Chennai's drinking water seeps down the drain

Red Hills reservoir, which serves as Chennai's primary storage, is leaking water due to damage in one of its weirs (a barrier across a river designed to alter its flow characteristics). This is causing it to lose precious water meant for Chennai's drinking water supply, for nearly a month now. Repair work worth Rs. 10.56 crore to strengthen and widen the bund is already underway and is expected to finish by March. 

'Thummalapalle groundwater is safe from uranium'

Uranium concentration in groundwater of Thummalapalle in Andhra Pradesh, is below the maximum prescribed limit set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and poses no threat to the people residing in the area, finds recent study. The research was conducted in the context of the Uranium Corporation of India Limited's mining operations being conducted at Thummalapalle, which is one of the world's largest uranium resources. Nearly, 96% of water samples examined during the study contained uranium below 30 micro-grams per litre as prescribed by the WHO.

'Kerala's Anganwadi toilets are the cleanest'

According to government statistics, Kerala has the cleanest Anganwadi toilets among Indian states, followed by Himachal Pradesh. The maximum number of 'very clean toilets' were noticed in Kerala, while the least number of toilets in the same category were in Punjab and Bihar. The category 'unclean/unhygienic' toilets had Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Bihar at the top.

Authorities undertake remedial steps to check Vizag beach erosion

The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation and Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority have initiated remedial measures to check beach erosion in the city. Sea surge and beach erosion had been posing danger to the beach road near Kursura Submarine Museum. Authorities have dumped boulders at the site, as a temporary solution to check erosion and plan to take up permanent measures after 2-3 months. 

1,122 turtles trapped to death in Tamil Nadu, Andhra in January

Around 1,122 Olive Ridley turtles were found dead along the beaches in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh in January. Marine experts ascertain turtles getting trapped in the trawl fishing nets of mechanised boats, gill nets or ray fishing nets, as the prime reasons for the high rate of mortality. However, Dhandapani, retired marine scientist from the Zoological Survey of India, suggests investigation of the injuries on the carcasses before reaching a conclusion.

This is a weekly roundup of important news from February 2-9, 2014. Also read last week's policy matters updates.