Latest news with #RPriya
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Free skill training for women; 7.5cr allocated
Chennai: To empower women through self-employment opportunities, Greater Chennai Corporation has announced free skill development training programmes. The training will cover a range of in-demand skills, including tailoring, embroidery, Aari work, beautician courses, and computer-based accounting software. These programmes aim to enhance the employability and entrepreneurial capabilities of women across the city. During the budget session for the financial year 2025-26, mayor R Priya announced that free skill development classes will be conducted for women. "As per the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) outlined for the initiative, one training centre will be established in each of the 15 zones. A budget allocation of 50 lakh/zone has been made, amounting to a total of 7.5 crore for the entire project," said a senior official with the corporation. He added that the initiative is expected to equip thousands of women in Chennai with necessary skills to start their own ventures or seek gainful employment. The training will be provided free of cost. The corporation set a total of 880 training hours. Of this, tailoring and Aari classes will comprise 270 hours, beautician courses 240 hours, and Tally courses 370 hours. "Through skill development courses, women will be able to start their own businesses as tailors or beauticians, which will help support their families, especially those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds," said the official. The corporation will soon release the detailed schedule and enrolment procedures for interested participants.
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Prestigious honour for TOI journalist Julie Mariappan
CHENNAI: Julie Mariappan , The Times of India Editor (Policy & Governance) was among a host of women achievers, who were honored with the 'Surya Magal' award as part of the International Women's Day celebration, in Chennai on Tuesday. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The event organised by mayor R Priya , honoured achievers in the presence of HR & CE minister P K Sekarbabu. chief minister 's wife Durga Stalin, actors Prabhu and Sathyaraj honoured them with a citation, shawl and memento at an event held at Raja Annamalai Mandram. The CM's signed citation was presented to the awardees. The awardees include writer Sivasankari, film actor C R Vijayakumari, singer P Suseela, Tamil scholar Saratha Nambi Arooran, TAFE CMD Mallika Srinivasan, Apollo Hospitals executive vice chairperson Preetha Reddy , Tamil Saiva Peravai president Sivagnana M Kalaiarasi Natarajan, MSSRF chairperson Dr Soumya Swaminathan, former judge R Mala, writer Indumathi, writer Bharathi Baskar, advocate A Arulmozhi, Sivakasi sub collector Priya Ravichandran, chess grandmaster Vaishali Rameshbabu, carrom champion M Khazima.
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Tenders floated for work that's long done
Chennai: Violating the Tamil Nadu Tender Transparency Act provisions, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has floated nine tenders worth 2.2 crore for civic work that had been completed at least four months ago — without any prior bidding. The work, ranging from road restoration and footpath kerbs to railings and median painting, was executed on Lang's Garden Road, Rajaji Salai, Raja Muthiah Salai, Elephant Gate Bridge, and Pantheon Road, among others. A TOI check confirmed that all work was completed and sources within GCC, in Royapuram zone, admitted it. These tenders, floated last week, were issued to regularize payments to pre-fixed contractors. Some contractors, who participated in the recent bids, said they were made to withdraw. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai After the e-tendering system was introduced, all departments have to upload the tender bids on the TN Tender's website, and any contractor can participate to bid at competitive prices. These tenders are accessible to the public too. However, in this case, GCC's bus routes roads department chose to send the invitation to participate in the tender through email to selected contractors only. TOI accessed the private mails sent to contractors by the bus route roads department asking them to participate in the tender. "The tenders were orchestrated for work that was already done. We got wind of them through friends and applied, but officials kept pressuring us to back out," said a bidder. Other bidders said it is a dummy tender setup, as the main contractor, who had already completed the work, entered the fray with two known dummy bidders, ensuring he quotes the lowest and wins. By law, GCC can issue closed tenders for emergency civic jobs such as patchwork or wall repairs below 50,000. But each of these nine projects ranged from 15 lakh to 30 lakh. Commissioner J Kumaragurubaran and mayor R Priya said they would look into the matter. Even small-value projects are now supposed to go through the govt e-marketplace (GEM) portal for fair competition. Contractors say that while this case involved 2 crore, across GCC's 15 zones, 150-200 such closed tenders are floated every month. "These closed tenders are just corruption tools," said Arappor Iyakkam convenor Jayaram Venkatesan. "E-tendering was brought in to end this. Yet they keep going back to the old ways. The commissioner must be held accountable," he said.
New Indian Express
02-05-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Chennai Mayor hands over Rs 7L aid to sanitary workers
CHENNAI: On the occasion of May Day, Chennai Mayor R Priya distributed welfare kits worth Rs 7.41 lakh to 400 sanitation and malaria workers at an event held at the Ripon Building. The mayor also took part in a feast organised for the workers. Currently, 3,959 permanent sanitation workers, 420 Non Muster Roll (NMR) workers and 4,990 workers from SHGs are employed in Chennai corporation. The welfare kits, which include two uniforms, towels, a cap, tiffin box, water bottle and a bag, will be distributed to all of them. Addressing the workers, the mayor said based on Chief Minister MK Stalin's directive, identity cards were issued last month through Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing and Development Corporation (TAHDCO) to both permanent and temporary sanitation workers in government and private sectors. The ID cards will enable them to access various welfare schemes. The mayor also highlighted the establishment of one-stop centres for cleanliness workers in all 15 zones to offer support services for the workers.
Time of India
26-04-2025
- General
- Time of India
GCC launches rehab camp for ragpickers at Kodungaiyur
Chennai: Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has launched a special rehabilitation camp for ragpickers at the Kodungaiyur dumpyard . The programme aims to provide a fresh start to marginalised communities by linking them directly to essential govt welfare schemes. Mayor R Priya inaugurated the camp on Saturday at Kodungaiyur, where 265 ragpickers from North Chennai received services such as medical check-ups, Aadhaar enrolment, voter ID registration, housing assistance, skill development programmes, employment opportunities, and access to banking and social security benefits. The camp was organised in collaboration with multiple govt departments, including Metrowater, TNUHDB, labour and social welfare. For the Kodungaiyur bio-mining project, GCC engaged volunteers trained by Anna University to bridge the gap between ragpickers and welfare agencies, ensuring effective delivery of govt benefits, Priya said. Social activists have raised concerns about livelihoods of ragpickers, as the govt plans to implement a waste-to-energy project at the landfills. Since PET bottles, paper, cardboard, and glass will be sent to incinerators, waste workers risk losing access to these resources and, consequently, their sources of income. "Biomining is being introduced as a way to reduce landfill waste, but it has also disrupted the livelihoods of marginalised communities," said Joel Shelton, an activist. Ragpickers played a crucial role in managing India's 62 million tonnes of annual waste by collecting, sorting, segregating, and trading it for their survival, she said.
