City: Chennai

“From a needle to a computer, you will get everything here,” said a lungi-clad old man, who was selling rare copper coins (half anna from 19th century) at the Friday Pallavaram market. With a brief pause, he chuckled, “Except a girl to get married to.” Fresh vegetables, various varieties of fish, antique coins, old newspapers, eggs, chicken, batteries, computer spare parts... the list goes on. True to the trader’s words, the weekly Sandhai (market) that takes place every  Friday on the Old Trunk Road of Pallavaram brings a village to the city. With just an umbrella or a wet cloth…

Chennai’s Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) is no more the monopoly provider of shared rides in the city, with share autorickshaws eating into its ridership on arterial routes. Moreover, it is losing revenues after it raised the fares, without any improvement to bus services or their quality – it had no air-conditioned services to offer this summer. But surprise! MTC did not make any move to find out how much it is losing to these 8-seater share auto vehicles, most of which are operated without a proper permit. Share autos are in the grey zone, since there is no way they can be…

Any regular Twitter user over the past couple of years can attest to the popularity of the Twitter accounts of the Bengaluru and Mumbai police. By using the language of the people, through topical memes and witty quips, the police of two of India’s major cities have revamped their image to exude friendliness and increase accessibility. By leveraging the power of social media, these cities have led the way in adopting a new model of interacting with their citizens and addressing complaints and queries real time. Fake message is floating on Whatsapp regarding this number as BCP’s Women Helpline. The…

Most of the city’s minor canals are choked with plastic The city's minor waterways, meant to carry rainwater, have become sewage feeder canals that convey domestic sewage into Adyar and Cooum. Indiscriminate garbage dumping by residents and alleged diversion of untreated sewage by Metrowater have contributed to the mess since the waterways were cleaned up last year. Chennai Corporation, which maintains the waterways, is set to complete desilting the canals before the northeast monsoon begins in October. Source: Times of India Road relaying work to begin on 2000 stretches across Chennai The Greater Chennai Corporation has received a go-ahead to relay roads…

The theme for this year’s World Environment Day, celebrated on June 5, was “Beat Plastic Pollution”. Beyond lip service, it is most heartening to witness the deeds of people who walk the talk and show that where there is a will there is a way to ramp up our fight against plastic pollution. Citizen Matters spoke to one such Chennai citizen, V C Kannan, who, along with his family, has demonstrated that it is indeed possible to go plastic-free, especially at a large event such as a wedding. Yes, a zero-plastic wedding! The Big Idea For a family that has…

For my first post, I’ve decided to chronicle the three-year struggle to get Corporation of Chennai to provide a raised permanent concrete median opposite the Perambur Railway Station extending upto Adayar Ananda Bhavan, covering Venkatraman Canal Street and Perambur High Road intersection, similar to the median installed opposite to the Railway Kalyana Mandapam on Perambur High Road. In April 2015, residents from Perambur filed petitions with the Corporation of Chennai asking them to replace the existing median made up of concrete blocks. The centre median made up of concrete blocks had surfaced or carpeted with the level of road due…

Nemilichery lake, which once was a lifeline to the farmers in Pallavaram, is slowly being destroyed. With unabated encroachment and illegal dumping of unsegregated waste, the lake is dry and its bed is completely covered with plastic. In order to save the lake for the next generation, volunteers from various organisations and business entities took up the cleaning work on 10 June. “More than 250 volunteers from Federation of Civic and Welfare Associations of Pallavaram, environmental organisation Pasumai Iyakkam and Parvathy Hospital took part in the clean up,” said V Santhanam, a noted civic activist. Years of exploitation by the…

Clad in dark blue uniforms, a group of seven school children, all aged above 12 years, restlessly jostle for space in an auto rickshaw on Velachery Main Road near Tambaram. While three children sit on the side bars of the auto, two of them sit next to the driver, holding on for dear life to the already crowded seat. Heavy school bags and lunch boxes are also stuffed in the same vehicle. This scene is not uncommon during school hours on our busy city roads. The risk to life and limb that these children face every day is either unknown…

A stretch of the old, dilapidated compound wall of the Corporation School in Thiruveedhi Amman Koil Street of RA Puram grabbed the attention of a residents welfare association recently. To give a new lease of colour to the wall, Thiruveedhi Amman Koil Street Resident Welfare Association (TAKSRA), in association with an organisation called Karam Korpom-SAPS (Stop Abusing Public Spaces) started work two days before World Environment Day. SAPS focuses on preventing the abuse of public spaces by transforming them into beautiful art corners. K L Balasubramanian and M K Ramkumar, active members of TAKSRA, led a group of about 30 volunteers to…

The districts of Tiruvallur, Chennai and Kanchipuram once boasted of a landscape densely dotted with wetlands and a lifestyle that was closely linked to the survival of these water bodies. With the boundaries of the Chennai metropolitan area considerably distended and concrete slowly creeping into the city’s many tanks and ponds, there is an urgent need to retain whatever little waterscape we are left with. The NGO Care Earth Trust, along with The Nature Conservancy and the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, has embarked on a project to restore one of South Chennai’s prominent waterbody—the Sembakkam lake. With a current water-spread area of around 100…