Articles by Archita Raghu

Inside her 10x10 sq ft home in Pulianthope, Parvathy faces unbearably hot conditions during the sweltering summers from March to July. Green shade is a rare luxury in her neighbourhood, home to many marginalised families who earn a living making shoes. “We live right under the roof on the second floor, so it’s hot. Even if we open all the windows and doors, it does not help. Here, we end up spending more time on the streets to find respite,” she says. As temperatures continue to climb, residents like Parvathy are left with little relief. Despite July’s arrival with hopes…

Amudhini regularly boards the 29C or A1 from Abhiramapuram to Chetpet. On a scorching day, without any roofing, the bus shelter seats radiate heat, and they are “uninviting and uncomfortable to sit on for a prolonged period of time,” says the public relations professional. On her route, she passes Mylapore Tank and KMC Hospital and notes: “Bus stops differ from one to the other. I have seen well-maintained bus stops with decent seating, but many others are poorly maintained. Across these stops, none have ramps or uniform display boards. For a lot of elderly working-class people, buses are the only…

‘Inconvenience today for a better tomorrow’ signs follow commuters across the city as work inches on for the 118-km Chennai Metro Phase II. Residents eagerly await three corridors that will connect Madhavaram to SIPCOT, Lighthouse to Poonamalle Bypass, and Madhavaram to Sholinganallur by 2028. But the project is resulting in an irreversible loss of green cover along the corridors, far more than was estimated at the time of its approval. A total of 8,029 trees would be affected, either felled or transplanted, for the project. Over 7,000 of these trees have been uprooted already. Though new trees are planted to…

Across India, temperatures are soaring, and the impact is evident, from 300 suspected heat-related illness cases reported in Andhra Pradesh to 200 in Maharashtra, say news reports. Heat is unequally felt, with informal workers bearing the brunt of income loss and illness during the blazing hours. Another overlooked impact is heatwaves’ toll on menstrual and reproductive health, where access to washrooms and clean water exacerbates summers for women in low-income settlements, experts say.  Extreme heat exposure overlaps closely with marginalisation, says Vidhya Venugopal, Professor of Climate Change, Occupational and Environmental Health at Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research…

At 8 am every day, M Subashini hops onto her two-wheeler and braces herself for the incessant Zomato order notifications on her phone, and the blistering May heat. Armed with a water bottle and gloves, the gig worker says "Veyil thaangamudila (can't bear the sun). But we took this job to be independent, and earn — so we can't stop, for rain or heat.” Shuttling across Ambattur's roads, the 38-year-old races between restaurants and residences, dropping off food packages under the scorching sun. An order within five kilometres usually earns her ₹20–50. “Men can do longer distances, but I can’t.…

Ever since the contentious Mamallan reservoir was proposed in the ecosensitive Kovalam–Nemmeli backwater system, fisher communities in Chennai have repeatedly asked: Does it have to be here? Experts and scientists say no, urging the government to abandon the project and work on sustainable alternatives.  Critics point to a long list of costs: high expenditure, land acquisition, and risks to livelihoods and biodiversity. As we have reported earlier, the central concern driving the project is the looming drinking water supply crisis – demand is projected to rise from 1,100 million litres a day (MLD) to over 2,500 MLD for the Greater…

Mohana S recalls how Kanima Nagar in Periya Nemmeli, Chengalpattu, was bountiful just 20 years ago, filled with trees, paddy crops, and rabbits. Picking brackish‑water prawns from the Great Salt Lake, a five‑minute walk away, provided income for her hamlet of about 36 Irular families. Today, this area, around 40 km from Chennai, has become dry land with weeds, prone to floods every northeastern monsoon. Residents report a drop in catch and link the changing landscape to urbanisation in Chennai, groundwater depletion, flooding, and erosion along the Kovalam coast. “When it rains, we in Kanima Nagar suffer in the floods.…

Across cities, official Air Quality Index (AQI) readings often overlook local hotspots. Chennai has eight Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) that function 24/7 throughout the year. But this isn’t enough to map particulate matter. Air changes every few metres, as researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras tell us. Seasonal variation, construction, vehicular movement, and proximity to industries also change the air we breathe, In 2022, over 17 lakh people died in India due to air pollution (PM 2.5), according to a Lancet study. With better hyper-local air data and public awareness, citizens and policymakers can target pollution…

For the average Chennaiite, the daily commute has become an arduous task of navigating peak-hour congestion, poor footpaths and an unreliable public transport system. Ahead of the Assembly elections on April 23rd, the gap between official promises and the reality on the road continues to widen. Here is what the numbers say: Currently, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) operates a fleet of 4,110 buses and launched 120 low-floor electric buses in 2025. However, experts say the city actually needs 7,000 buses for comfortable travel and better last-mile connectivity. Residents flag overcrowding and long wait times, which force many commuters, especially in…

Table of contentsPolitical RepresentationCandidates for 2026 PollsTop candidates2021 Polling snapshotPrevious Results: 2021Previous Results: 2016Incumbent MLA: MK MohanMLA profileKey citizen demandsAlso read Located in the north-western part of Chennai, Anna Nagar was named after former Chief Minister CN Annadurai. Formerly known as Naduvakkarai, the residential was developed by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board in the 1970s. Characterised by a grid-layout of seven major avenues, this area boasts wide roads and designated green spaces.  Populated by the majorly upper-middle class, this constituency contains planned neighbourhoods. It also has three major metro stations, and is proximal to Koyambedu and CMBT bus stations. As…