Articles by Jayanthi Premchandar

A common sight across Chennai is garbage bins overflowing with unsegregated waste, with some of it pooling on the ground around the bins. The stench emanating from the bins is bound to make anyone gag. Not only are the sight and smell unpleasant, but they are also a recipe for health and environmental hazards. With this in mind, the residents of Valmiki Nagar in Thiruvanmiyur have been able to do away with large garbage bins that had been placed on the street.   The residents managed this feat with meticulous source segregation, constant dialogue with the community and ensuring that the…

Chennaiites have a complicated relationship with water. It seems like we either have too much or too little depending on the vagaries of the yearly monsoons. Which is why when ten years ago. we began getting water from the Nemmeli Seawater Desalination Plant, we heaved a sigh of relief as it seemed like a solution to our water woes.  From this desalination plant in Nemmeli, areas like Neelankarai, Kottivakkam, Besant Nagar and Tiruvanmiyur got their daily supply. While things looked promising at the start, we have found that lately the amount of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in our water supply…

The phrase Singara Chennai has captured the imagination of many of us who have grown up in the city. I am one of many who have taken up the cause of improving Solid Waste Management (SWM) in Chennai. My key motivation to do so has been the desire to leave behind a beautiful, green and pristine city for the future generation without any filth, garbage or pollution. I have been a close observer of the SWM landscape in the city and the changes it has undergone in the past 20 years, ever since the first instance of roping in of…