City: Chennai

The Southern Railway, which has been chalking up plans to modernise the Egmore railway station, has finally released details. In what promises to be a complete sweep of the premises, the station will get a much-needed infrastructural upgrade. What is heartening is that the heritage aspect of the station is to be retained, with much of it being repurposed. But will the proposed modernisation dwarf the age-old edifice? That is an aspect that the railways will do well to ponder over even as it goes ahead with the makeover. Egmore station's growing infra needs There is no doubting the fact…

கொரட்டூர் ஏரி 20 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பாக சமையலுக்கு குடிநீருக்கு பயன்படுத்தி வந்துள்ளனர் ஆனால் தொழிற்சாலை மற்றும் பால்பண்ணை நச்சு கழிவுகளால் ஏரி மாசடைந்தது இதனால் நீரை பயன்படுத்த முடியவில்லை. நிலத்தடி நீர் சுற்றி பாதித்துள்ளது கழிவு நீரால் ஆகாயத்தாமரை அதிகம் வளர்ந்துள்ளதால் மீன்களின் இனப்பெருக்கம் குறைந்து வருகிறது ஏரியைச் சுற்றிலும் 200க்கும் மேற்பட்ட மீனவ குடும்பங்கள் வாழ்ந்து வருகின்றனர் இவர்களின் வாழ்வாதாரம் ஏரியை நம்பி தான் உள்ளது ஏரி மாசடைந்து மண் மற்றும் தண்ணீர் பாதிப்பால் மீன் இனப்பெருக்கம் குறைந்துள்ளது. ஆக்கிரமிப்பால் ஏற்படும் மாசு  ஏரியைச் சுற்றிலும் அரசியல் போர்வையில் சமூக விரோதிகள் தொடர்ந்து ஆக்கிரமிப்பு பணியில் ஈடுபட்டு வருகின்றனர். ஆக்கிரமிக்கப்பட்ட பகுதிகளில் சென்னை மாநகராட்சி எல்லா வசதிகளையும் செய்து கொடுப்பதால் ஆக்கிரமிப்பாளர்களுக்கு வசதியாக போய்விடுகிறது. ஓராண்டுக்கு முன்பாக கோர்ட்டு ஏரியில் ஆக்கிரமித்துள்ள 12 வீடுகளுக்கு நோட்டீஸ் வழங்கப்பட்டது 21 நாளைக்குள் காலி செய்ய வேண்டும் என்று ஆனால் இதுவரை எந்த…

Pritika has to travel from Royapuram to different parts of the city every day for work. Being a daily user of the government buses in Chennai, she says that she feels unsafe taking buses. "When I enter a bus, my dignity and sense of space are immediately taken away. I have to give up on the assumption that I can regulate the space around me. Women's safety in Chennai buses depends on the actions of the men on the bus. All that we can do is learn how to respond to such instances of harassment in public places. More often…

Retteri to supply water to Chennai Retteri's storage will be increased to 124 million cubic feet to cater to the rising water demand in Chennai. A sum of Rs. 44 crores is to be allotted for this work, said the Water Resources Minister in the State Assembly. Apart from this, the operations of Poondi, Chembarambakkam and Red Hills reservoirs would be automated at a cost of Rs. 32 crores. WRD has also planned to take up flood mitigation works in the Adyar basin, apart from desilting the canals in Kolapakkam, Manapakkam and Gerugambakkam, in the western part of Chennai. Source:…

Life in resettlement colonies in Chennai comes with myriad issues. Our wait for proper infrastructure, basic services, benefits and entitlements has been long and the fight has been hard. My life used to revolve around my house in the Perumbakkam resettlement area. Even though I taught children from Classes 1 to 5 to read and write Tamil in our Reading Club, I was still confined to my household and managing its affairs. But as Community Champion, now my life revolves around the entire resettlement area, where I work to make the lives of people here better. An experiential learning programme,…

A recent study found Chennai to be the top city for women in India. Chennai ranked first among metro cities with a million-plus population. The parameters that the ranking was based on included safety and ease of living for women. At the same time, crimes against women in Tamil Nadu have seen an increase by 40% in 2022 according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau. So, how easy is it to navigate life in Chennai as a woman? Is the city as safe and convenient as perception seems to suggest? What does freedom mean for the women of…

It has been seven years since the Central Pollution Control Board came up with the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016. But many conservancy workers like Ramesh* and Sivaraman* come across bio-medical waste in Chennai while handling municipal waste often. "There have been over 25 instances of illegal dumping of bio-medical waste in Chennai and its suburbs the last four years alone," says V Pugalvendhan, a social activist who has been tracking and reporting bio-medical waste disposal violations since 2019. Even in January 2023, there was an instance of bio-medical waste dumping in Adyar bund near Kolapakkam, which is a suburb…

Infrastructure has been a focus area in recent budgets of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), with allocations running into crores. But a quick look around us shows the broken state of many of these structures be it footpaths or play equipment in parks.  Fixing existing deficiencies in public infrastructure before the creation of new ones will prevent the cycle of neglect and decay. The civic body must take steps to ensure that the existing infrastructure is repaired and its upkeep regular.  Instead of taking the people living in the neighbourhoods into confidence, plans for future infrastructure are also being undertaken…

The 2023 GCC budget was presented by Chennai Mayor R Priya on March 27. Key announcements were made regarding traffic management, new projects on solid waste management and stormwater drains and education. Here is a roundup of some of the important projects proposed and the allocations made for the same by the civic body. Revamped traffic management strategy in GCC Budget To manage parking in the city, GCC plans to extend the on-street paid parking system under a PPP model to other zones. Currently, this model exists in zones 8, 9 and 10. A Parking and Traffic Management Committee is…

The Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) budget is expected to be tabled in the council meeting on March 27. The state of the finances of the civic body requires close scrutiny as the quality of daily life of Chennaiites is linked to how well the civic body can carry out its functions. Chennaiites part of active Residents' Welfare Associations and Civil Society Organisations share their expectations on what must feature in the city’s budget. On roads and stormwater drains in Chennai While residents are aware of the importance of stormwater drains for flood mitigation, many raise grievances about the impact of…