Padayappa @ Kamala Cinemas.. What a movie, what a emotion and what an elevation.. even after so many years.. 🥰. Only Possible for one man - Our Thalaivar!
Happy Birthday to our one and only #SuperstarRajinikanth. Thank you @KamalaCinemas for the awesome experience!
In a way, today’s Rajinikanth Times is more than a tribute to the actor's semicentennial; it's history printed in ink.
- HINDUSTAN TIMES
Full link: https://t.co/fK3AAxiYTJ
In the last decade, the @NHAI_Official has collected over Rs 1000 crore in toll at the NH-48 stretch from Maduravoyal to Wallajah. In return, what they’ve given lakhs of commuters is a DEATH TRAP, that’s called a highway.
Driving down the 100km stretch of NH 48 from Maduravoyal to Walajah, part of the Chennai-Bengaluru highway, is like dicing with death, especially after dark. The ₹1,500-crore project to widen the stretch has been dragging for 13 years now, with no end in sight. What makes it worse is that National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and its contractors have collected more than ₹1,000 crore in tolls from this stretch over the past decade.
So you actually pay to dodge huge truckers and buses while avoiding wide craters when the road suddenly narrows where a flyover is being built. On most days, there’s hardly anyone working on the dozen underpasses and flyovers that are being constructed. Just seven flyovers have been opened to traffic. Four more have been completed, but these haven’t been opened to the public.
So why is it taking so long? NHAI blames it on the contractors that it appointed and the state govt. The first contractor’s services were terminated in 2016 for “slow progress”. The second contractor, appointed in 2018, walked out in 2021 over a dispute on fly ash supply. “As per contract, fly ash from thermal plants was to be free, but it was sold at ₹205/tonne by state.
After starting three flyovers and restoring parts of the KancheepuramWalajah stretch, the contractor abandoned work due to cost and logistics,” said NHAI project director (Kancheepuram project implementation unit) A Savithiri Devi.
NHAI then split the work, giving 30km (Maduravoyal– Sriperumbudur) to Tamil Nadu highways department at 400 crore and re-tendering the 36km Sriperumbudur– Kancheepuram stretch. The third NHAI contractor, who began work this Jan, has barely made progress, leaving around 20km still deadly. On this stretch, vehicles crawl at 20kmph. This isn’t the only problem.
The road passes through TN’s biggest industrial estate that houses thousands of manufacturing units. Yet, right outside Sipcot, three key flyover and underpass projects remain abandoned with nothing but pillars and rubble in sight. “Traffic chokes up every evening. Deliveries get delayed. Bad roads damage goods, such as glass, and create scratches on new cars during transportation. This affects business,” said Sipcot’s former project officer Varadarajan Shanmugam.
At Vedal in Kancheepuram, vehicles were choked bumperto-bumper on service lanes at 2pm as trucks and buses squeezed through abandoned work zones. Similar chaos reigns at Sunguvarchathram, Nandimedu, Murukkanthangal, and Attuputhur. At night, construction dust envelop the road. Near Walajah, people have begun using an under-construction flyover, though the roads are still not laid.
State highways department claims it finished its portion three years ago. “Contractors are now in their liability period. We’re fixing bad patches,” said the state’s NH Wing superintending engineer Selvakumar.
The newly relaid sections between Poonamallee and Sriperumbudur are already filled with craters for at least 10km. “Accidents happen almost every week,” said Vijaya Govindarajan, president of Vellore District Bus Owners Association. “Forcing heavy vehicles on to narrow service lanes is disastrous. Even Volvo buses crawl at 20kmph30kmph,” he said.
I was born in 1959.
I am seeing every 5 yrs a worrying shift in parenting to pampering. This video is in Tamil. Regarding #KarurStampedeTragedy when courts, police, politicians and public are searching for reasons for this tragic loss of innocent lives this video is an eye opener.
Heard it many times. My advise to parents is : “parent ! Do not pamper”.
If children are your assets exercise some control if not full control to put them in track.
Expecting abuse by retarded brains I have limited the rights to respond. Sorry about it.
Just read and discuss with your spouse. Digest the bitter truth.
@dmuthuk I too was considering a xuv 700 or a tata safari.. the only reason that is discouraging me is their after sales service. I have had a Hyundai and Kia before, both had excellent customer service.
Rabies is not just a street menace but a hidden danger at home.
About 50% of pet dogs that came up for registration in Chennai were found unvaccinated for the viral disease. Since 2024, GCC has received 42,740 applications for pet licences, of which 24,862 were rejected—at least 22,000 because the pets were not vaccinated or their rabies shots weren’t renewed annually. Owners are supposed to vaccinate dogs between 14–21 weeks of age and renew the jab every year.
A worrying trend is that most rejected applicants never reapply even after vaccination, leaving thousands of unvaccinated dogs outside the regulatory net, creating a potential rabies spread risk. GCC has so far issued only 12,708 licences (30% of applications), while 5,170 are under review. Some rejections were due to clerical errors like name mismatches or people from outside the city applying in Chennai.
Pet parents are at high risk. Pet dogs taken out for walks may be bitten by rabies-infected strays. At home, a playful bite or lick can transmit the infection. If you get rabies, there is no treatment. Pitbulls and rottweilers have the highest record of biting their owners, and kids are especially vulnerable as they may not convey symptoms or friendly bites quickly to parents.
Experts say GCC must carry out awareness drives in schools for parents and students about the importance of dog vaccination. The civic body is also planning a pet-dog survey using sanitary workers to enforce vaccination across the city.