The supply of fuel in Chennai has taken a hit due to “logistic problems” faced by oil companies, even as the availability of essential commodities like milk, water and vegetables remain affected across Tamil Nadu on Friday.

While the supply of state-run Aavin-milk packets were totally hit, a packet of one litre milk sold by private suppliers was priced at Rs. 90, whereas 1 kg tomato was available at Rs. 80/90.

Since most of the places across Chennai and its suburbs have been cut off due to the heavy rains, oil tankers were unable to transport fuel, according to Indian Oil Corporation officials.

The absence of tanker drivers has compounded the problem.

“There are stocks available for supply of fuel but tanker drivers have not reported for work as their families were affected by the floods. It is the logistics problem we are facing now,” an IOCL spokesperson said.

Motorists were seen standing in long queues for several hours at some fuel outlets where there was a supply. The fuel supply may be restored soon as water levels were receding in several areas, the official said.

Acche Din, promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, may not be quite evident in other parts of the country, but with the Delhi Assembly on Thursday approving a bill proposing a 400 per cent hike in their salaries, ‘good days’ have certainly come for legislators in the AAP-ruled state.

Once approved by the Centre and the President, Delhi’s lawmakers will become the country’s highest paid, drawing a salary of Rs. 2.1 lakh plus various allowances – which is more than the salary of Prime Minister, who gets around Rs. 1.6 lakh, which includes a basic salary of Rs. 60,000 plus other allowances.

As per the provisions of the bill, the basic salaries of legislators will now rise from current Rs. 12,000 to Rs. 50,000 and their overall monthly package will be around Rs. 2.1 lakh as against existing Rs. 88,000.

Similarly, the basic salary of a minister will be Rs. 80,000 which is currently Rs. 20,000. If the Centre approves the Bill, then salaries of Delhi legislators will among the highest in the country.

Overall the hike proposed is two-and-a-half fold. “The bill proposes to increase the salaries, allowances and other facilities of the Members of the Legislative Assembly of Delhi so as to facilitate them to work effectively in their fields,” Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said, presenting the bill in the assembly.

The Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Government of NCT of Delhi (Salaries, Allowances, Pension) Amendment Bill 2015 was drafted based on a report of a three-member committee chaired by former Secretary General of Lok Sabha PDT Achary.

“We have accepted all the recommendations of the panel,” Sisodia said. In July, a group of AAP legislators had demanded a significant hike in salary, arguing their earnings were not enough to run their family and offices.

Apart from basic salary, the bill proposes hiking constituency allowance from current Rs 18,000 to Rs 50,000, saying the current amount was “grossly” inadequate.

The bill also provides for a reimbursable sum of Rs 70,000 per month was also recommended as allowance under ‘Secretarial, Research and Office Assistance’ head which is Rs 30,000 at present. An ‘office rental and related utilities’ allowance of Rs 25,000 has been proposed for meeting expenditure on office space and other essential amenities provided by government agencies.

As per the bill, the legislators will be entitled to a communication allowance of Rs 10,000 per month as well as Rs 30,000 as monthly conveyance allowance for each MLA.

The ‘daily’ allowance of each MLA during every sitting of the House or its committees has been proposed to be hiked from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000.

However, the salary hike for a majority of Aam Aadmi Party lawmakers and ministers had flared a controversy when it was first proposed. Since it will benefit members of his Aam Aadmi Party most, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has faced a severe backlash on social media.

AAP had swept the Delhi elections in February this year, winning 67 of 70 seats. Party leaders say the lawmakers don’t earn enough to run their homes and offices.

The Congress which was no lawmakers in the Assembly and the BJP which holds three seats had opposed the hike.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday hinted that an alliance between Samajwadi Party and Congress is possible at the Centre if Mulayam Singh Yadav is made the prime ministerial candidate and Rahul Gandhi his deputy.

The UP Chief Minister made this remark when he was asked about the possibility of an alliance between his party and the Congress.

Akhilesh Yadav, while addressing the Leadership Summit 2015, said, “Rahul Gandhi is an old friend… If they say Netaji (Mulayam Singh) will be the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi the deputy prime minister, I will say ‘yes’ to an alliance right now.”

However, the SP leader completely ruled out any alliance with Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) saying, “Our party has done good work. We will go to the elections with that. There is no need for an alliance… It is premature to comment on it.”

While also responding to a query on the Dadri lynching incident, Akhilesh said, ”There should be freedom to eat what one wants.”

Akhilesh, who is credited to being the youngest chief minister in the country, rejected the idea of removing Azam Khan – the controversial Uttar Pradesh Minister and dominant Muslim face of the party.

Defending his Cabinet minister, the UP CM said, “Why should I sack him? If you listen to Azam Khan properly, you’ll understand what he’s saying.”

A day after the Delhi High Court observed that the current air pollution levels in the national capital were akin to “living in a gas chamber”, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, Friday, announced stringent measures to bring the situation under control.

The biggest of the proposed measures is that vehicles with odd and even registration numbers will be allowed on alternate days from January 01, 2016.

While exact details are awaited, it may mean that if your car’s number is 8454, you may be allowed to take it out for a drive only on Monday, Wednesday, Friday every week.

Importantly, the restriction won’t apply to public vehicles. And, vehicles registered in other states will also be covered under the ambit of the new law, at least for now.

In another major plan, the Badarpur thermal power plant will be closed. Also, trucks will be allowed to enter the city only after 11 pm every night.

The urgent action was necessitated after quality of air in Delhi, going through one of its worst smog spells this season, largely fell in the ‘very poor’ category as per the National Air Quality Index. Area like Anand Vihar in East Delhi has even earned the most polluted place in India, if not the world.

The even-odd system proposed by the Kejirwal government is not a novel idea as such systems are already in cities like Beijing and Singapore. London too has a similar system for vehicles entering Central London.

However, considering the poor public transport network in the national capital region – especially last mile connectivity – it remains to be seen whether the Delhi government is able to enforce the stringent new law.