City: Chennai

Life with animals offers a bit of peace in today’s fast-paced, individualised world, where we often feel there is no time for family, community and care. Pets often give us company in these increasingly isolating times. However, raising pets in a city like Chennai comes with its own difficulties, especially when you raise them in urban spaces, which can often be unkind and dangerous to animals.  Over time, Chennai has seen numerous initiatives that rescue, rehabilitate and take care of animals in the city. The most well-known initiative is Blue Cross, which mainly deals with abandoned, injured and sick animals.…

Flood mitigation works pick up steam In the run-up to the rainy season in Chennai, Water Resources Department (WRD) has lined up flood mitigation works, especially in sensitive areas like the rivers of Cooum, Adyar and Kosasthalaiyar, apart from Buckingham Canal. The work includes expanding Adyar and Kosathalaiyar rivers, removing silt, and setting up drains and new pipe culverts. Those found occupying areas in and around the rivers are set to face eviction, confirmed WRD. Source: DT Next Read more: Chennai wetlands key to flood mitigation: Are we doing enough? Namakku Naame Thittam projects yet to get funds from Chennai…

"Would this natural cleaner be as effective as the synthetic ones?" This is a question that dominates the minds of those who consider bio enzyme solutions for cleaning for the first time. The doubt, however, does not last long. More and more Chennaiites have begun cleaning with bio enzyme cleaners, which are organic solutions made from fruits and vegetables, and can be used to clean surfaces and wash clothes and dishes and also for personal use. "We have stopped using synthetic chemical solutions to clean now", says Kalpana Manivannan, an urban farmer who swears by natural cleaners for all household…

In August this year, an eight-year-old girl died by drowning in the swimming pool of an apartment complex in Ambattur. This is not an isolated incident. According to recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau, 9.3% of accidental deaths in India (36,362 deaths) were caused by drowning in 2021. Metropolitan cities like Chennai have many swimming pools, including those in apartment complexes. However, many of them do not comply with basic safety protocols, leading to accidental drownings. The role of the authorities at present is limited to granting permissions with the promise of conducting periodic checks. The onus of…

Mr G R Alfred Rupak, correspondent of St. Antony’s Matriculation Higher Secondary School, Thiruvottiyur says it started on July 5th, when a pungent odour akin to LPG gas permeated the air, forcing students to exit their classrooms. The malodour also affected other residents of Thiruvottiyur and Manali, with many reporting breathlessness and eye irritation. The stench, they feared, was a sulphur dioxide leak from the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited (CPCL) which operates a refinery in Manali. TNPCB addresses gas leak in North Chennai The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) issued orders at once for CPCL to monitor ambient air quality;…

If you have friends and family in other parts of India, you may hear them say, “It is too hot and humid there. I do not want to come to Chennai.” Well, Chennai's heat and humidity may not tempt tourists, but it is certainly attractive enough for tuberculosis (TB) bacteria to thrive.  With climate change staring the city in its face, the risks Chennai runs are not just environmental but have far-reaching implications on health. Could climate change also lead to an explosion of TB cases in the city? How can we protect ourselves from such possibilities? When does TB…

104 accident hotspots identified in Chennai Chennai police have identified 104 accident hotspots in the city. Ranked second in terms of fatalities due to road accidents, Chennai saw 5,034 accidents and 998 deaths last year as per the data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Commissioner of Police (CoP) Shankar Jiwal, who addressed the media persons on September 8th, said that a special task force, which might turn into a road safety authority, has been formed. The special task force constitutes officials from six departments including corporation officials, highway department engineers, traffic police personnel and IIT professors who will work…

Each suicide is a personal tragedy that prematurely claims the life of an individual and has a continuing ripple effect, affecting the lives of families, friends and communities. Every year, more than one lakh deaths by suicide are recorded in India. A total of 1,64,033 suicides were recorded in 2021 alone. The recent data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) highlights that Chennai stands second among the metropolitan cities in the country with an alarmingly high number of suicides in 2021. The data shows that Tamil Nadu stands second among the states with highest number of suicides in…

"Many people from villages across Tamil Nadu came to Chennai to make a living. They moved here with the hope of improving the standard of living for their families and providing good education to their children. These people, who migrated in small groups from rural parts, eventually settled along the banks of rivers or water bodies. They built small huts to reside. The huts were prone to catching fire suddenly at any time and so the area came to be called Thideer Nagar," says S Kathirvelan, a 60-year-old resident of Thideer Nagar in Saidapet. But L Vijaya, a resident of…

Stella Rathna has been a part of the District Women’s Wing of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and was actively involved in politics for 15 years before being elected councillor of Ward 128. She is a resident of Palavakkam and has been elected from a ward reserved for women. In an interview with Citizen Matters, she spoke about the key challenges in the ward with flood management and shared her vision for Chennai. Ward No 128   Name of Councillor: Stella Jasmine RathnaParty: DMK Age: 43Educational qualification: M.Com; LLBContact: 9445467128 Map of Ward 128. Source: Greater Chennai Corporation Primary goals for Ward 128…