1. Virudhunagar blast | Negligence led to explosion: police
Virudhunagar district police have blamed negligent handling of explosives by the workers at the explosive storage unit in Kariyapatti for the blast that claimed three lives yesterday.
The first information report registered by Aviyoor police revealed that the three workers were not given any safety gears. Similarly, no proper supervision was done even as the explosives were being handled at the storage unit.
The operators of the quarry and explosive godown handed over ₹12 lakh to the legal heirs of each of the three deceased workers.
2. Two critical after eating chicken rice
A 67-year-old father and his 41-year-old daughter are getting treatment at a critical stage after eating chicken rice. The hotel that provided the rice was sealed by Namakkal district administration.
3. Nilgiris district administration urged to cancel summer festivals due to water shortage
The Coonoor Consumer Protection Association has urged the Nilgiris district administration to cancel the summer tourist festival season due to the impending water crisis that has already begun affecting residents of the district’s major towns.
In a letter to the Nilgiris district collector, M. Aruna, S. Manogaran, president of the association, questioned the rationale of hosting summer festivals, including the flower show, rose show and fruit show in a year where local residents are facing water shortages.
He said the towns of Udhagamandalam and Coonoor in particular, apart from already facing water shortages, was also being negatively impacted by unrestricted tourism.
