City: Chennai

Sweeping changes at the helm of affairs in government brings with it sweeping changes in ground realities as well. In the mid-nineties, even though the IT revolution was already well underway, Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, then called Madras, did not sport a presentable or attractive enough look for a capital city. In fact, it was way behind other state capitals and metro cities in terms of the first impression it made. Soon after their victory in the May 1996 elections, then CM M Karunanidhi renamed the city as Chennai and initiated a host of projects under the umbrella…

Decentralised Micro Composting Centres, garden waste processing units — Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has initiated a slew of projects in the past two years, said N Mahesan, Chief Engineer, Solid Waste Department (SWD), GCC. He was speaking at the webinar conducted by Citizen Matters Chennai on managing waste during and post COVID-19. When the trial run for the Bio-CNG plants in Chetpet, which converts kitchen and food waste to energy, is completed, the civic body will inaugurate six more such facilities. “Through these plants, we can process 1500-1800 tonnes of wet waste,” said Mahesan.  In addition to the Material Recovery Facilities…

Everyday, the advertisement sections of our morning newspapers bear notices of banks auctioning the properties of enterprises that failed to repay loans for more than three months. Everyday, smaller manufacturing companies in Chennai, which had successfully braved the economic distress even during the tsunami and the 2015 floods, are bringing down the shutters for good. And while the COVID-triggered medical crisis and political news routinely eclipse such news, COVID-19 has actually crippled the MSME sector in Chennai (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), leaving many entrepreneurs neck deep in debt. Industrial estates in Chennai that were always abuzz with activity are now…

The world is still grappling with the onslaught of COVID-19, its aftermath and its impact on global health and economy. Even after more than a year since it first surfaced, there are several things that we do not know about COVID-19 yet. While it has claimed many lives, it is also true that innumerable people have come out of COVID-19. But in some cases, post COVID complications have proven to be complex, lingering, even debilitating ─ impacting the daily life of recovered patients. In extreme cases, post COVID illness has proved to be fatal. Not only has this affliction altered…

Corporation adopts a multipronged strategy to combat COVID With the possibility of a third wave of COVID-19 being predicted, the Greater Chennai Corporation plans to scale up the number of ICU beds and keep them ready at community health centres across the city. This move comes after a series of meetings held with experts and epidemiologists.  The corporation plans to increase the number of available ICU beds in phases. In the first phase, a minimum of 15 hospitals attached to the civic body will get ICU beds. The expert team also suggested the genomic surveillance of COVID-19 samples for containing…

The revelation of several old and recent cases of child sexual abuse in schools in Chennai and its suburbs has left the city in shock. Educational institutions no longer appear to be the safe spaces that they were meant to be. But can an institution be held responsible for crimes committed by individuals within their premises? What should they do to ensure justice for the survivors of such abuse. More importantly, how can they prevent the occurrence of such abhorrent crimes in the space?  The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 says that any school, institution or…

Translated by Sandhya Raju கோடை காலம் தொடங்கும் முன்னரே, ஏப்ரல் மாதத்தில் சேலையூரில் உள்ள எஸ். வேலு வீட்டிலுள்ள இரண்டு ஆழ்துளை கிணறு வற்றிப்போனது. மூன்றாவதாக, 600 அடி ஆழத்தில் மற்றொரு கிணறு தோண்டியதில், அதிலும் தண்ணீர் ஊற்றெடுக்கவில்லை. தற்போது தண்ணீர் லாரி மற்றும் நகராட்சி நீர் வழங்கலை நம்பி உள்ளார் வேலு. 2019-ம் ஆண்டு போல் சென்னையில் தண்ணீர் தட்டுப்பாடு இல்லையென்றாலும், நகரத்தின் பல்வேறு இடங்களில் நிலத்தடி நீர் வற்றிப்போக தொடங்கியுள்ளது. இதனால், குடிநீர் வாரியம் வழங்கும் தண்ணீரையே பெரும்பாலான வீடுகளும், தொழிற்சாலைகளும் நம்பியுள்ளன. வீடுகள் மற்றும் தொழிற்சாலைகளின் கூடுதல் நீர் தேவையை பூர்த்தி செய்வதில் நிலத்தடி நீருக்கு முக்கிய பங்கு உண்டு. ஆனால், இதன் தொடர் உபயோகத்தால், சென்னயின் நீர் அட்டவணை கடும் வீழ்ச்சியடைந்துள்ளது. 1970-ம் ஆண்டு வரை, சென்னையில் பெரும்பாலான பகுதிகளில் நிலத்தடி நீர் திறந்தவெளி கிணறுகளிலிருந்து கைகளால் இறைக்கப்பட்டதாக ஒரு அறிக்கை தெரிவிக்கிறது. 70ம்…

Overflowing dustbins, irregular collection of garbage and mounds of unsegregated mixed wastes -- these are the stuff that every Chennaiite's nightmares are made up of. But thanks to the efforts of the Chennai Corporation, civic activists and citizens, the city had made significant positive strides in solid waste management before the onset of the pandemic.  The city corporation decentralised waste collection and segregation. Through the Zero Waste initiative, the civic body set up a system where collection and segregation took place at various points at the zonal level, with subsequent processing at the Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and Micro Composting…

The recent exposé in the social media on sexual harassment of students by some school teachers in Chennai has shocked the city. But while there is outrage across the city, and rightfully so, there is perhaps not enough awareness about how to prevent or even seek redress against crimes of child sexual abuse. In the backdrop of the incidents that have come to light recently, it becomes even more important for parents, teachers, caregivers and society as a whole to know more about the legislations, law & order framework as well as institutions that work for protection of children. Here…

Uma Mani, in her 50s, is a Chennai-based self-taught artist. She used to paint tulips and roses until 2010, the year in which she learned about coral reefs in Juan De Nova, a French documentary film, screened by Alliance Française Maldives for Earth Day. Fascinated by the world of corals and underwater life, she decided to paint them. “Until then, I was unaware of the fact that the presence of corals in the ocean is extremely important. It made me realise that they are on the brink of extinction,” shares Mani. Some of the most diverse ecosystems, coral reefs are threatened by…