CITIES
Drive to collect used fishing nets launched | Chennai News – The Times of India

Chennai: Tamil Nadu is stepping up its fight against pollution, launching new programmes to collect fishing nets, recycle river plastics, monitor industries, and build stronger protection for its land and sea.
In a move to protect the marine ecosystems, TN govt has launched a state-wide drive to collect and recycle abandoned fishing nets and reduce plastic pollution in rivers and estuaries. Building on the success of the pilot TN Fishing Net Initiatives (TNFI) launched in Kasimedu here, where 13,510 kg of fishing net waste has already been collected and recycled, the state plans to expand the programme across all 14 coastal districts, funded by 1.75 crore from the World Bank’s TN-SHORE project.
Adding to this, TN will implement the TN-TAPER project — a 4 crore pilot project to intercept and recycle river plastics, beginning with a riverbank site in the city. Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) will also be established in coastal districts such as Chennai, Ramanathapuram, and Thoothukudi at an estimated cost of 1 crore, aiming to prevent plastic from reaching the oceans.
Meanwhile, the state is setting benchmarks in environmental monitoring by introducing India’s first mobile environmental monitoring lab. Equipped with real-time analytical instruments, this 1 crore initiative will enable rapid disaster responses to gas leaks, oil spills, and industrial accidents in Chennai.
In addition, the TN Pollution Control Board plans to remotely monitor vehicle emissions at toll plazas through a 15 lakh pilot project, aiming to better control traffic-related air pollution.
The govt is also boosting its enforcement capabilities with new flying squads in Madurai, Trichy, Cuddalore, Coimbatore, and Tirunelveli, with an allocation of 2.35 crore, ensuring swift action against environmental violations.
CITIES
Ceiling fan falls on faculty member at DU’s Kalindi College – The Times of India

New Delhi: A ceiling fan fell on the head of a faculty member at Delhi University’s Kalindi College, raising serious concerns about the institution’s deteriorating infrastructure. A video of the purported incident has surfaced online, drawing widespread criticism over the state of facilities on campus. The video circulating on social media shows a woman seated on a chair, visibly in pain with her hands on her head, which was reportedly bleeding. A ceiling fan can be seen lying on the floor in a completely dismantled state. According to the college administration, the fan fell on an assistant professor, who was immediately taken to the hospital.
“She is fine now and no serious injury has been reported,” said college principal Meena Charanda. “Repair work is already underway in the building. We have written to the engineering department of Delhi University requesting a report on the structural condition of the college building. Ours is an old structure, built in 1967, and we have asked whether repairs are sufficient or if the building needs to be razed entirely.”
The faculty member is an assistant professor at the college’s computer science department and could not be contacted for comment. The incident took place in the academic block, according to the college’s students’ union. The students’ union has submitted a memorandum to the principal demanding an investigation of the incident and audit of the college infrastructure.
Slamming the incident in a video on his social media handle, DUSU president Ronak Khatri demanded that the DU administration constitute a committee to identify all buildings in need of urgent repairs. He also called for completion of repair work within the next three months and asked that a report in this regard be made public.
CITIES
Bengaluru: 9 innovators selected to combat antimicrobial resistance in environmental settings | Bengaluru News – The Times of India

Bengaluru: The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (CCAMP), in collaboration with the UK department of health and social care’s Global AMR Innovation Fund (GAMRIF), announced nine winners of its AMR Challenge 2024-25. This initiative aims to tackle the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in environmental settings.
Launched in Aug 2024 under the India AMR Innovation Hub, the challenge received nearly 200 applications from startups and innovators across India. The selected winners will receive funding and ecosystem support to help scale, produce, adopt, and socially integrate their solutions.
Taslimarif Saiyed, director and CEO of C-CAMP, said the winning innovations address critical challenges in AMR, including point-of-care diagnostics, pathogen screening in farm, fishery, and hospital runoff, wastewater treatment, industry effluent management, and air decontamination in hospital settings.
By 2050, deaths associated with AMR are projected to rise to 10 million annually worldwide. Key contributors include climate change, antimicrobial misuse across the food and agriculture industries, and antimicrobial pollution due to poor waste management practices.
“The GAMRIF-CCAMP partnership aims to develop contextual solutions specifically for low and middle-income countries (LMICs) to help bend the AMR curve in environmental settings. This collaboration positions CCAMP alongside major global AMR stakeholders in GAMRIF’s funding portfolio, such as Combating Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical Accelerator (CARBX) and Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP),” a statement issued here read.
The Winners:
■ Indian Institute of Science (IISc): MONZymes-based technology for degrading residual antibiotics from effluent wastewater through advanced (photo)catalytic activity.
■ Foundation for Neglected Diseases Research (FNDR): A cartridge-based device with a patented mixture of activated charcoal and plant-based materials to deplete antimicrobial residues from wastewater.
■ Biomoneta Research Pvt Ltd: qAMI (Quantitative Airborne Microbial Index), combining detection of airborne total microbial load and pathogenic microbes in hospital settings using an AI/ML platform.
■ DNOME Pvt Ltd: A pocket PCR device for rapid on-field detection of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes in aquaculture farms and wastewater sources.
■ Vividew Innovations Pvt Ltd: A novel combination of membrane filtration and advanced photocatalytic oxidation to remove residual antibiotics and resistant bacteria from hospital sewage treatment plants.
■ Diagopreutic Pvt Ltd: A colorimetric method for detecting residual antibiotics and pathogen identification in aquaculture farm effluents, based on differential nitroreductase activity.
■ Mylab Discovery Solutions Pvt Ltd: Rapid pathogen detection from wastewater using in-house nucleic acid extraction and multiplexed quantitative RT-PCR technology.
CITIES
Soon, health checkup a must for students of govt schools | Mumbai News – The Times of India

Mumbai: Soon, annual health check-ups will be mandatory for students from all govt, govt-aided, municipal and zilla parishad schools. Health cards will be created for all students and details from every health check-up will be uploaded in an online app developed by the public health department. If students require further medical treatment after the health check-up, all necessary advanced medical treatments, surgeries will be provided free of cost.
The govt issued a resolution on Tuesday announcing the implementation of the National Child Health Programme in the state through the public health department. The programme was launched nationally to improve survival, development and quality of life of children in the age group of 0 to 18 years through early detection of diseases, deficiencies or disabilities. During a meeting held in the state to discuss the implementation of the programme, the state’s public health department was instructed to develop an online app to create health cards for all students. The health cards will have up-to-date information on all students.
Schools have been asked to inform parents to be present during the health check-up. They will also have to ensure that health examinations are conducted using safe and updated technology by the medical team under the national programme. After the health check-ups, principals have been asked to maintain records of any ailments and treatments, and once a tracking system is made available, schools will also have to keep online records. Principals should also ensure 100% attendance during these health examinations and if any students need further treatment at the taluka or district level hospital, arrangements should be made.
As per the national programme, screening teams established at the taluka level, consisting of two medical officers, a pharmacist, and a nurse, will be visiting Anganwadi centres and schools to examine the children.
To implement the student health check-up programme more effectively, committees formed at district levels will be preparing a year-round schedule for health examinations across all talukas. If students require further medical treatment after the check-up, necessary planning should be done and regular reviews will have to be conducted.
-
Entertainment2 months ago
J-Hope Gears Up to Release New Single ‘Sweet Dreams’ With Miguel
-
Lifestyle2 months ago
Kim Soo Hyun’s agency CONFIRMS past relationship with Kim Sae Ron in official statement; rubbish claims of involvement in actress’ death by suicide | – The Times of India
-
Entertainment2 months ago
Purav Jha creates a parody of Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent, internet reacts: ‘Pakka FIR hoga’ | – The Times of India
-
Health2 months ago
The Top 10 Richest People In Asia In 2025 – Forbes India
-
Lifestyle2 months ago
Aamir Khan reveals Javed Akhtar and Amitabh Bachchan told him, ‘Lagaan would definitely be a flop’ | Hindi Movie News – The Times of India
-
CITIES2 months ago
Hampi rape case: 3rd suspect arrested from TN | Bengaluru News – The Times of India
-
Lifestyle2 months ago
Blake Lively SNUBBED by Ana Kendrick; ‘Justice for Justin Baldoni’ supporter turns up at Another Simple Favor premiere- WATCH | – The Times of India
-
Lifestyle2 months ago
Anupam Kher shares a fun video with Satish Kaushik’s daughter Vanshika on Holi: ‘They are back’ | Hindi Movie News – The Times of India