City: Chennai

Rising cases of dengue in the city With the onset of monsoon, it is not only the bad roads that have been cause for worry but health woes too. Chennai has been recording a steady rise in the number of dengue cases. According to Health Minister Vijayabhaskar the government has already set up fever clinics at government hospitals that function round the clock. Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and the Institute of Child Health have 8 dengue cases each under treatment. The directorate of public health has recorded a spike in fever cases in the districts of Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur…

The summary revision of electoral rolls is underway in Tamil Nadu with the publication of the draft electoral roll in September. Those who will have completed 18 years as on January 1, 2019 can enroll themselves in the voter list and those who wish to make any changes or deletions may also do so during the revision period. The final voter list is to be published on January 4, 2019. If you are looking to add, change or delete yourself from the rolls, these are the steps to be followed. Just be quick, for the deadline is October 31st. Addition…

“Homely atmosphere with good food and guaranteed safety,” reads the description of one of the many posts advertising women's hostels on a popular Facebook group for people who have moved to Chennai and are looking for suitable accommodation.  The post is accompanied by pictures of three single beds placed next to each other in a cramped room with seemingly little ventilation or light. Yet, the many enthusiastic responses show there is still demand for such places. This is the reality of many such hostels and paying guest accommodation across the city. With very little oversight on their operations, those who…

In a city like Chennai where public transportation is not really optimal in terms of supporting last mile connectivity, share autos are the cheapest and easiest option and have naturally emerged as the common man’s preferred mode of transport. But the advantages of this intermediate public transport or para transit cannot override the range of problems faced by commuters and even share auto drivers themselves. In Part 1 of the series on share autos, we discussed why share autos are necessary, especially in view of the demand surplus that crowded MTC buses are not able to meet. But commuters list…

With Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), Metrorail, Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) buses and suburban rail network, Chennai is one of the metros in the country that have a more efficient local public transport system. However, rapid growth of commuters has led to the emergence of an illegal, parallel system in the form of share autos. The fact that 15,500 share autos ply on the city roads each day indicates how this form of private transportation is plugging the gaps in the public transport space. This Citizen Matters series on share autos provides details on the emergence of share autos, problems…

Imagine a walk on the Kotturpuram bridge on any morning or evening - a glance below provides a picturesque sight: people shouting in happiness, their row boats on the tranquil waters of Adyar River, free from traffic. The happiness on their faces is evident; it makes you feel the joy of rowing. You cannot help thinking how beautiful the journey of these rowers would be -- navigating in the seemingly serene waters, encountering fish and feeling the cool breeze. But the reality is quite different.  And ugly. The breeze carries the stench of sewage, often unbearably foul. And what rowers…

More water for Chennai residents Chennaites have reason to rejoice. The water table in 8 out of 15 zones have seen a slight rise  by 0.68m. While areas of Madhavaram, Ambattur, Annangar, Teynampet, Valsaravakkam, Adyar, Perungudi and Sholinganallur has seen increase,  North Chennai areas like Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Tondiarpet, Royapuram and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have seen decrease in ground water levels. Meanwhile, the city’s water department has identified 13 lakes and 5 quarries to augment water supply. A special team has been formed at the Metro Water board which will work with PWD and institutions like IIT-M and Anna University…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities The sputtering sound of many of our auto-rickshaws and the chimney-like smoke emitted by them (as well as by buses and some cars) have one thing in common: Diesel. At the policy level, the government of Tamil Nadu has taken various steps to phase out diesel vehicles from the roads, as a measure against vehicular pollution, but the implementation has been far from satisfactory. In 2009, the State Transport Authority had directed the petrol and diesel driven auto rickshaws in Chennai to switch to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG). According…

A recent survey by the Information and Resource Center for Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) has shed light on the precarious living conditions and lack of access to basic services by a majority of homeless children in the city. The city's homeless have long been relegated to the fringes and left to fend for themselves. Efforts to increase the number of night shelters and other services available to them has moved at glacial pace. Understanding the services available and availed by the urban homeless, especially children, becomes vital to improve facilities and service delivery. The IRCDUC survey examined eleven parameters including…

Defunct or non-operational street lights are among the most important civic concerns for citizens of Chennai. Even though the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) claims to have been taking efforts to modernise the street light system, lapses are abundant. The problem has many different dimensions to it: absence of street lights in localities maintained by departments or bodies other than GCC, continued prevalence of sodium vapour bulbs, and lack of uniformity in operation of street lights across different parts of the city. In localities such as Thiru Vi Ka Industrial Estate and Ambal Nagar (maintained by SIDCO), Nandambakkam (maintained by St Thomas Mount…