City: Chennai

It was just like any other routine bike trip for Madhav (name changed) and his father as they started on their cycles that early Saturday morning. Little did they know how adventurous, and even stressful, the day would turn out to be. Madhav is an autistic teen, who enjoys cycling along with his father. This Saturday, driven by his instinct, he somehow rode away from his regular route while on the way back home after cycling for 2 hours. He had not been going for cycling for more than four months due to the COVID-19 lockdown, and that might have…

On the narrow and traffic-free roads of Kannagi Nagar, five-year-old Kumar (name changed) plays cricket with a group of boys. Most of them are older to him. As they disperse and leave for their respective homes at lunchtime, Kumar stays back, all alone. Sitting on a small bench by the side of the road, the frail boy waits for new company to play with. When asked if he is not going home for lunch, he shrugs, “Pasi ille (I am not hungry).”  The truth, however, is different -- there is no good food at home. Kumar has been skipping lunch…

Nobel laureate Albert Einstein, who demonstrated extreme patience in his pioneering research, when questioned on his unconventional methodology had once replied, “What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right.” The reply came at a time when he was repeatedly failing in his attempt to establish convincingly the Theory of Relativity. Undeterred, he pursued and his discovery has been the trend setter for many other discoveries in classical physics. When the coronavirus pandemic first surfaced on 30th January, few expected it to really hit India. February remained subdued but in March, as the cases…

Translated by Sandhya Raju சுமார் 25,000 பேருக்கு தொற்று உள்ள நிலையில், சென்னை நகரம் இன்னும் தொற்றின் பிடியிலிருந்து சற்றும் குறையவில்லை. அதிக நபர்களுக்கு தொற்று ஏற்பட்டுள்ள நிலையில், எங்கு பரிசோதனை செய்வது, சரியான மருத்துவமனையை தேர்ந்தேடுப்பது ஆகிய அடிப்படை விஷயங்கள் குறித்த புரிதல் இன்னும் பலருக்கு இல்லை. இதன் விளைவாக பரிசோதனை முடிவில் தொற்று உறுதியானால், அடிப்படை விஷயங்களை பற்றி சரியான புரிதல் இல்லாததால் அவருக்கும் அவர் குடும்பத்தாருக்கும் பயத்தை ஏற்படுத்துகிறது. “சென்னையில் கோவிட்-19 தொற்றால் ஏற்படும் மரணத்திற்கு பெரும்பாலும் சரியான நேரத்தில் சிகிச்சை அளிக்கப்படாததே காரணம். தொற்று அறிகுறியை அறிந்து தாமதிக்காமல் சிகிச்சை எடுத்துக்கொள்வது இந்த நேரத்தில் மிக அவசியம்" என்கிறார் ஸ்டான்லி மருத்துவமனையின் மருத்துவ கண்காணிப்பாளர் டாக்டர் கே. தனசேகரன். உங்களுக்கு தொற்று ஏற்பட நேரிட்டால், கிருமி மற்றும் நோய் குறித்து சரியான தகவலை அறிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டிய அவசியம் கருதி, உங்களுக்கு உதவும் வகையில்…

Some years back, a couple of low intensity bombs ripped through the Tirumani railway station near Chengalpet, causing substantial damage to the station master’s room. The authorities came to know that another one was ticking somewhere in the vicinity and called in the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Bomb Disposal Squad to handle the situation. Within minutes, Brooks, a male Labrador, jumped into action. The station was evacuated. Brooks sniffed around the station frantically before sitting down unexpectedly. It was a hint for his master A R R Ravi, an RPF official. Brooks had located the third bomb and it…

Management of solid waste has been a persistent issue for various cities. Chennai has been grappling to find ways to deal with its burgeoning quantum of waste and has tried out several experiments centered around decentralisation, starting from the early 2000s. While the city’s progress on this front has been patchy, some signs of promise had begun to sprout just before the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Prior to lockdown Chennai made crucial strides towards decentralised waste management with a pilot project  in Anna Nagar, that saw a significant reduction in waste sent to the landfills. The Zero Waste initiative…

COVID-19: New plasma bank and night shelter on the cards Chennai recorded 1,205 fresh COVID-19 cases on July 10th. There were 2,869 recoveries and 27 deaths. A total of 18,616 patients are under treatment in the city's various hospitals and COVID Care Centers. Infographic summary of COVID-19 cases in Chennai as on July 10. Pic: GCC/Twitter The state government has announced that the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH) will soon get India’s second plasma bank. The facility will be established at a cost of Rs 2 crore.  As Chennai witnesses a drop in the number of COVID-19 cases, the…

During Unlock 1.0, a family of two, who had been stuck out of state, arrived in Chennai. The very next morning they heard their doorbell ring. It was Vijay. He had come to enquire about their well being. Once Vijay came to know they had travelled last evening, he promptly took their details and stuck a green sticker given by the Corporation on their door, stating that members of this family would be under home quarantine. He briefed them on what to do for the next 14 days, while they would remain quarantined. Over the next 14 days, Vijay would…

In an era of vanishing footpaths and widening carriageways, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has been introducing a host of initiatives prioritising pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users — giving these social heroes their due. From adopting a progressive policy that makes walking and cycling its priority in 2014, to rigorously implementing the policy through its Chennai Street Design Project and the Smart City Mission over the last five years, the city has been transforming itself from a car-centric to a people-friendly city. Scaling up the street transformation work in Chennai, the Greater Chennai Corporation launched the Chennai Mega Streets…

With around 25,000 positive cases, the city of Chennai has not yet flattened the COVID curve. As more and more people are affected by the virus, the basic questions around getting a test done and choosing the right hospital still remain unanswered for many. The result: as soon as the tests return positive, panic grips the patient and their family members, and they are left struggling in the absence of proper information. "Many of the COVID -19 deaths in Chennai are due to the lack of treatment at the right time. This is a crucial time for every citizen to…