City: Chennai

“In my eight decades in Chennai, I have never faced such cold weather for so long”, says 86-year-old S Krishnamurthy, a resident of Alandur. Chennai residents have felt the effects of winter linger longer than usual this year, well into the early weeks of February.  Frequent floods, drier summers and longer winters are all now a part of life in Chennai. Could climate change be behind these anomalies? Read more: More rainy days, more rainfall: CSTEP report predicts climate change impact on Chennai Winter trends in Chennai K Srikanth, an independent weather blogger running the platform Chennai Rains- ‘Chennayil Oru…

The mere mention of Cooum conjures up images of a dirty, smelly water body. The pollution of the Cooum river has been an issue that takes centre stage in all discussions around improving life in Chennai. The fate of Chennai's other water bodies, the Adyar river and Kosasthalaiyar river and the Buckingham canal also mirror that of the Cooum. Many attempts have been made over the years to clean up Chennai's polluted rivers. Allocations running into thousands of crores have been made for these projects by various governments, but progress has been slow and incremental. Read more: Sewage lorries polluting…

Shanthi*, a domestic worker, who lives in Thideer Nagar near the banks of the Cooum river, fell sick a few days ago. She was diagnosed with dengue. "We have been living on the river banks for years now as this is the only place where we can find affordable rental houses. Unlike previous years, the mosquito menace in Chennai is very high this year and many of us, mostly children, have been falling sick frequently," she says. Being the sole breadwinner of her family, Shanthi lives with her her son, who is in class 10. "The number of mosquitoes that…

On a regular Wednesday morning, Prem* reached his office ready to take on his tasks for the day at an IT company in Chennai. He found himself denied access to his office as he had been laid off from the job he had held for the past six months. There were a few other workers like him who knew about the termination only after reaching the office that day. The ramifications of a global slowdown in the IT industry have begun to be felt in India, with over 21,000 techies facing layoffs in the last quarter. Employees in Chennai have…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தமிழ் மொழி மற்றும் அதன் இலக்கியத்தை பறைசாற்றும் விதமாக முன்னாள் முதல்வர் மு கருணாநிதி அவர்கள்  இயல் இசை நாடகம் ஆகியவற்றிற்கு ஆற்றிய பங்களிப்பை போற்றும் வகையில் அமையவிருக்கும் பேனா நினைவுச்சின்னம், பல்வேறு தரப்பிலிருந்து பல விதமான எதிர்வினைகளை தூண்டியுள்ளது.   சென்னை மெரினா கடற்கரையிலிருந்து 360 மீ தொலைவில் வங்காள விரிகுடாவில் 134 அடி உயரத்தில் “முத்தமிழ் அறிஞர் டாக்டர் கலைஞர் பேனா நினைவுச்சின்னம்” அமைக்கப்படவுள்ளது.  இதனால் சுற்றுச்சூழல், கடல் சூழலியல் மற்றும் மீனவர்களின் வாழ்வாதாரம் பாதிக்கப்படும் என எதிர்ப்பு எழுந்துள்ளது.   மேலும் படிக்க: Women of Ennore are living testimony to the many costs of pollution பேனா நினைவுசின்னம் கட்டமைப்பு சென்னையில் கட்டப்படவுள்ள பேனா நினைவுச்சின்னத்தில் இடம்பெறவுள்ல கூறுகள் பேனா பீடம் பாதசாரி மற்றும் கண்ணாடி நடைபாதை பின்னல் வகை நடைபாதை உயரமான நடைபாதை  PWD வெளியிட்டுள்ள முன்மொழியப்பட்டுள்ள திட்ட…

Chennai sees marginal dip in water table in January Chennai recorded normal rainfall during the northeast monsoon in 2022, while there was 74% excess rainfall in 2021. Chennai’s average groundwater level stood at a depth of 3.98 metres in January 2023. This is 0.05 metres less than the groundwater level in December 2022 and the same has fallen by 68 cm compared to last January. The slight dip in the water table is said to be the effect of prolonged dry weather and relatively less rainfall in the past year. A daily water supply of about 1,000 million litres a…

Chennai is seen as a land of opportunities and has much to offer for those who reside here. Despite attracting many people from other parts of the state and country with hopes of a better future, life in Chennai is not a bed of roses. Many civic issues in Chennai such as bad roads, flooding and pollution make daily life difficult. As the city grows, these issues become more significant and affect a large section of the population. But Chennaiites are not entirely powerless when it comes to finding solutions that can help make the city better. From the Namma…

Waste management in Chennai has been a problem that the city has struggled to solve over the years. With the launch of the new system of source segregation and emphasis on cleanliness as part of Singara Chennai 2.0, there was renewed hope that there will be cleaner streets. Unfortunately, the experience of the residents of my apartment complex in Anna Nagar has called into question how effective the recent efforts have been. At the heart of the issue is the placement of three garbage bins on our street and the scenes that ensued after.  Garbage bins moved near homes We…

"En ward-u," says Councillor V Kaviganesan of Ward 12, to the 26 conservancy workers of his ward who are assembled for a meeting at 6 am. "En veedu," respond the workers. This drill lasts three to four times before the conservancy workers leave for work every day. "My ward is my home" has become the motto of the civic workers in Ward 12. V Kaviganesan of the DMK says that this is his first stint, and he wants to do his best to serve his people. He is also a practicing lawyer at the Madras High Court at the moment.…

Chennaiites have a complicated relationship with water. It seems like we either have too much or too little depending on the vagaries of the yearly monsoons. Which is why when ten years ago. we began getting water from the Nemmeli Seawater Desalination Plant, we heaved a sigh of relief as it seemed like a solution to our water woes.  From this desalination plant in Nemmeli, areas like Neelankarai, Kottivakkam, Besant Nagar and Tiruvanmiyur got their daily supply. While things looked promising at the start, we have found that lately the amount of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in our water supply…