City: Chennai

I H Sekar, a fisherman and environmentalist living near Pallikaranai marsh land in Chennai, is awaiting judgment for a case he filed a year back, to protect the marsh from yet another encroachment. This is the third case that he has filed so far on the marsh. This time the encroachment has been by the government itself, to build an RTO office which will be a dump yard for vehicles. The Pallikaranai marsh used to be spread across 6000 hectares some 50 years back, but only 600-odd hectares remain now. It’s still the biggest remaining wetland in Chennai, where destruction…

Who can forget the devastation of the Chennai Floods in December 2015? Certainly not the residents of Chennai who suffered for days, nor the volunteers who scrambled to provide relief. Almost a year has passed, and the monsoon is upon us again. Is the city prepared to face a deluge? Has the Government taken preventive measures? Have we learnt any lessons at all from last year? To find answers to some of these questions, and to push for constructive action towards making Chennai flood-safe, Arappor Iyakkam launched “Kelu Chennai Kelu”, a one-of-a-kind attempt at participatory democracy, a public hearing on…

Her enthusiasm for meeting people is equalled only by her indignation at the pathetic state of the infrastructure all over the city - the roads that get relaid without being milled, the storm water drains that are overflowing because someone let their sewage water into it, the bio-toilet that everyone pees around, but no one goes inside to their job, the lovely Besant nagar beach where everyone loves to stomp around but no one stops to give a thought to the teeming marine life in the sand... she can go on and on.. But no, she is not a pessimist,…

The Joy of Giving offers so much satisfaction and adds a definite meaning and purpose to our lives. The joy of sharing and giving is especially much more significant when we live in a world where we spend money easily on several material and non-material comforts but often forget the fact that a simple home cooked meal for one person costs only about Rs.50 at the most. We swipe our debit cards on clothes, cosmetics, food, gadgets, toys, travel and don’t think twice about spending huge amounts but have we ever thought of how much more a relatively minuscule amount…

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V. Balakrishnan IPS, popularly known as 'Balky', is one of Chennai city's top cops. A student of Mass Communication, he understands the power of communication and the role of media thoroughly and uses the might of social media to keep the people appraised of what goes on in his precinct. Women's safety is a subject close to his heart and he sat down for a chat with Citizen Matters one afternoon, discussing various aspects of it. Q. Is the city becoming more unsafe for women? Actually, if you look at the statistics, there is no actual increase in crime against…

Does it not bother you that Chennai is the 'accident capital' of India? And according to some reports, we have the second highest number of road accidents in the WORLD, after the Brazilian city of Fortaleza! In the year 2015 alone, official records indicate that over 850 people died in traffic accidents. This is likely to be lower than the real figure, since several instances are not reported to the police, and also does not include instances where the person was injured and succumbed to it subsequently. The list of disturbing statistics is almost endless. Over 40% of the casualties are…

How Chennai’s famous Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha Took Roots When a few disturbed individuals met around a couple of years back, it started a chain of events that seemed like Lego blocks falling in place. When I use the word 'disturbed', I mean disturbed by many happenings around us. All of us just could not fathom how some people could be termed superior or inferior to others. And just as much, how certain arts could be termed superior or inferior to others. We decided to do something about it. And that was the birth of the Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha.…

My Experience volunteering for Vegam 2016 It's been two weeks, but the excitement and the spirit of volunteering for Vegam hasn't faded. July 16th was a big day for all the 1180 differently abled students, who participated in a Sports Event or Athletic Meet held successfully at the grand Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. "Vegam" is an annual athletic Meet for differently-abled children organised by Chennai Social Service (CSS), a volunteering organization working for the socially backward people over the last 10 years. Apart from this event, Red Drops, Nalanda, Environmental Care, Aravanaippu and V-Scribe are some of the initiatives from CSS.…

Lessons I Learnt While Dealing with my Father’s Cancer Treatment Six months ago, my father was diagnosed with grade 3 squamous cell carcinoma - that’s the fancier name for oral cancer.  Since that day, life has not been the same for me and my family.  When they say there is life before cancer diagnosis and a life after, you better believe it. There are bunch of things I learnt, while my father was being treated for it – think of this as a ready-reckoner to take care of a cancer patient. I will pray to God that you won’t ever…