City News

He could not even make the main draw in the last edition of the Aircel Chennai Open but this year Milos Raonic is optimistic of putting up a strong show at India’s only ATP event as he has progressed immensely in the last 12 months. Raonic had become the first qualifier to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam since 1999 at the Australian Open, two weeks after he bowed out of the Chennai Open qualifiers.

In 2011, Raonic also became the first Canadian to win an ATP World Tour title at SAP Open in 16 years and climbed from 156 to a career-high 25 in the rankings.

The Chennai Corporation proposes to produce power from waste at its Perungudi and Kodungaiyur dump yards. Besides power generation, organic compost and refuse-derived fuel would also be made.

Addressing a workshop on municipal solid waste organised here on Monday by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Environment Minister B.V. Ramana said that the civic body would soon invite expression of interest for the project at Kodungaiyur.

Through such projects, the government intends to reduce the load of the dump yards, particularly the one in Perungudi, which is on the Pallikaranai marsh.

Two-time winner Marin Cilic of Croatia has been ruled out of the 2012 Chennai Open, India’s only ATP World Tour event, due to an injury.

The 17th edition of the tournament will be held at the SDAT Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium from January 2 to 8 and will see in action an impressive line-up of Indian and international players including world number nine Janko Tipsarevic and world number 10 Nicolas Almagro, defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka and former champion Xavier Malisse.

Chennai airport is seeing a steady build-up of gold smuggling cases this year compared to last year.

Since April 2011, over 63 smuggling cases have been registered at Chennai airport against 45 cases last year.

A senior customs official said Sri Lankan nationals and Indian labourers returning from Malaysia were involved in most of the cases registered in Chennai.

The organisers of the i1 Super Series on Tuesday announced Chennai Super Sonics as the fifth franchise for the upcoming motorsport league.

Chennai thus joins previously announced teams from Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore and Delhi.

K Raghu Ramakrishna Raju, Chairman of Ind-Barath Power Infra, an infrastructure development company, is the owner of the franchise.

The Pune-based Force Motors is planning to introduce two more new products at the auto show to be held in New Delhi, according to Prasan Firodia, Managing Director.

More >

The seizure of 6.3 kg of a contraband drug that was hidden under the bonnet of a tractor and smuggled inside the sterile area of the airport brings to light the security inadequacies at the Chennai Airport. More >

From December 1, the US visa for intra-company transfers, also known as ‘blanket’ L visa, will only be issued from the US embassy in Chennai.
According to a press release issued by the US embassy on Tuesday, companies throughout India including Mumbai, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata
will have to send their applicants exclusively to Chennai for visa interviews.

‘Blanket’ L visas are issued to managers, executives, or specialised knowledge professionals transferred within their company.

With the media going to town about the DMK distancing itself from the Maran brothers, party chief M Karunanidhi was quick to react saying reports that he was not supporting his grandnephews Dayanidhi and Kalanithi Maran were “wrong and disturbing”.

In a statement on Tuesday, he said, “I have already said it’s a conspiracy against the DMK. Murasoli Maran (his nephew and father of the Maran brothers) has given them both to me and we will face anything which bothers them legally. I’ll support them as always and will do so in future as well. The same way that I want Kanimozhi to come out, I want their (Maran brothers) troubles also to go away.” More significant were his indirect remarks against the Congress.

Chennai port’s proposed third terminal has received only one price bid after six groups backed out of the auction to build the Rs.3,686 crore facility, posing a setback to India’s container terminal privatization programme.

The lone, single-digit bid is also the lowest ever quoted for a terminal at a Union government-owned port.

Chennai port is India’s second biggest after Jawaharlal Nehru port near Mumbai. Its new terminal will have a capacity to load four million standard containers (msc) a year and be deep enough to allow berthing of ultra large ships capable of carrying more than 15,000 containers.