City: Chennai

The infamous evening traffic jams during rush hour in OMR seem like a thing of the past. The lockdown imposed on account of COVID-19 and the subsequent directives by many firms to work from home have made the once bustling area -- commonly dubbed as Chennai’s IT corridor -- deserted, with only local residents seemingly still around. The area resembles a ghost town in many parts. Customers -- mostly employees who would take breaks over a cup of tea -- at the tea shops that had come up outside the big office buildings have vanished. Restaurants and take-out services have…

I had been noticing a man, about 40 years of age and evidently suffering mental health issues, around my neighbourhood on Venkatraman Street in Perambur over the past few months. In May 2020 when the Covid-19 cases started spiking I approached the local administration to seek help in securing a shelter for him. The initial response from the officials in the enforcement agencies and local administration was that it would be impossible to accommodate any person with a mental illness at the mental hospital or any home for the mentally challenged during the pandemic. They asked me to wait until…

COVID-19: Two Chennai institutes to participate in Oxford vaccine trial, funds allocated for fight against COVID On August 27th, Chennai recorded 1,286 new COVID cases, 1,356 recoveries and 32 deaths. The total number of active cases stand at 13,457.  Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) and Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research (SRIHER), Porur will be taking part in the trials of Covishield - a vaccine developed by Oxford University. Tamil Nadu Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine has been appointed as principal investigator. A total of 300 persons will be recruited for the clinical trials. The…

“It has become a matter of routine for me to go to the police station once in every ten days,” says an inconsolable Kavita (name changed). Since this March, she has been desperately pleading with the cops at the Maduravoyal Police Station, asking them to do what it takes to ensure justice for her 10-year-old daughter. Kavita's daughter was raped and killed by their 29-year-old neighbour five months ago.  The girl who woke up in the middle of the night to go to the loo, which is detached from their house, never came back to sleep next to her mother. …

The recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the city is a matter of great concern for Chennaites. Swati Amar unearths special problems of certain sections of people that are facing the pandemic differently. Baby on the Way Dr Priya Selvaraj, a fertility specialist, clinician and embryologist, and the assistant director of GG Hospital has been witness to how pregnant women are facing the COVID-19 situation: “We never stopped seeing pregnant patients during COVID (the pandemic). In fact, obstetrics care was one of the specialities where we instituted specific recommendations as per the norms of both international and national committees."” Dr Selvaraj…

Ashok Raj, a resident of Vettuvankeni, was recently cheated of Rs 4,500 by a city-based manpower agency providing domestic househelp services. The help never turned up even after the money was paid and multiple calls made to the agency did not evoke a response. Ashok soon realised he had been cheated and came to know that the agency has been engaged in serial fraudulent activities over the past few years. He subsequently got in touch with other victims. Collectively, they visited J8 Neelankarai police station to file a case against a manpower agency under cheating/fraudulent charges.  The officials initially were…

The long suffering residents of Chennai have been living with two dead rivers, the Adyar and the Cooum, flowing through the heart of their city. These two rivers meander sluggishly through the city carrying sewage and dangerous pollutants. Besides these two rivers, there is the third one – the Kosasthalaiyar, which flows in the northern end of the city and not as polluted as the other two. These three rivers flow east towards the Bay of Bengal. A river is considered dead when it is incapable of sustaining any form of life – fish or aquatic plants, in it. This…

COVID: Collector recovers from COVID, phase-II of vaccine trials to begin soon On August 20th, Chennai recorded 1,177 fresh COVID cases, 1,132 recoveries and 22 deaths. The total number of active cases stand at 12,287. Infographic representation of total number of COVID cases in Chennai as on August 21st. Graphic: GCC/Twitter Thirty-three officials from Chennai Collectorate including Collector R Seethalakshmi who were infected with COVID have reportedly recovered. To ensure the frontline workers remain safe, the civic body has begun testing all the workers. Samples from volunteers and frontline workers are part of the 13,000 tests carried out every day.…

இசை என்பது நம் மக்களின் வாழ்க்கையோடு பின்னிப் பிணைந்த ஒரு அம்சமாகும் என்பது நாம் அனைவரும் அறிந்ததே. சந்தோஷமோ, துக்கமோ அதைப் பரிமாறிக்கொள்ளவும், வெளிப்படுத்தவும் இசை ஒரு முக்கிய பங்கு வகித்து வந்திருக்கிறது. சென்னையிலும் எந்தவொரு விசேட நிகழ்வானாலும் அதில் ஒரு அத்தியாவசிய அம்சமாக மாறிப்போனவை மெல்லிசைக் குழுக்களின் நிகழ்ச்சிகள். இதில் ’ஏ’ ‘பி’ ‘சி’ என்று வகைப்படுத்தப்பட்டு ‘ஏ’ பிரிவில் 20 குழுக்களும் ‘பி’ வகையில் 60 ம் ‘சி’ வகையில் சுமார் 500க்கு மேலும் என இசைக் கருவிகளின் பயன்பாடு மற்றும் இசைக் கலைஞர்களின் எண்ணிக்கையின் அடிப்படையில் தரம் பிரிக்கப்பட்டு அதனடிப்படையில்  ரூபாய் பத்தாயிரம் முதல் பல லட்சம் வரை அவரவர் தேவைக்கேற்ப இந்நிகழ்ச்சிகளை ஏற்பாடு செய்து கொள்ளும் நிலை இருந்தது ஆனால், தற்போதைய கட்டுப்பாட்டு சூழலில் ஊரடங்கு மற்றும் சமூக இடைவெளியைக் கடைபிடிக்க வேண்டுமென்ற விதியினால், திருவிழாக்கள் மற்றும் வேறு பல சுப நிகழ்வுகளையும் எளிமையாக நடத்த…

In the aftermath of the devastating floods of 2015 and the drought that hit Chennai, the focus on conservation of water bodies has been amplified. The many lakes of Chennai that have suffered years of neglect have begun to get a fresh lease of life with restoration efforts taking place across the city. The Environmentalist Foundation of India is an NGO that has been playing an active role in the restoration of lakes along with other non-profits and civic agencies including the Greater Chennai Corproation and Chennai Smart Cities Limited. While lake restorations of this scale are multi-year, ongoing activities,…