Articles by Laasya Shekhar

A first time Lok Sabha MP representing Chennai Central constituency, S R Vijaya Kumar is known for his impeccable record in Parliament. Chennai Central constituency consists of six assembly constituencies -- Villivakkam, Harbour, Egmore, Anna Nagar, Thousand Lights and Chepauk - Thiruvallikeni. S R Vijaya Kumar, 44 is an Advocate at the Madras High Court. He is an economics graduate from Kandaswamy Naidu College (1993-96). After completing a degree in Law from Dr Ambedkar Government Law College in 2001, Vijaya Kumar started practising at the Madras High Court.  In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Vijay Kumar (AIADMK) defeated Dayanidhi (DMK)…

In the financial year 2016 -17, the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC), a liquor entity owned by the state government had a turnover of Rs 31, 247.53 Crore and earned a profit of Rs 25.23 crores as mentioned in its annual report. This was after temporarily closing 3321 TASMAC outlets following the Supreme Court’s order of relocating the shops, situated within a distance of 220 meters from the highways. But while the government that is reaping crores of rupees in profits from liquor sales, is it doing quite enough to rehabilitate addicts? Tamil Nadu is among the top…

On World Water Day, conservation is the buzzword. The Internet is flooded with tips on how to conserve water and the need to focus on water as a scarce resource. Many resident welfare associations in Chennai are organising awareness sessions to educate people about water economics. But, ironically perhaps, World Water Day this year has come just a day after Holi, exposing the huge gaps in awareness and responsibility among many sections of the people, still. Just a day ago, the city celebrated Holi in a grand manner, but wasted gallons of water in the process, creating artificial rain. “The…

Pushing a green-coloured tricycle in the blazing humid sun, Raju (name changed), a conservancy worker, blows the whistle at Prashanti Colony of Madambakkam. The high pitched sound is an alarm for the residents to wake up from their afternoon nap and bring their waste out to the tricycle. Men and women rush out of their houses, with at least four bags of rotten waste each and start screaming at the worker. “You haven’t showed up in four days. There are no bins in the locality. What do you expect me to do with the waste,” screams one lady. What this…

“There has been a 20 percent increase in patients admitted for alcohol and drug abuse this year, as compared to 2007,” says Dr Poorna Chandrika, Deputy Superintendent, Institute of Mental Health. “Alcohol and drug related crimes are on the rise in Chennai. In over 25 percent of criminal cases in Chennai, the offender was inebriated during or before the crime,” says V Kannadasan, a criminal lawyer, practising in Madras High Court. The above data signify two things: one, the number of citizens falling prey to alcoholism and other substance abuse is clearly on the rise and that this may well…

Sitting in a tuition centre in Neelankarai, 21-year-old Rani (name changed) stammers as she reads meizhuthu (consonants) in Tamil. As the teacher pronounces the alphabet, the frail girl repeats it after her and tries to memorise it. She immerses herself in the effort, hoping she can shut out her recollections of childhood, filled with the stuff of nightmare for anyone, adult or child. Forced to give up studies at an early age, Rani slogged for more than a decade at a rice mill in Red Hills. “No one including me knew it was slavery. We had accepted it as our…

Reports about a third desalination plant, with a capacity of 550 million litres a day (MLD), have raised hopes among Chennaites. Convinced that their water woes can be successfully addressed with advanced technology, citizens welcome the state government’s proposal of the plant that would make sea water potable. But, are desalination plants really the solution we need? Environmentalists are often deeply critical of pollution caused by desalination plants. But, even if we put aside the concerns around environmental damage  for the present discussion, desalination plants themselves do not appear to be economically viable for the city. An extravagant affair The…

The number of water bodies in Chennai has been on the decline, as they become victims of encroachment and negligence. Last year, the Chennai Smart City Mission, sought help from corporate organisations to restore these water bodies, especially ponds, within city corporation limits. With funds from the corporates and the civic body, a few environmental organisations collaborated with citizens to work on the restoration. This collective effort has yielded some positive outcomes, as a few ponds were revived and the groundwater table has gone up in these areas. “Chennai is bestowed with hundreds of ponds that play a key role…

There was a lot of pomp about the Ridley run that was scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 17th, starting at Palavakkam beach. Save a Turtle group had mentioned on their website that the event aimed to create awareness about the endangered Olive ridley turtle population that come to nest along the Coromandel coast and educate local communities about the ways to protect the hatchlings. Citizens started registering for the event online, sand sculptors had given dates and things seemed to be set for the run. However, two days prior to the event, the organisers called off the run.  Locals…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தற்போது நிலவி வரும் தண்ணீர் பிரச்சனைக்கும் ஏரிகள் சுரண்டப்பட்டதிற்கும் சம்மந்தம் இல்லாமல் இல்லை. நிலத்தடி நீரின் அளவை உயர்த்த உதவும் இந்த ஏரிகளை மக்களும் அதிகாரிகளும் முறையாக பராமரித்து இருந்தால், தண்ணீர் தட்டுப்பாட்டை சந்திக்கும் நிலை உருவாகியிருக்காது என்பதே நிதர்சன உண்மை. நகராட்சி எல்லைக்குள் இருக்கும் பல்லாவரம் பெரிய ஏரி மற்றும் கீழ்கட்டளை ஏரிகளின் நிலை என்ன என்று பார்ப்போம். நட்டேரி, அன்னேரி, ஜதேரி என இங்கிருக்கும் பல ஏரிகள் குடியிருப்பு பகுதியாக மாறிய நிலையில், பல்லாவரம் பெரிய ஏரி, கீழ்கட்டளை ஏரி போன்ற சில ஏரிகள் மட்டுமே இன்று இருக்கின்றன. இந்த ஏரிகளும் பரிதாபகரமான அழிவு நிலையில் தான் உள்ளன. வணிக ரீதியாக முன்னேறி இருக்கும் பகுதியில் ஐந்து கிலோமீட்டர் தொலைவில் இருக்கும் இந்த இரண்டு ஏரிகளும் சந்திக்கும் சவால்கள் ஒன்று தான்: குறைந்து போன நிலத்தடி நீர் மற்றும் கழிவு நீர் குப்பைகளால்…