Train carrying water to reach parched Chennai in afternoon: Railways
New Delhi: Water for parched Chennai will reach the city at around 2 pm on Friday, the railways has said, adding that a train with 50 tank wagons (BTPN), with 50,000 litres of water in each, left Jolarpettai at 7.20 am.
The train is expected to reach Villivakkam around 2.00 pm where it will inaugurated by Tamil Nadu ministers, officials said. Jolarpettai is 217 km away from Chennai in Tamil Nadu's Vellore district.
The train was supposed to reach on Thursday, but leakages in the valves led to the delay.
Chennai has been grappling with an acute water crisis over the past four months. The southern metropolis is facing a daily water deficit of at least 200 million litres, and the four reservoirs supplying to the city have run dry. The rich haven't been spared either, but their suffering is nothing compared to the working class.
Rampant unplanned development, deficient monsoon last year coupled with inadequate urban planning has brought Chennai to its knees. The Tamil Nadu government had earlier requested the railways to help them ferry the water to the city.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
