City: Chennai

COVID-19: Penalty targets for Corporation officials; fever camps to be scaled down In order to ensure that citizens adhere to COVID safety norms, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has been imposing a penalty on citizens who have been found to violate those. A target has also been set for fine collection by various officials of the civic body. As per the norms stated, an assistant engineer should collect a minimum of Rs 3,000 every day and other authorities should collect Rs 1,000 a day. Each zone in the city is tasked with collecting a minimum of Rs 1 lakh a…

கொரோனா கட்டுப்பாட்டு விதிமுறையால் மிக மோசமாக பாதிக்கப்பட்ட தரப்பினரின் வரிசையில் முன்னணியில் இருப்பவர்கள் பூ வியாபாரத்தோடு சம்மந்தப்பட்டவர்கள் தான் என்பதை நாம் அறிய முடிந்தது. ஏனெனில், காய்கறி போன்றவைகள் கூட அன்றாட வாழ்க்கையில் தவிர்க்க முடியா பயன்பாட்டுப் பொருட்களானதால்  குடியிருப்புகளுக்கு எடுத்து சென்று  விற்பனை செய்யவாவது முடிந்தது. ஆனால், பூக்களின் பயன்பாடு இல்லாது போனதால் அதில் ஈடுபட்ட பல நிலைகளில் உள்ளவர்களுக்கும்  முற்றிலும் வருவாய் நின்று போனது. இந்த அளவு ஆனதற்கு காரணம் மலரையும் மாலைகளையும் பயன்படுத்தும் ஆலயங்களும் விழாமண்டபங்களும் மூடப்பட்டது மட்டுமின்றி மக்கள் வெளியில் செல்லாத்தால் வீடுகளில் கூட பூ வாங்க தேவையின்றி போனதும் தான்.  பூக்களின் தேவையை அதிகமாகக் கொண்டிருந்த ஆலயங்கள் ஐந்து மாதங்களுக்குப் பிறகு தற்போது திறக்கப்பட்டுள்ளதாலும், விழா மண்டபங்கள் ஒரு சில விதிமுறைகளுடன் இயங்க அனுமதிக்கப்பட்ட நிலையாலும் கூடவே மக்கள் நடமாட்டமும் இயல்பாகி வருவதாலும்   இவர்களின் வாழ்வு இயல்புக்கு திரும்புமா என காணலாம். சிறிது…

Five or more people cooped up for 24 hours in a room 10x10 sq ft. The children barely catch a sliver of the sky above their heads. The women deprived of any kind of interaction with their neighbours and friends, which had been the only respite from their usual grueling, monotonous domestic schedules. The men, caught in the confines of four walls 24x7, more dour and impatient than usual. As the spread of COVID-19 and the effort to curb it resulted in India enforcing one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, this was the reality for thousands of families…

After a gap of over five months, Chennai Metro trains is back on track. The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) has decided to resume rail services in different phases. In the first phase, the Blue Line, between Airport Metro Station and Washermenpet Metro Station, resumed on September 7th. In the second phase, the Green line, plying between St Thomas Mount and Puratchi Thalaivar Dr M G Ramachandran Central Metro), will be operational from September 9th. Train services will run at 5-minute frequency during peak hours and 10-minute frequency during non-peak hours. The CMRL has introduced several measures for ensuring the…

All it takes for Bharani (name changed), a social work student at Madras Christian College (MCC) to take part in her department's webinar is a mobile phone with a good internet connection.  Happy to save three hours of commuting time from her home in Avadi to her college in Nungambakkam, M Varsha, a Journalism student from MOP Vaishnav  College attends classes online. A BSc Maths student at Loyola College, Anto Nelson doesn't miss the class; he listens to the live online class and notes down the sum as instructed by the professor.  These instances clearly portray the evolution of college…

It is the morning jamming sessions that excites Srihari S Nair the most these days. Every morning, the 12-year-old gets ready, sits by the window and gently taps his fingers on the piano. Soon music fills the rooms, as his parents and piano master listen intently and Srihari's eyes sparkle with joy. His master even corrects some of the notes. In reality, though it is his sister, sitting next to him, who is creating the music under the guidance of their teacher, but the collaborative exercise brings great joy to the boy. More importantly though, these jamming sessions act as…

On September 3rd, Chennai recorded 968 fresh COVID cases and 29 deaths. There are 12,059 active cases in the city.  Infographic summary of COVID-19 cases in Chennai as on September 4th. Graphic: GCC/Twitter In a bid to track patients who have been discharged after treatment for COVID-19 from the Government Kilpauk Medical College (KMC), the institution is launching a dedicated post-COVID-19 care clinic. The hospital has seen 7,022 COVID patients so far and 6,232 patients have been discharged. A dedicated ward is being set-up for this purpose. Patients who were treated for more than 28 days will receive follow-up treatment…

Along with its distinctive icons and landmarks, if there is another unique feature that sets Chennai apart, it is the use of Madras bashai (dialect).  Dai kasmalam, ootla soltu vantiya? Bejar pannama anthanda po! Familiar sounds, for anyone who has ventured on Chennai roads! Unique to the capital city, the dialect is believed to have evolved over several centuries, as Madras was a port city. Many people from other states travelled to the city, and as they assimilated with the population, the city absorbed many words from their languages into its lexicon. Historian Nivedita Louis Part of present-day Arani (about…

“Getting a customer who can afford to pay at least Rs 50 for a night is a big deal now. A week ago, I had a customer who offered only Rs 30, but I could not deny him. Every single penny counts today,” 32-year-old Christina, a transgender and sex worker in Chennai, tells me. The threat of coronavirus has acutely affected the livelihood of transgender persons in Chennai. The city is home to around 4,000 trans people, most of whom have been rendered jobless and penniless ever since the nation went into lockdown. The only financial aid that the community…

Among the many contributions the remarkable Annie Besant made to Indian nationalism was the establishing in 1914 of the Young Men's Indian Association - a challenge to the YMCA. The purpose of the YMIA was to serve as “a political gymnasium as it were, to equip the youth with a strong body, an informed mind and a noble character". The following year, the YMIA's HQ opened - Gokhale Hall, on Armenian Street in Madras. Annie Besant paid for the construction herself. It took the name of Gopal Krishna Gokhale, a leader of the Indian National Congress and founder of the Servants…