City: Chennai

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…

Chennai roads may be dug up during the rains Telecom operators are reported to have received permission to dig up about 2000 km of the city's roads, just a few weeks ahead of the Northeast monsoon. The Chennai Corporation is also reportedly relaying 4000 roads at this time. Meanwhile, the Indian Meteorological Department has forecast 12 per cent surplus rainfall in the coming monsoons, which is likely to commence by October 8th, two weeks in advance of its scheduled arrival. Citizens are worried about flooding and safety of commute during the coming monsoon months, given that a short but intense…

The High Court is getting more and more impatient. And who can blame that august body for losing its cool? There are no signs of any elections to civic bodies in the entire State, leave alone the Corporation of Chennai. Come October, we will have completed two years of civic administration sans an elected body. It appears that not many in the city have really noticed. The State Government too is pretty much relaxed over the delay. The Opposition is the one that is crying foul. Strangely enough, two years ago, when the elections fell due, it was the Opposition…

A churn is expected in the solid waste management ecosystem in the city in the coming months. The Chennai Corporation is said to be in the process of finalising the draft Solid Waste Management bye-laws, 2016 in accordance with the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016. The proposed plastic ban to be implemented from January 2019 will only add to the changes that the residents of the city must adapt to once the implementation is in full swing. These measures are expected to help the city cut back on waste generation, one of the highest per capita in the country. Showing…

என் ஞாயிற்றுக்கிழமையை நீ பாழாக்கி விட்டாய்! ஊருக்கு வந்த ஒரு பழைய நண்பரை சந்திக்க காத்திருந்த நாள். நான் தென் சென்னையிலும் அவர் வட சென்னையிலும் தங்கியிருந்ததால், என் சொந்தவூர் என்று பெருமையாக நினைக்கும் இந்த ஊரை சுற்றி போக்குவரத்து நெரிசலின்றி, நிம்மதியாக, இனிமையான பயணத்தை எதிர்பார்த்துக்கொண்டிருந்தேன். எல்லாம் வீட்டை விட்டு வெளியேறும் வரை தான், வெளியேரியபின் எல்லாமே வேறு மாதிரி. என் வண்டியை வெளியே எடுத்து, கியர் போட்ட பிறகு எல்லாம் ஒரு பயமுறுத்தும் அனுபவமாக மாறியது. நகர்வாசிகளுக்கு சேவை செய்ய கடமை பட்டிருக்கிறோம் என்ற எண்ணத்தை முற்றிலும் நிராகரித்து, நகரமே குத்தகைக்கு வண்ணம் தீட்ட விட்டாற்போல் காட்சியளித்தது. ஆமாம் உங்கள் தலைவர் நூற்றாண்டு தான், ஆனால் பொது இடங்களை உங்கள் கட்சியின் சொந்த இடம் போல உபயோகிக்க உங்களுக்கு எந்த உரிமையும் இல்லை. உங்கள் தலைவர் உயிரோடு இருந்தால் உங்கள் அரசியல் விசுவாச ஆரவாரங்களை பார்த்து அவருக்கே பொறுக்காமல்…