City: Chennai

Long queues of women and men waiting for their turn at the tanker; schools forced to shut down due to water shortage; companies asking employees to work from home and even patients in hospitals bearing the brunt of water  shortage -- these are not scenes from any dystopian novel or movie. This is the reality Chennai is living today. The situation gets worse by the day as the city finds itself in the grip of another spell of widespread and acute water shortage. The scarcity of water has seen the city’s main reservoirs run dry. Borewells are depleted and the…

Chennai is facing an unprecedented water crisis with the city’s main reservoirs running dry. The origins of the crisis lie in the failure of the North East monsoon on which the city relies heavily for its water needs. With 54% deficit in rainfall, the prognosis for the coming summer was dire. It required concerted efforts by authorities and citizens on war footing to mitigate what would certainly become one of the worst spells of water scarcity faced by the city. However, the lax attitude to the impending crisis meant that Chennaiites are now facing the full brunt of the mismanagement…

For a city as dense and expansive as Chennai, it is not surprising that the city corporation has its hands full in terms of public works, and particularly so in the area of waste management. According to the 2011 census, the population density is over 26,000 persons/sq km. The sheer number of households, not to mention offices and factories, ensures that the city generates a large amount of waste. That, however, is not an aberration even when one looks at the country as a whole. India is slated to become the third-largest consumer market globally by 2030. According to a…

Over 90% of suburban rail stations yet to get CCTV The shocking incident of another young woman hacked in the suburban station of Chetpet has turned the focus on security in many of the stations.  Following a similar incident in Nungambakkam station in 2016 where a woman techie was stabbed to death, the Railways had hurriedly installed a closed circuit televion (CCTV) camera  at the station. Railways sources have said that out of the 136 stations identified for CCTV coverage in 2011, only 8 have had them installed, while the work on the other stations have slowed down. Chetpet incidentally…

I watched Crazy Mohan live for the first time when I was a student at Guindy Engineering College. I used to be the clown within our gang in those days, fooling around and punning on words. Watching Crazy Mohan and his characters doing my kind of comedy on stage and getting huge applause and laughter was unbelievable. The comedian in me longed to be with them on stage.  That evening, Crazy Mohan addressed the students, and boy, that impromptu talk was quite a class act in itself. When he declared that he too had studied engineering right there in our…

A fleet of trucks carrying fruits, vegetables and flowers arrive at 1 am at the Koyambedu Market. Within a few minutes, daily wage labourers unload these commodities and carry it to the respective shops in the market. One can see customers flocking the market as early as 4 am, to get the best of the goods at a wholesale price. Business flourishes till 10 am, after which it is somewhat dull till 2 pm. Towards the afternoon, customers from far away places such as Perungalathur reach the flower market, to strike the best deal with the wholesale vendors. By evening,…

At a time when Chennai must make pressing choices for environmental conservation, some residents have set heartening examples to be emulated. In recognition of their efforts, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) have conferred them with Green Awards. The awards were presented by the Chief Minister to five Resident Welfare Associations in the city for their pioneering efforts in waste management, water and energy conservation and greening. The winners Sabari Terrace Sabari Terrace Apartment Owners Association was one of the five victorious RWAs. The residents here have a successful model of waste segregation, composting and rainwater harvesting. Harsha Koda,…

The process of getting things done at government offices is often so complex, tedious and time consuming that citizens are loath to even go there. It is perhaps for the same reason that the Tamil Nadu government launched online service centres, called eSevai centres, meant to offer ease of service to the user. What's best is that these centres are plenty and easily accessible, present in the remotest of villages and even in urban centres. In Chennai, as elsewhere, these centres can help you with several services that involve government departments and parastatals such as Revenue, TANGEDCO, TNEA, Corporation of…

Schools ask students to bring their own water From residences to hotels, Chennai has been gasping for water supply. The looming water crisis has put schools, hostels and mansions in a fix. Some of the schools in Chennai have asked students to bring their own water to manage the water situation. Parents are worried that this will add to the burden of already heavy school bags. According to official data, students in around 907 government funded schools depend on piped water supply and never carried water bottles in the past. Meanwhile, Chennaites hope for some respite as the neighbouring state…

The midday sun reflects sharply off the shiny red surface of the brand new bus that is on its way from Koyambedu to Kelambakkam. The new-look bus is part of the 300-strong addition to the MTC’s fleet in a phased manner. Half of the new buses commissioned that are operational now traverse the routes in the Old Mahabalipuram Road stretch that is not yet connected by the suburban train network or the metro rail and relies heavily on buses for connectivity. “The new buses were very necessary. The upgrade has made the rides more comfortable. This was long overdue as…