A total of 5,081 infants born between June 22 and September 27 this year will receive a one-gram gold ring under the ‘Thaimaaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam’ in Salem and Namakkal districts.

Following Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay launching the ‘Thaimaaman Thanga Mothiram Thittaam’ at Madurai, Salem District Collector K. Elambahavath distributed one-gram gold ring to 25 newborn babies in a function held at the Salem Government Hospital.

Addressing the media, the Collector said under the scheme, children born in government hospitals will receive a one-gram gold ring, for which, a unique serial number and a tamper-proof packaging was provided. To avail themselves of the scheme, pregnant women must register in the Pregnancy and Infant Cohort Monitoring and Evaluation (PICME) and receive the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) ID. The gold ring will be distributed to infants during discharge from the hospital, the Collector added.

Stating that around 17,000 children will benefit under the scheme in the Salem district every year, the Collector said a total of 3,502 infants born from June 22 to September 27 will receive the gold ring. These rings will be distributed in the government hospitals concerned on the scheduled date and time. Through village health nurses, invitations will be given to the beneficiaries. For details, contact 73581-29149/73581-45378, the Collector added.

Likewise, in a function held at Namakkal Government Hospital, Minister for Registration and Commercial Taxes Department D. Logesh Tamilselvan distributed gold rings to the newborns. Under this scheme in Namakkal district, 1,579 infants born between June 22 and September 25 will receive gold rings.

Three youth who attacked a person and robbed him of cash were arrested here on Friday evening (September 18, 2026).

According to the police, Venkatesan, a resident of Vellakalpatti near Konganapuram, became acquainted with three persons: M. Karthi (23), a resident of Poolampatti; M. Veerappan (25), a resident of Vellari Velli; and M. Praveen Kumar (20), a resident of Edappadi via social media. All three persons were construction workers.

The trio asked Venkatesan to meet them near the burial ground at Poolampatti. On Wednesday night (September 16, 2026), when he went to the spot, the trio attacked him and robbed him of ₹2,000 and a silver chain. The Poolampatti police registered a case, and on Friday evening, arrested the trio and remanded them in prison.

The water level in the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur stood at 87.82 feet, against its full reservoir level (FRL) of 120 feet, at 8 a.m. on Tuesday (September 15, 2026).

According to Water Resources Department officials, the storage was 50.19 tmcft, against the reservoir’s full capacity of 93.47 tmcft. The inflow was 7,599 cusecs, while 12,000 cusecs was released into the Cauvery for delta irrigation and 400 cusecs through the canal. The reservoir received 5.6 mm of rainfall.

Meanwhile, the water level in the Bhavanisagar Dam in Erode district stood at 53.06 feet, against its FRL of 105 feet. At 8 a.m., the storage was 5.20 tmcft, against the dam’s total capacity of 32.80 tmcft, accounting for 15.88% of its storage capacity. The 24-hour average inflow was 299 cusecs, while the current inflow was 711 cusecs. The total outflow was 105 cusecs.

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss has urged the Tamil Nadu Government to sue Karnataka for ₹1,000 crore in compensation over water-sharing disputes affecting farmers.

At a party function held in Salem on Sunday (August 23, 2026), Dr. Anbumani said that the Karnataka’s ‘failure’ to release Cauvery water had severely affected Kuruvai cultivation in Tamil Nadu. Until now two lakh acres in the Delta region have had no water for irrigation. The super El Nino effect had disrupted the southwest monsoon, reducing the chances of rain till November. Therefore, Samba cultivation is likely to be affected as well. While there is 90% water in Karnataka’s dams, that state refuses to share water. Following heavy rain in Wayanad, Kabini dam receives water and the surplus water is discharged to Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu government should fight to get its share of water from Karnataka.

Demanding an all-party meeting on the proposed Mekedatu project, Dr. Anbumani said Karnataka had said it would only use 5 tmc for the drinking water needs of Bengaluru, and leave the rest for Tamil Nadu. Would Karnataka agree if Tamil Nadu were to construct a dam and provide water to Bengaluru?

On caste census, Dr. Anbumani said that PMK founder S. Ramadoss had met with former Chief Ministers including M.G. Ramachandran, M. Karunanidhi, Edappadi K. Palaniswami and M.K. Stalin regarding the issue. But, they did not do anything. “After the TVK government came to power, I met with Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay in this regard and the government accepted the demand of the caste census. Now the announcement has come and the PMK will push for its implementation,” he said.

On Saturday, inflow into the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur reduced to 10,808 cusecs from Friday’s inflow of 13,674 cusecs.

The dam’s water level stood at 78.03 feet against its full reservoir level of 120 feet. The storage level stood at 40.02 tmcft compared to its full capacity of 93.47 tmcft. The amount of water discharged from the dam into River Cauvery for drinking water purposes is maintained at 1,500 cusecs.

Officials attached to the Water Resources Department in Mettur Dam said following water discharge from Kabini Dam in Karnataka reduced to 7,000 cusecs, inflow into Mettur Dam also reduced. From Saturday morning, the discharge of surplus water from the Kabini increased to 12,000 cusecs. Officials added that it is expected for the inflow into Mettur Dam to increase in the coming days.

A person who allegedly snatched the gold chains of two women here was arrested Monday (July 20).

According to police, R. Saradha (51), a resident of Karuppur town panchayat, runs a vegetable shop near a Murugan temple in the locality. On Sunday, while she was alone at the shop, a person came and inquired about vegetable prices. While she was replying, the person snatched her five-sovereign chain and fled. The Karuppur police registered a case.

Second incident

S. Santhiya (33), a resident of the 13th ward on Karuppur Main Road, runs a grocery shop. On Monday morning while she was in the shop, a person, who came on a motorcycle and wore a helmet, asked for biscuits. While she was taking the biscuits, the person snatched her two-sovereign chain and fled. This was the second chain snatching reported within 24 hours in Karuppur police station limits. The Karuppur police were on the lookout for the culprit.

On Monday evening, the police arrested a 22-year-old man at Hasthampatti in connection with the cases. The suspect was identified as R. Vignesh of Pennagaram in Dharmapuri district. The police seized the gold chains and a two-wheeler from him.

The Salem District Private Bus Owners’ Association urged the State government to increase the ticket fare of private buses.

Recently, the private buses owners in the district increased the ticket prices without prior announcements, which drew severe criticism from the public.

On Monday (July 13, 2026) the association secretary, Raveendran, stated that, in 2018, the price of one litre of diesel was ₹64, and in 2026 it costs over ₹100. The prices of tyres, spare parts, insurance premiums, and toll charges have also increased, causing difficulty for bus owners to run their businesses. He noted that earlier, there were over 300 private bus owners, now more than 60 have switched to other businesses.

“Due to the free government bus travel scheme provided to women, private buses are incurring losses. Despite the increase in fuel prices, the government buses receive a subsidy from the government, while private bus owners are forced to bear all expenses,” he added.

Stating that bus fare is lower in Tamil Nadu compared with other States, Mr. Raveendran alleged that private bus owners did not hike the ticket fare. Instead, the prices were rounded off, in order to avoid paying change to the passengers – an ₹18 ticket was revised to ₹20 and ₹28 ticket was revised to ₹30.

At present, private buses collect 58 paise per kilometre. “We demand the government to hike the price between ₹1.10 and ₹1.20 per kilometre. We are also ready to implement free bus travel for women, if the government provides subsidy to the private buses too,” Mr. Raveendran said.

“Earlier, 34% of women travelled in government buses, which has now increased to 64%. While five different fares are collected in government buses, a single fare system is applicable on private buses,” he said, adding that their demands have been conveyed to the government via the Transport Minister.

The inflow into the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur dropped from 40 cusecs on Tuesday (July 7, 2026) to 27 cusecs on Wednesday (July 8, 2026), indicating the continuing poor inflow into the reservoir.

A Water Resources Department official said that at 8 a.m., the water level stood at 76.29 feet against the full reservoir level of 120 feet. The storage was 38.359 tmcft, as against the dam’s total capacity of 93.47 tmcft. The outflow was maintained at 1,500 cusecs into the Cauvery to meet drinking water requirements.

The water level in the Bhavanisagar Dam stood at 56.23 feet against its full reservoir level of 105 feet. At 4 p.m., the inflow was 5,677 cusecs, while the total outflow stood at 855 cusecs. The storage was 6.09 tmcft against the reservoir’s full capacity of 32.8 tmcft.

Conservancy workers of the Salem Corporation staged a protest here on Tuesday (June 30, 2026).

The All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) announced a State-wide protest on Tuesday, demanding not to privatise waste management and to regularise the conservancy workers.

Based on that, more than 400 conservancy workers from Salem Corporation and other municipalities staged a sit-in protest at Salem Fort Maidan. Thiruthuraipoondi MLA K. Marimuthu participated in the protest and spoke among the workers regarding their demands.

The MLA stated that conservancy workers are working on the basis of outsourcing and the salary provided is not sufficient. The amount deducted from the salary are also not paid into their provident fund accounts. “I have already addressed concerns against privatisation of waste management at the Assembly and have taken it up to Chief Minister, C. Joseph Vijay’s attention. In the upcoming budget session, we will raise this issue and demand to regularise the conservancy workers,” he added.