City: Chennai

The numbers have finally begun to come down. Just as residents of Chennai had assumed that the daily COVID-19 figures would forever hover around the high 900s or low 1000s, the virus has shown signs of relenting. The statistics have taken a turn for the better, with the city registering around 750 numbers each day. The number of containment zones is less than 20. All of these are something to rejoice about. Unfortunately for us, many in the city have begun to assume that the pandemic belongs to the past. That this is a very foolish notion will be made…

Chennai has seen a decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in October with the number of active cases on November 1st at 7005. The city has till date seen over two lakh cases since the reporting of the first ever case in March. The response to the pandemic has been dynamic, and there has been an evolving strategy in place with regard to testing, treatment and preventive measures. Here is a round-up of the latest protocols in place. Testing protocols Testing protocols as devised by the Indian Council for Medical Research have been adhered to since the start of…

Ever since lockdown norms were eased, Chennai’s COVID tally has seen significant variations. Over the past few weeks, however, Chennai has been witnessing less than 1,000 cases in a consistent manner. What can we infer from the numbers? Is Chennai on course to see a continuous fall in the numbers?  Here are some of the key takeaways based on an analysis of data from August to October: Fluctuating number of positive cases per day  There has been a rise and fall pattern observed in the number of cases in Chennai over the last three months; if we take 1000 as…

A storm water drain project to be executed in areas along the East Coast Road has hit roadblocks with residents from several localities registering their protest. The residents reason that the areas where the drains are set to be laid did not see significant flooding during events such as the tsunami in 2004 or the floods of 2016 due to the sandy nature of the soil, making the drains redundant. The 270-crore project is funded by the German development bank KfW and was mapped to cover the areas between Kottivakkam and Uthandi. But the work on the project has stalled…

A couple of days back, we had written about the areas in Chennai that are particularly prone to flooding and have even been identified by the Greater Chennai Corporation as 'vulnerable' in a list that they prepared in 2018. But it has been two years since then, and the city continues to be under threat of increased instances of intense rainfall, as highlighted by several studies and research. What is the civic body doing to prevent inundation? As part of flood mitigation measures, the GCC is constructing an integrated stormwater drain (SWD) network in the Kosasthalaiyar Basin in North Chennai…

The National Green Tribunal has ordered the removal of an oil storage facility in Chennai, highlighting that environmental laws were wrongly interpreted. The oil storage facility, which was violating coastal zone rules, was given clearance by the central government’s environment ministry. The project had got post-facto clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) which means it had started without a valid clearance from the authorities. In 2016, KTV Oil Mills & KTV Health Foods (a joint venture with the Adani group’s Adani Wilmar Limited) constructed an oil storage facility and pipeline in Chennai without the Coastal…

On October 28th, the northeast monsoon set in over Tamil Nadu and Kerala. On the 29th, Chennai recorded the highest amount of rainfall in 24 hours since November 2017, as called out by weather expert Pradeep John. AreaRain (in cm)Mylapore (DGP office)18Anna University14Redhills Lake13Chennai district13Alandur, Sholinganallur8Ambattur9Source: IMD Chennai Koyambedu saw heavy rains lashing their neighbourhood on October 29th. As a result of which, people had to wade through knee-deep water. Pic: Avinash D But the writing has been on the wall for some time. A study titled ‘Future changes in precipitation extremes during northeast monsoon over south peninsular India’ by…

COVID-19: Step test to assess patients' tolerance level, mobile ICU inaugurated for treatment On October 30th, Chennai recorded 723 cases and 1047 recoveries. The day also saw 13 deaths. The Government Medical College Hospital, Omandurar, has devised a method to assess the lung and heart functions of discharged COVID patients. The doctors ask patients to take a six-minute walk. The walk, known as Harvard step-test, assesses the patient’s effort tolerance. At the outpatient department, patients who had 20% and higher lung involvement over the course of their illness are administered a CT scan of the chest after six weeks of…

Ambattur has the biggest small scale industrial estate in South Asia. The locality is slowly turning into an IT hub and in the past three years, the quality of roads has improved thanks to the many road-laying projects taken up by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). But, has the quality of life really improved in Ambattur?  Many deep-rooted issues plague civic life at Ambattur. Residents of the zone are still waiting for amenities such as water and sewage connections, despite being included in the Greater Chennai Corporation limits in 2011. Basic rights such as public health and education are still…

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and Chennai Smart City Limited (CSCL) conducted a 'cycling preferences survey' with an aim to understand the challenges faced by cyclists, improve the roads and make them cycle-friendly and promote cycling. It was done as part of the Cycles4Change Challenge, an initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, to inspire and support Indian cities to quickly implement cycling-friendly initiatives in response to COVID-19. A total of 1968 participants took part in the survey. Here are the results: Interestingly, the Greater Chennai Traffic Police Police (GCTP) experimented with a Dedicated Bicycle Lane (DBL) on Kamarajar…