City: Chennai

As a child growing up in Chennai, then called Madras, the two things that made me happiest were a trip to the beach and a ride over the Gemini Flyover. Yes, what seems mundane now was a magical experience in the 1980s. Built in 1973, the Anna Flyover was Chennai’s first and the longest in the country at the time of its construction. It remained the sole flyover until 1993, when nine more came up. Today, with over 42 flyovers and more in the pipeline, Chennai is often referred to as the “City of Flyovers.” But are flyovers truly the answer to the city’s…

A walk around Madipakkam Lake today offers a lush, green escape: a scenic pathway encircling brimming waters, shaded by native trees and plants that purify the air. Small islands in the lake attract a variety of birds, making it a haven for urban biodiversity. Along the paved paths, vendors selling healthy snacks and fresh vegetables have set up shop, a reflection of how environmental restoration can also support local livelihoods, particularly for low-income groups. From as early as 4 am until late in the evening, hundreds of people, both young and old, visit the lake daily. Whether it is for…

A collective of various voluntary groups, civil society organisations, activists, educators and students has demanded urgent state-led action to uphold the right to shelter and dignity for persons living on the streets in Tamil Nadu. This campaign has been initiated by the Information and Resource Centre of the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) and other NGOs in Chennai and across the State, to support homeless people, whose lives are jeopardised by the absence of a dedicated state programme. Here are the recommendations put forward as part of the campaign: State-wide recommendations Tamil Nadu must urgently evolve a state-specific scheme for persons…

In August this year, over 2,000 sanitation workers from Central and North Chennai staged a peaceful protest against the Greater Chennai Corporation's (GCC) decision to privatise waste management services in Zones 5 and 6. Their demonstration was met with force and allegations of police brutality, just one day before Independence Day. Sanitary workers protest against the privatisation of waste management in zones 5 and 6 in Chennai. Pic courtesy: Sakthivel/Vyasai Thozhargal Over the years, GCC has outsourced solid waste management to private firms in 13 out of its 15 zones. The latest was in June this year, which approved the…

Walking into the Madras Literary Society (MLS) is like stepping into another era. The towering, multi-storey bookshelves hold more than 80,000 volumes, some of which are rare and priceless. Among the library’s many treasures is the 296-year-old edition of Isaac Newton’s Naturalis Principia Mathematica. The architecture of the building, with its double-layered windows, high ceilings with exposed rafters, and lime-plastered walls, offers more than mere aesthetic appeal. These features ensure natural ventilation, retain acoustics unique to the space, and keep the library cool even in Chennai’s scorching summers. Antique furniture adds an extra flourish to the space. The library thrives…

Sponge parks are quickly becoming a prominent element of Chennai’s flood mitigation efforts. Spearheaded by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), the project now boasts 78 sponge parks in the city, under the Sponge City initiative. While these structures are designed to manage surface runoff and prevent urban flooding, a closer examination reveals significant deviations from the holistic, nature-based designs that typically define a sponge park. Unlike the sponge park in Porur (Dr MS Swaminathan Wetland Eco Park), that integrates nature-based design and ecosystem restoration, most GCC-implemented sponge parks function more like glorified rainwater harvesting systems. The critical question remains: Are…

As the lunch bell rings at Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) Chennai High School in Adyar, students line up eagerly for their midday meal. Seated in groups, they chat happily while enjoying vegetables grown in their school’s terrace garden, which they helped plant and nurture. Once lunch is over, every student deposits food waste into a dedicated bin. This seemingly small act is part of a much larger system. The food waste, along with kitchen scraps, is fed into a biogas plant located within the school campus. The biogas generated powers the school kitchen, while the resulting slurry is used as…

They form the backbone of the country's seafood export industry, worth over ₹60,000 crore. However, Chennai’s coastal communities, especially fisherwomen, remain mostly invisible in policy and pay. Enduring punishing 15-hour days under sweltering heat, they clean, dry, and sell fish for just ₹200 to ₹300 a day. They work on blistering concrete without shade, toilets, or access to safe drinking water. Prolonged exposure to these conditions puts them at risk of sunburn, dehydration, dizziness, eye damage, and kidney issues. These health problems remain largely unaddressed. At sea, rising water temperatures and pollution continue to push fish further offshore. This forces…

Just a few metres away from the congested traffic bottleneck on Mount Poonamallee Road, near Sri Ramachandra University in Porur, lies Chennai’s first wetland sponge park, named Dr MS Swaminathan Wetland Eco Park. Unlike most parks in Chennai, this one stands out for striking a balance between ecological restoration and community use. Dr MS Swaminathan Wetland Eco Park, Chennai's first sponge park. Pic: Shobana Radhakrishnan What was once a marshy plot of land became a dumping ground and parking lot over the years. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), along with the Sponge Collaborative, has converted this 16.63-acre site, part…

In June 2025, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister referred to the demolition of ‘Madrasi Camp’ in Delhi as a “humanitarian crisis,” calling for basic amenities, transport support, and dignified resettlement. Yet, across Chennai and Tamil Nadu, evictions and resettlement continue. These actions often deprive marginalised urban communities of their dignity, rights, and safety due to the lack of a strong policy. One recent example that illustrates these contradictions is the forced eviction of families from Anakaputhur to the remote and poorly connected site of Keeraipakkam, where women and children struggle to access work and school. This reflects a wider, ongoing pattern…