was increased from 23,000 to 25,000, and measures were being taken to get more beds ready in large COVID Care Centers. In addition to the 500 beds that are available in three centres on the outskirts of the city, an 800-bed facility with an oxygen supply is also being readied at the city’s largest exhibition venue, the Chennai Trade Center. The city’s civic body also urged those who suspect COVID-19 to not take their own vehicles and travel to hospitals. Instead, they advised the public to call 1913, if they needed support. According to the civic body, on calling 1913, they were offering vehicles to take COVID-19 suspects to government-run screening centers, from where they could be guided to further treatment.

India's Chennai ramping up mass quarantine centres amid surge in COVID-19, says minister

The police department in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has informed the public that they will not be permitted to gather and celebrate New Year’s Eve on the state’s beaches.

Even restaurants and hotels (with accommodation) will be permitted to function only until 11 p.m. on December 31st.

This comes at a time when there are 43 recorded cases of Omicron in Tamil Nadu, of which 16 are active cases.

However, the health minister said that there are 129 cases that indicate S-Gene drop (which are indicative of Omicron).&nbsp;

With regards to the metropolis of Chennai, city police have imposed curbs on resorts, farm houses, clubs and similar venues from conducting commercial celebratory events.

Group celebrations in apartment complexes and villas have also been restricted, with only individual celebrations being permitted.&nbsp;

While hotels (with accommodation facilities) and restaurants have been permitted to serve guests till 11 pm, no permission has been granted for hotels, clubs, and farm houses to conduct dance events, DJ nights, or similar musical events.&nbsp;

Chennai Police have also said that the roads leading to popular beaches such as Marina, Elliots.

Neelangarai, and East Coast Road will be closed from 9pm onwards, on New Year’s Eve. It was also added that vehicles cannot be parked along the roads that lead to beaches and people must not indulge in public celebrations.&nbsp;

The police department in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has informed the public that they will not be permitted to gather and celebrate New Year’s Eve on the state’s beaches.

The police department in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has informed the public that they will not be permitted to gather and celebrate New Year’s Eve on the state’s beaches. Even restaurants and hotels (with accommodation) will be permitted to function only until 11 p.m. on December 31st. This comes at a time when there are 43 recorded cases of Omicron in Tamil Nadu, of which 16 are active cases. However, the health minister said that there are 129 cases that indicate S-Gene drop (which are indicative of Omicron). With regards to the metropolis of Chennai, city police have imposed curbs on resorts, farm houses, clubs and similar venues from conducting commercial celebratory events. Group celebrations in apartment complexes and villas have also been restricted, with only individual celebrations being permitted. While hotels (with accommodation facilities) and restaurants have been permitted to serve guests till 11 pm, no permission has been granted for hotels, clubs, and farm houses to conduct dance events, DJ nights, or similar musical events. Chennai Police have also said that the roads leading to popular beaches such as Marina, Elliots. Neelangarai, and East Coast Road will be closed from 9pm onwards, on New Year’s Eve. It was also added that vehicles cannot be parked along the roads that lead to beaches and people must not indulge in public celebrations.

Omicron in India: Chennai beaches not to have New Year parties, celebrations curbed

Veteran actor Rajinikanth launched ‘Rajinikanth Foundation’, his venture that is aimed at ‘Educating, Empowering and Employing youth from the lower strata of society. According to the website Rajinikanthfoundation.org, it would offer advice to youth on selecting career paths, financial support for training towards their goals and provide an ecosystem to nurture their talent.&nbsp;

The <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/rajinikanth">Rajinikanth</a> foundation’s vision reads thus, “By using education of the poor and the downtrodden as a tool, Rajinikanth Foundation envisions to create a society built on Empathetic Governance, Progressive Thinking, Leadership Excellence, Scientific Temper, Democratized Education and Sustainable Economic system”.

Launched on Sunday, 26th December, the Foundation has invited applications from TNPSC(Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission) Exam Aspirants. Based on an interview and selection process, 100 candidates would be chosen by experts to undergo free coaching in Chennai, from February 2022. According to the foundation, all their initial initiatives would be limited to Tamil Nadu.&nbsp;

“The foundation shall focus specifically on the education of the children who will be first-generation graduates, children of below poverty line cardholders and low-income group, children of the economically constrained single parent, orphans, children of farmers and children of the slum inhabitants” reads the description on their website.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/vjay-sethupathi-on-working-with-sriram-raghavan-and-katrina-kaif-440293" hreflang="en">Vjay Sethupathi on working with Sriram Raghavan and Katrina Kaif</a>

<h2><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/bollywood/news-salman-khan-the-snake-bit-me-thrice-on-my-hand-440259" hreflang="en">Salman Khan: The snake bit me thrice on my hand</a></h2>

Veteran actor Rajinikanth launched ‘Rajinikanth Foundation’, his venture that is aimed at ‘Educating, Empowering and Employing youth from the lower strata of society.

Veteran actor Rajinikanth launched ‘Rajinikanth Foundation’, his venture that is aimed at ‘Educating, Empowering and Employing youth from the lower strata of society. According to the website Rajinikanthfoundation.org, it would offer advice to youth on selecting career paths, financial support for training towards their goals and provide an ecosystem to nurture their talent. The Rajinikanth foundation’s vision reads thus, “By using education of the poor and the downtrodden as a tool, Rajinikanth Foundation envisions to create a society built on Empathetic Governance, Progressive Thinking, Leadership Excellence, Scientific Temper, Democratized Education and Sustainable Economic system”. Launched on Sunday, 26th December, the Foundation has invited applications from TNPSC(Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission) Exam Aspirants. Based on an interview and selection process, 100 candidates would be chosen by experts to undergo free coaching in Chennai, from February 2022. According to the foundation, all their initial initiatives would be limited to Tamil Nadu. “The foundation shall focus specifically on the education of the children who will be first-generation graduates, children of below poverty line cardholders and low-income group, children of the economically constrained single parent, orphans, children of farmers and children of the slum inhabitants” reads the description on their website. Also read: Vjay Sethupathi on working with Sriram Raghavan and Katrina Kaif Salman Khan: The snake bit me thrice on my hand

Rajinikanth launches Foundation to empower youth from lesser-privileged backgrounds

The Tamil Nadu government has formally requested the local unit of Taiwanese hardware manufacturing firm Foxconn, to provide better basic amenities for its workers. Among the facilities enlisted as part of the suggestions were - better hostels, spacious living areas, adequate bathrooms and toilets, potable water, living spaces with proper ventilation and overall improved infrastructure in hostels/dormitories.&nbsp;

This comes nearly a week after hundreds of Foxconn workers protested and blocked the crucial Chennai-Bengaluru highway, as over 150 women workers had fallen sick after consuming the food provided in the hostels.&nbsp;

According to the protestors, there were long-standing issues between the management and the contractual workers, which the management allegedly refused to address or resolve. Among the issues highlighted were the basic living facilities, better working conditions, hygienic food and water etc.

According to the government, they are keen on bringing investments and job opportunities to the state, but are also keen on voicing out for the welfare of workers (especially women). In line with this, top government officials, including IAS and IPS officers had met with representatives of Foxconn on Thursday and offered suggestions.&nbsp;

Among the points highlighted to the company were, District Collector's certificate of approval for the living spaces provided to workers, provision of hygienic meals that are cooked within the premises of the hostel, ensuring timely approval of emergency leave for contractual workers and also utilising services of manpower agencies for seeking replacement/backup workforce to make up for those absent.&nbsp;

According to the government, the company had agreed to implement the suggestions and has also expressed its intention to expand its operations and offer more job opportunities.&nbsp;

Nearly 14,000 men and women are employed in the Foxconn unit that manufactures electronic components, iPhones for Apple and handsets for other leading smartphone brands.

Many of the women workers are staying in the nearby dormitories. It was after consuming their meals from one such dormitory that over 150 workers were affected by food poisoning and had to be taken to nearby hospitals for treatment.&nbsp;

According to workers, the management did not offer any response when queried about the health condition of women workers who were admitted to the hospital.&nbsp;

There were also rumours of a few women workers having died, owing to food poisoning. This is said to have been a major trigger for the protest. However, the government authorities formally dismissed the claims of workers having died and assured action against rumour mongers.

The Tamil Nadu government has formally requested the local unit of Taiwanese hardware manufacturing firm Foxconn, to provide better basic amenities for its workers.

The Tamil Nadu government has formally requested the local unit of Taiwanese hardware manufacturing firm Foxconn, to provide better basic amenities for its workers. Among the facilities enlisted as part of the suggestions were - better hostels, spacious living areas, adequate bathrooms and toilets, potable water, living spaces with proper ventilation and overall improved infrastructure in hostels/dormitories. This comes nearly a week after hundreds of Foxconn workers protested and blocked the crucial Chennai-Bengaluru highway, as over 150 women workers had fallen sick after consuming the food provided in the hostels. According to the protestors, there were long-standing issues between the management and the contractual workers, which the management allegedly refused to address or resolve. Among the issues highlighted were the basic living facilities, better working conditions, hygienic food and water etc. According to the government, they are keen on bringing investments and job opportunities to the state, but are also keen on voicing out for the welfare of workers (especially women). In line with this, top government officials, including IAS and IPS officers had met with representatives of Foxconn on Thursday and offered suggestions. Among the points highlighted to the company were, District Collector's certificate of approval for the living spaces provided to workers, provision of hygienic meals that are cooked within the premises of the hostel, ensuring timely approval of emergency leave for contractual workers and also utilising services of manpower agencies for seeking replacement/backup workforce to make up for those absent. According to the government, the company had agreed to implement the suggestions and has also expressed its intention to expand its operations and offer more job opportunities. Nearly 14,000 men and women are employed in the Foxconn unit that manufactures electronic components, iPhones for Apple and handsets for other leading smartphone brands. Many of the women workers are staying in the nearby dormitories. It was after consuming their meals from one such dormitory that over 150 workers were affected by food poisoning and had to be taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. According to workers, the management did not offer any response when queried about the health condition of women workers who were admitted to the hospital. There were also rumours of a few women workers having died, owing to food poisoning. This is said to have been a major trigger for the protest. However, the government authorities formally dismissed the claims of workers having died and assured action against rumour mongers.

India: Provide better facilities for workers, Tamil Nadu govt tells iPhone assembly unit Foxconn

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Zee News Rajasthan

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Sidharth MP

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