Articles by Shobana Radhakrishnan

‘Dirt, debris, highly acidic black water and the pungent smell,’ is the description of Otteri Nullah given by the residents living along the canal. Otteri Nullah is one of the 32 naturally formed canals in Chennai. Due to neglect over years, the canal has gone from being a vital part of the local waterway system that drains flood waters into the Buckingham Canal to a dumping ground for debris and waste.  Memories of the 2015 floods haunt many citizens of Chennai to the day. However, for residents living along the stretch of the 10.2 km-long Otteri Nullah, similar instances of…

Translated by Sandhya Raju கடந்த பத்து ஆண்டுகளாக சென்னை மாநகராட்சியின் மண்டலம் 9-ல் குமரன் எஸ் கழிவுகளை சேகரிக்கும் பணியில் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளார். ஆனால், மாநகராட்சியின் சுகாதார பணியாளர்கள் அல்லது தனியார் நிறுவனமான அர்பேசர் சமித் தற்போது இந்த வேலையை மேற்கொள்வதால், குமரன் போன்ற கழிவுகள் சேகரிப்பாளர்களின் வருமானம் வெகுவாக குறைந்துள்ளது. "பத்து ஆண்டுகளாக இந்த வேலை பார்க்கிறேன். இது போன்ற ஒரு நிலையை இது வரை சந்தித்ததில்லை. பெருந்தொற்று காலத்தில், நல்ல மனம் படைத்த சிலரின் உதவியால் சமாளிக்க முடிந்தது. இப்போது வேலைக்கு திரும்பினாலும், முன்பை விட கால் பங்கு தான் சம்பாதிக்க முடிகிறது", என்கிறார் குமரன். சராசரியாக ஒரு நாளுக்கு ₹600 முன்னர் ஈட்டிய நிலையில், இன்று வெறும் ₹150-200 மட்டுமே கிடைக்கிறது. "முக்கால்வாசி கழிவுகள் மாநகராட்சி பணியாளர்களால் எடுத்துச் செல்லப்பட்டு விற்கப்படுவதால், எங்களுக்கு ஒன்றுமே கிடைப்பதில்லை" என்கிறார். கழிவு சேகரிப்பில், அதிலும் ஈரமற்ற கழிவுகளை சேகரிப்பதில், மாநகராட்சி…

In the early hours of Sunday, a group of photographers were seen walking through the streets of Kannagi Nagar. This was an uncommon sight in the otherwise neglected resettlement colony located in the outskirts of the city. “It is a good spot to explore street photography,” said K Aishwarya, a resident of Anna Nagar who visited Kannagi Nagar for the first time as part of the photo walk. So, what made Kannagi Nagar a sudden spot of attraction for these photographers? The answer lies in the colourful murals that adorn the walls of what has been dubbed as Chennai’s first…

Kumaran S has been collecting waste from spots in Zone 9 of the Greater Chennai Corporation for over a decade now. But like most other informal waste pickers in Chennai, he has seen a sharp fall in his earnings from waste,  as a large portion of what they collected and sold are now handled by conservancy workers with the Greater Chennai Corporation or the private contractor in charge in most zones, Urbaser Sumeet. “I have been engaged in this work for over a decade. Things have never been as bad for us as it is now. During COVID-19 lockdown I…

A study by the Chennai-based NGO Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) was conducted in five resettlement colonies — Perumbakkam, Semmenchery, Gudapakkam, Navalur and All India Radio (AIR) Site, was carried out with an objective of examining and understanding the issues faced by those resettled families. The findings show that there is an urgent need for the government to intervene as pointed out by Vanessa Peter, Founder of IRCDUC who had said that the study highlights the key issues that have to be looked into while framing the policy. Some of these had already been flagged…

Those tagged as ‘encroachers’ are the victims of the historical marginalization process, says Founder of Chennai-based NGO Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) Vanessa Peter. A study by the NGO reveals that limited access to basic facilities, especially during the pandemic, has increased the existing vulnerabilities of the communities who are grappling with the adverse impacts of resettlement.  Life on the margins The report titled ‘Life on the Margins - Access to Basic Infrastructure Facilities in the Resettlement Sites of Chennai’ points out several key issues pertaining to living conditions at resettlement areas. It has been…