A ₹62 lakh road sweeping machine inducted into service by the City Municipal Corporation in May 2020 and subsequently remaining unused for several years, following a technical snag, has been restored to service.

The machine, initially deployed to clean arterial roads in the city, was recently repaired at a cost of ₹3.92 lakh. Corporation Commissioner Arpit Jain inspected its operation on Friday night (September 18, 2026).

Mounted on a truck, the machine removes dust, mud and other waste accumulated on roads and along the roadsides. Water is sprayed on the road surface to suppress dust, following which a suction system collects the waste into a six-tonne storage tank, a Corporation engineer said.

The machine can sweep about 4 km to 6 km of road in an hour, the engineer added.

The Corporation maintains around 841.79 km of roads, while 109.98 km of roads within the city are maintained by the State Highways Department. The machine is currently being used mainly on arterial roads maintained by the Highways Department. It will subsequently be deployed on major roads maintained by the Corporation, the engineer said.

Given the heavy vehicular movement during the day, the machine can be operated only during night hours. At present, dust and other waste on the roads are removed manually by workers. Mechanised sweeping would make the process more efficient and save time, the engineer said.

Australian company Ansell will manufacture some of its premium synthetic gloves for its key global markets at its plant at Perundurai, near Coimbatore.

Jennifer Ross Murphy, Chief Medical Business Officer at Ansell, told The Hindu recently that the investments (of over $60 million) are strategic and focused. “This is the largest investment by Ansell in a greenfield project,” she said.

The plant will make gloves to supply to markets such as the U.S. and the U.K.

The company has commissioned one production line and has started supplying gloves to the Indian market. It has installed, in total, three production lines, and testing is under way at the other two production lines with a focus on synthetic products. The production will be ramped up gradually.

The company also has production facilities in Malaysia and Sri Lanka, she added. “We will start supplying to the key markets from the Perundurai plant by the end of this calendar year,” she said. The raw material supply for these products come from Ansell’s global suppliers.

Providing employment to about 500 people now, the plant recycles and reuses water, and 95% of its energy consumption comes from renewable sources, she said.

A joint team of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP), Erode, has cracked a theft case reported on a train and recovered valuables, including a laptop, mobile phone and a gold chain.

According to the GRP, a passenger lodged a complaint through ‘RailMadad’ on August 26 stating that her bag had been stolen from berth No. 64 in coach S7 of Train No. 16528 Kannur–Yesvantpur Express. The GRP, Erode, registered a case under the relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A special team was formed to trace the suspect. The team examined CCTV footage from Erode railway station and the Erode bus stand, used cyber techniques and tracked the suspect’s movements. The suspect was traced to Tirunelveli and detained.

The accused, identified as K. Sinthamadar, 32, was arrested on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) after he allegedly confessed to the offence during interrogation, the police said. The stolen property recovered from him included a laptop, mobile phone, an 8-gram gold chain, a smartwatch, cash and important documents. The accused and the recovered property were handed over to the GRP, Erode. He was subsequently produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.

The electronic crop cultivation area survey for the current Kharif season is under way in Erode district with officials of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department and volunteers recording details of crops cultivated in the district.

According to Joint Director of Agriculture R. Sivakumar, electronic recording of cultivated crop areas has been made mandatory as part of the policy decisions of the Central and State governments. Of the 7,61,624 sub-divisions in the district, the survey has been taken up for cultivated Kharif crops. Details of 3,07,192 sub-divisions have so far been entered in the application. The survey will continue till September 20, Mr. Sivakumar said.

Officials and volunteers engaged in the survey are being paid ₹3 for recording each sub-division of current fallow land, ₹5 for each sub-division under the principal crop, ₹2 for each additional crop and ₹10 for each sub-division in hill villages. The survey is being conducted in all 14 blocks of the district. Farmers have been requested to approach officials of the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department and get details of their crop cultivation recorded. Those interested in working as volunteers for the survey may contact the Agriculture Department officials concerned in their respective blocks, Mr. Sivakumar said.

Strong opposition has been voiced to a proposal to hand over 6.40 acres of the VOC Park to a private operator for 15 years under the public-private partnership (PPP) mode, with Corporation councillors contending that the move would cause a substantial loss of revenue to the civic body.

The V.O. Chidambaranar Park, popularly known as VOC Park, is spread over 25 acres and was established in 1912. It originally featured a garden and a mini zoo, established in 1992. The park also had fountains and a toy train, which later fell into disuse, while the zoo was subsequently closed. The park remains an important recreational space for residents, but has lost its sheen over the years, prompting demands for its redevelopment.

As part of the State government’s initiative to develop urban infrastructure through PPP projects, the park was identified for redevelopment in 2024. The Corporation engaged a private consultant to prepare a detailed feasibility report and approved the proposal on March 26, 2025. The report was prepared under the Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer model.

The proposed redevelopment includes an aquarium, tunnel water slides, fountains, a children’s play area, walking tracks, a sports turf with lighting, a gym, exhibition spaces, an open-air auditorium and food stalls.

Corporation Commissioner Arpit Jain said the private operator would make the investment and develop and operate the 6.40-acre portion for 15 years before transferring it to the Corporation. The proposal has, however, drawn strong opposition from councillors, who have urged its withdrawal. It envisages leasing the space to the private operator for a minimum annual payment of ₹1 lakh, with the amount to be increased by 15% once every three years.

The councillors said the Children’s Park and VOC Park were already generating about ₹12.76 lakh a year, apart from revenue from temporary shops. Leasing the property for ₹1 lakh a year would therefore result in a substantial loss to the Corporation, they said, urging it to retain the land and undertake the development works itself. “Though the private operator will make the investment, users will be charged heavily,” said DMK councillor P. Sasikumar.

A resident of Kollampalayam, S. Periyasamy, opposed the proposal, saying a private operator was likely to charge users higher fees. “The Corporation should instead undertake the development works and ensure that the facilities remain affordable for residents,” he said.

Following the opposition, the Mayor had earlier announced that the proposal would be kept in abeyance. Some councillors said they would continue to oppose the proposal at the next council meeting.

A Class VI student died after coming into contact with a live electric wire that had snapped and was lying inside the premises of a Government High School at Kuppuchipalayam in Ammapettai block in Erode district on Tuesday (August 11, 2026).

The deceased was identified as Yogesh, 11. According to the police, the incident occurred during the lunch break when the boy stepped on the wire lying near the compound wall.

Following the incident, school students and relatives gathered near the Kuppuchipalayam bus stop and staged a road blockade on the Bhavani–Mettur–Thoppur National Highway, demanding action over the incident.

The police took the boy’s body from the Government Primary Health Centre, Mylambadi, to the Government Erode Medical College Hospital in Perundurai for post-mortem examination. However, the relatives objected to the police taking the body and insisted that they would allow it only after the teachers arrived. This led to a heated exchange between the relatives and the police. The Bhavani police are inquiring.

Three youth, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, were handed over to the police after they allegedly blocked a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) bus, abused its crew and attempted to flee near the Manikoondu area in the city on Thursday (July 30, 2026).

Police said the incident occurred when a Route 7E bus was proceeding towards the Erode Central Bus Stand with passengers on board. The three youth, travelling on a motorcycle, allegedly rode recklessly in front of the bus and repeatedly obstructed its movement.

Despite the driver repeatedly sounding the horn and asking them to give way, they allegedly continued to block the bus. They later stopped their motorcycle, picked up a quarrel with the driver and conductor, and allegedly abused them using obscene language.

The youth then attempted to escape from the spot. The bus driver and conductor got down from the vehicle, chased them and apprehended them before handing them over to the police.

The Water Resources Department (WRD) has initiated action to disconnect electricity service connections to 633 pump sets used for illegally drawing water from the Kalingarayan Canal. The action follows a joint inspection by officials of the WRD and the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL), who detected unauthorised pumping across the district.

With the southwest monsoon remaining deficient, the storage level in the Bhavanisagar Dam has fallen considerably, affecting irrigation in the district. Water was released into the Kalingarayan Canal on July 14 to provide protective irrigation to standing crops. However, farmers, particularly those in the tail-end areas, complained that illegal pumping had affected the flow of water.

During the inspection, officials found pump sets and pipelines installed to draw water directly from the canal for filling wells. The violators were warned, and the WRD recommended disconnection of the electricity service connections used for the illegal pumping.

WRD officials said water had been flowing in the canal for the past 15 days. “Despite repeated warnings, water theft has been detected at 633 locations. We have recommended disconnection of the electricity service connections used for the illegal pumping, and action will be taken against those involved,” officials said. They added that the drive was aimed at ensuring equitable distribution of irrigation water and preventing hardship to farmers in the tail-end reaches of the canal.

Tension prevailed for a while at the monthly farmers’ grievance redressal meeting held in Erode on Friday (July 17) after farmers from the Kalingarayan and Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) irrigation systems pressed their respective demands over the release of water from the Bhavanisagar Dam.

The meeting, chaired by District Collector S. Kandasamy, was briefly disrupted as more than 300 LBP Canal farmers gathered outside the hall seeking permission to participate. Since the hall was occupied by Kalingarayan farmers presenting their grievances, officials asked the LBP farmers to wait outside, triggering a heated exchange. Later, after the Kalingarayan farmers concluded their representations, over 100 LBP farmers were allowed into the meeting hall.

Kalingarayan ayacut farmers urged the district administration to continue releasing water for irrigation, stating that the water, normally released on June 15, is being supplied for only 15 days, starting July 14, owing to poor storage in the dam. With reservoir inflows improving, they sought uninterrupted supply and objected to demands from other irrigation systems opposing releases to the Kalingarayan and Kodiveri ayacut.

The LBP farmers argued that the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal does not permit irrigation releases during summer. They alleged that while older irrigation systems received water for two paddy crop seasons, the 2.07 lakh-acre LBP ayacut had often been denied even one full irrigation.

They claimed that the LBP command area had lost irrigation for dry crops 16 times and wet crops eight times over the past 68 years. They also alleged that the same quantity of about 30 tmcft. of water was being allocated to irrigation systems covering only about 40,000 acres, terming the distribution inequitable.

The farmers further alleged that water at around 80,000 cusecs had been released into the Bhavani river through the Kodiveri system since April and said better water management could have helped conserve storage in the Bhavanisagar reservoir. Citing drought conditions in the LBP command area, they demanded that water be supplied for 15 days each to odd-numbered and even-numbered canals, warning of protests if their demand was not met.

Mr. Kandasamy said the water requirements of the Kalingarayan, Kodiveri and LBP irrigation systems would be examined by a technical committee in consultation with the Water Resources Department. Appropriate action would be taken to ensure equitable distribution of water without creating differences among farmers of the three irrigation systems, he added.

The railways has announced changes in train services on July 18 owing to engineering works for the maintenance and rehabilitation of railway bridges in the Erode–Karur section.

A release from the Salem Railway Division said Train No. 56809 Tiruchi–Erode Passenger, scheduled to leave Tiruchi Junction at 7.25 a.m., will not proceed beyond Karur Junction and there will be no service to Erode.

Train No. 16845 Erode–Sengottai Express, scheduled to depart from Erode Junction at 2 p.m., will instead originate from Karur Junction at 3.05 p.m. on July 18. Similarly, Train No. 16846 Sengottai–Erode Express, which leaves Sengottai at 5.20 a.m., will be short-terminated at Karur Railway Station on July 18. After the completion of the engineering works, the train will be operated as an unreserved special train from Karur to Erode, with the same halts as the regular Sengottai–Erode Express, the release added.