City: Chennai

With urban centres across the country generating around 1.45 lakh metric tonnes of solid waste a day, denizens are no strangers to lectures on segregating recyclables and composting organic waste. Increasing pressure on the urban environment is forcing the state to take cognisance and look for alternatives to deal with the mounting solid waste problem. Mid-2018, the Tamil Nadu government announced a ban on all single-use plastics starting January 1, 2019 in a bid to ease the pressures of pollution on the state. While there’s no denying that stringent laws and penal provisions are required to ensure compliance, these are…

Those of you who have travelled by train from Chennai Central towards Arakkonam would have noticed a natural waterway which runs parallel to the railway track (northern side) between Vyasarpadi and Perambur Railway Stations. This canal is adjacent to a man made storm water drain and both discharge the flood waters into the Buckingham Canal during the monsoon.     Over the recent past we have noticed debris and garbage being dumped into this canal in bit and pieces. The property along the railway tracks belongs to the Indian Railways. Migrant workers have set up temporary shelters near the Vyasarpadi Railway…

Recycling sewage, the only resort for Chennai Poor show of north-east monsoon and dry summers have become the new order in Chennai. As water scarcity turns out to be a burning problem, researchers from Anna University’s Geology department feel that recycling sewage water could be an effective and viable solution. According to ‘Predicting future water supply-demand gap with a new reservoir, desalination plant and waste water reuse by water evaluation and planning model for Chennai Mega City’ published in Elsevier’s Groundwater for Sustainable Development in October 2018, the city’s water woes can be solved by next year through recycling sewage…

Compare this. Actor Rajinikanth, who lives in Poes Garden pays Rs 2.66 per square foot as tax for his property, while N Nagarajan, a resident of Nanganallur has to pay Rs 3.685. Poes Garden, an address for the who’s who of Chennai has all facilities: wide roads, well-designed storm water drains and a comprehensive underground drainage system. On the other hand, Nanganallur in Alandur zone presents a sorry contrast. Roads are battered even after a brief spell of rain, and connectivity to arterial localities of the city appears to be a distant dream. The information gathered by Alandur residents reveal that…

With the Tamil Nadu government's partial ban on single-use plastic in place since January 1st, Citizen Matters spoke to Rajendra Ratnoo, IAS, one of the the three regional coordinators working to make the transition to a plastic-less state smooth and ensure the success of the ban. We asked him some of the questions raised most often by our readers. What happens to the existing single use plastic in possession with the people as on January 1st? The segregated collection of waste by the local body is already underway in many places. People can turn in the single use plastic they…

When a 93-year-old school on College Road, a cluster of shops in Purasaiwakkam and over a hundred homes that offerred new life to repatriates from Burma and Sri Lanka in Assisi Nagar were served eviction notices in July for the construction of Phase 2 of Chennai Metro, the affected came together to launch a fight to save their land from the project. Chennai Metro wanted the land for its Phase 2 which will cover 108 kms and span three corridors. The priority corridors 3 and 5, for which the land is being sought, are to see construction first and will run between Madhavaram -…

Translated by Krishna Kumar வேலைக்கு இடம்பெயர்ந்த ஜார்கண்ட் மாநிலத்தைச் சேர்ந்தவர்களை ‘ரௌடிகள்’ என்றும், வடகிழக்கு மாநிலத்தை சேர்ந்தவர்களை பாலியல் ரீதியாக தாராளமானவர்கள் என்று ஏளனமாகவும், மேற்கு வங்காளத்தில் இருந்து வந்தவர்கள் ‘அழுக்கு’ என்றும் முத்திரை குத்தப்படுகிறார்கள். உள்ளூர் தேயிலைக்/காபி கடைகளில் இம்மாதிரியாக கோணங்களில் சர்வ சாதாரணமாக கிண்டல் கேலி செய்வது நாமெல்லாம் பார்க்க முடியும்,    சென்னை போன்ற நகரங்களுக்கு குடியேறியவர்கள், பொதுவாக இத்தகைய தவறான அபிப்ராயங்களுக்கு ஆட்படுகிறார்கள். ஜே ஜெயராஜனின் 2013 ஆராய்ச்சி கட்டுரையின் படி  சென்னைக்கு குடியேறுபவர்களில் அஸ்ஸாமில் இருந்து 23 சதவீதம், மேற்கு வங்கத்திலிருந்து 14 சதவீதம், பீகாரிலிருந்து  13.7 சதவிகிதம், ஒடிஷாவிலிருந்து 14.6 சதவிகிதம், ஆந்திராவில் இருந்து 9.5 சதவிகிதம் மற்றும் திரிபுராவிலிருந்து 0.3 சதவிகிதம்.ஆனால் கடந்த ஐந்து ஆண்டுகளில் வடக்கு கிழக்கில் இருந்து இடம்பெயர்ந்த மக்களே அதிகரித்து வருகின்றனர். "சென்னையில் உணவு, உற்பத்தி மற்றும் ஆடை துறைகளில் மலிவான கூலிக்கு ஆட்கள் கிடைகாத பிரச்சனைக்கு, வடகிழக்கு…

Here we are! The day that many naysayers said would never come. The day the Tamil Nadu government's ban on single use plastic goes into effect. With the Madras High Court rejecting a plea to stay the ban on December 27th, the first step has truly been taken. As Lao Tse famously said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Our solid waste management crisis is huge. Many issues remain to be acknowledged, leave alone addressed. Source segregation of garbage (mandatory since October 2, 2017), better door to door collection of segregated waste, forcing bulk generators…

Citizens of Tamil Nadu will start the new year without plastic, thanks to the state government's decision to impose a ban on plastic. In the absence of sufficient awareness of alternatives to plastic, a sense of ambiguity prevails among  citizens and trader communities, even though it has been six months since the announcement was made.  We spoke to various stakeholders, whose livelihoods have traditionally remained linked in one way or the other to plastic, to know how they plan to cope with the ban. https://youtu.be/BisUHNQR4Z8  

2019 to begin with plastic ban The High Court has dismissed the writ petition seeking a stay on government's move to ban plastic of use and throw products. With this, the city is expected to begin the new year on an environmental friendly note. The government had banned 14 items including  plastic carry bags, plastic sheets used for food wrapping, dining table spreads, plates, plastic-coated tea cups, tumblers, water sachets, plastic straws and plastic flags, irrespective of their thickness. Justices S. Vaidyanathan and P.T. Asha observed that there should be a total ban that extends to the currently exempted products…