City: Chennai

An IT professional turned ward councillor, Niranjana Jagadeesan says, "Improving facilities for education in Ward 51 in Chennai is my priority as I firmly believe that only education can give confidence to individuals, especially girls." Her journey into politics is akin to many first-time women councillors of Chennai. Niranjana's husband is active in politics. "I used to work in an IT company. Since Ward 51 was reserved for women candidates, my husband asked if I would contest the polls. I was managing a team in the IT company, and here I will be managing a ward. At the end of…

Imagine a scenario where Chennai's residents can access real-time air quality data of their surroundings to decide whether to step out, stay home, or avoid certain routes. This level of air pollution monitoring could well be a reality soon. Currently, Chennai relies on two main systems of air quality monitoring — manual monitoring stations and Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS). While these are crucial, theoy come with high operational costs; around Rs 3 lakh for manual stations and several crores for CAAQMS setups. The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) has developed a mobile air pollution monitoring sensor…

Whenever rainstorms hit and the Adyar River swells, the residents living beneath the Saidapet Bridge hold their breath, silently praying for reprieve. The haunting memories of the catastrophic 2015 floods, when the river overflowed and submerged the bridge, still linger. Many homes were inundated and belongings were swept away, leaving a lasting impact on the community. This happened again during the December 2023 floods. That's why, residents here live in constant fear. On Saturday, as Cyclone Fengal brought severe thunderstorms and gusty winds over Chennai, they just clung to hope that the flood waters would not reach their homes. Read…

As winter sets in, the issue of air pollution once again takes centre stage, especially in cities like Delhi, where air quality worsens, affecting residents' health. Though attention has traditionally focused on northern cities, recent studies have raised growing concerns about the air quality in southern cities like Chennai. A recent study by the Lancet Planetary Health reveals troubling findings, showing that Chennai, despite having lower levels of air pollution compared to the cities in northern India, faces a significantly high mortality risk. The city, with an annual PM-2.5 (fine particulate matter) level of 33.7 micrograms per cubic meter, is…

Crowded buses, with passengers jostling for space, are common on Chennai's roads. The city has many public transport users, including college students and people commuting daily for work. Share autos play a crucial role in providing last-mile connectivity, helping passengers travel from bus stops and MRTS stations to their final destinations. These share autos fill the gap by making multiple stops between bus stations, schools, colleges, and other key locations. However, the share auto system has its shortcomings, the most notable being that it is unreliable. Share auto drivers often decide daily whether to stop at a specific location. If…

India’s urban areas are running out of water in more ways than one. According to India’s first National Water Bodies Census 2023, only 3% of the country’s 2.4 million water bodies lie in urban areas. As urbanisation accelerates — with urban population projected to double from 410 million in 2014 to 814 million by 2050 — infrastructure increasingly threatens to consume the country’s blue spaces, including lakes, ponds, marshlands, and swamps. A 10-city study conducted by World Resources Institute (WRI) India found that between 2000 and 2015, while the built-up area in the surveyed cities increased, their blue cover decreased by an average of 15%. The loss…

Like many first-time councillors in Chennai, Ward 174 Councillor M Rathika entered grassroots politics because of the reservation for women in urban local body elections. Ward 174 was one of the wards reserved for women (general) in the 2022 local body polls. Coming from a family with a political background, she had been working on the ground with her brother for years. When the elections were announced, she was given a seat to contest and won by around 5,000 votes. Ward 174 Name of Councillor: M Rathika Party: DMK Age: 44 Educational Qualification: Undergraduate Contact: 9445467174 / 9566165526 Ward 174…

17,422 metric tonnes per day — that's the staggering amount of trash the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will generate in 30 years. Currently, Chennai produces 6,143 metric tonnes of waste daily, which adds to the growing piles in Kodungaiyur and Perungudi dump yards. Like many other major cities, GCC is struggling to find a sustainable solution for waste management and has proposed a Waste-To-Energy (WTE) plant. However, the experiences of cities like Delhi are testimony to the significant environmental and health impacts of WTE plants. A recent The New York Times investigative report on the Delhi WTE reveals: "The government…

ஒரு வருடத்திற்கு முன்பு, திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டத்தைச் சேர்ந்த 38 வயதான செல்வி, சென்னை நகரில் உள்ள ஒரு சிறிய துணி கடையில் விற்பனையாளராக பணியாற்றினார். "அந்த கடை உரிமையாளரின் சொந்தக்கார ஆண் ஒருவர் சூப்பர்வைசராக இருந்தார். அவர் பெண் ஊழியர்களிடம் தகாத முறையில் நடந்து வந்தார். அவரின் இந்த நடத்தை தொடர்ந்து அதிகரித்து வந்தன. பொறுக்கமுடியாமல் ஒரு நாள் நான் அவருக்கு எதிராக பேசினேன். எங்களிடம் இப்படி நடந்து கொள்வது சரி இல்லை என்று கூறினேன். அது பெரிய சண்டையாக மாறியது. என்னை தகாத வார்த்தைகளால் தாக்கினர் அவர். கடைசியில் நான் வேலையை இழந்தது தான் மிச்சம்," என்று செல்வி தனது அனுபவத்தை பகிர்ந்தார். செல்வி, தனது குடும்பத்தின் ஒரே சம்பாதிக்கும் உறுப்பினராக இருந்தபோது, வேலை இழப்பதால் அவருக்கு அதிகமான பாதிப்புகள் நேர்ந்தன. புதிய வேலை தேடும் பணியில், அவருக்கு பல மாதங்கள் கடந்து விட்டன. தற்போது, அவர் ஒரு பெட்ரோல்…

In recent monsoons, as heavy rains battered Chennai, causing floods and damage, many residents grew frustrated with the government's emergency call centres. Calls often went unanswered or were handled by outsourced agents unfamiliar with local issues. As the president of the United Federation of Residents in Tambaram, I felt it was essential to address the growing concerns about emergency support during the rainy season. Anticipating a heavy downpour on October 17th and 18th this year, we launched our community helpline — just days before the rains started. The helpline, reachable at 044-35901040, is manned by a dedicated team of around…