City: Chennai

Organ donation and body donation have been gaining momentum in India, particularly so in Tamil Nadu which has been a pioneer and leader in transplants. Despite the inroads made in the state, the awareness among the general public on organ donation needs to increase manifold in order to meet existing requirements. Currently, India as a whole requires around 2,00,000 kidneys, 50,000 hearts and 50,000 livers annually for those requiring transplants. The current annual availability, however, is a meagre 10,000 kidneys and 1,000 livers. This is very disheartening. With a population of more than 130 crores, the organ donation rate needs…

Beach beautification is almost the first project that any newly elected State Government of Tamil Nadu and for that matter city civic body announces after being sworn into office. Unfortunately, the vision is limited to Marina beach and not much beyond. And what vision there is for the Marina beach is restricted to fountains, re-relaying of the promenade and putting up a granite plaque or two. If all the schemes for Marina beautification had actually been fruitful, we would have a world-class beach in our city. This the Marina beach undoubtedly was till a few decades ago. Now sadly, it…

While the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns were hard on everyone, it particularly affected children with special needs. For children with intellectual disabilities and learning difficulties, going to school was integral to maintaining their physical and mental well-being. While Chennai's special schools remained shut, the students suffered setbacks as a result.  Despite months of resumption of physical classes, students still struggle to acclimate to their surroundings. Persistent staffing and funding issues in special schools across Chennai have also added to their woes. Chennai's special schools during lockdown Intellectual disability comprises conditions characterized by significant limitations in both intellectual functioning and adaptive…

Flood mitigation works in Chennai to conclude by September The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has set a deadline of September 30 to conclude all stormwater drain works in the city. The civic body aims to finish construction and repair works before the onset of the northeast monsoon. A circular on the matter has been issued by Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi. The circular called for the completion of the work per set norms.  The instructions from the civic body also stated that the assistant executive engineer, executive engineer and assistant engineer will be held responsible for any stagnation of water in…

There is always someone looking for a house to rent in Chennai. “Looking for an affordable 2 BHK house in Adyar with a friendly neighbourhood for two working women. We eat meat and invite friends over. Any leads would help”. Posts of this kind flood social media on a daily basis. Being the fourth most populous metropolitan city in the country, Chennai is home to a large chunk of inter and intra-state floating population, with employment and studies being the major reason for many people from all over the country to move to the city. Those moving here take help…

Translated by Sandhya Raju நீண்ட வரிசையில் வண்ணமிகு குடங்கள், காத்திருகக்கும் மக்கள் கூட்டம், இவை 2019 கோடை காலத்தில், சென்னையின் பல வீதிகளில் காணப்பட்ட காட்சி. அதன் பிறகு, நல்ல மழை, போதிய நீர் சேகரிப்பு ஆகியவை இருந்தாலும், விளிம்பு நிலையில் வாழும் மக்களின் தண்ணீர் விநியோகம் என்னவோ மாறா காட்சியாகவே உள்ளது.  தண்ணீர் பிரச்சனை எல்லா காலங்களிலும் எங்களுக்கு உள்ளது, கோடை காலத்தில் இன்னும் மோசமாக இருக்கும்” என்கிறார் புளியந்தோப்பில் வசிக்கும் 32 வயது கமலா. அதிகாலை 5 மணிக்கு தன் வேலையை தொடங்கும் இவர் ஐந்து பேருக்கு சமைத்து, மூன்ரு பிள்ளைகளை பள்ளிக்கு கிளப்ப வேண்டும். காலை 9.30 மணிக்கு தண்ணீர் லாரி சத்தம் கேட்டதும் குடத்துடன் சாலைக்கு செல்கிறார்.  “இது தான் எனது தினசரி வேலை, தண்ணீர் லாரி வரும் நேரத்தை பொருத்தே எனது மற்ற வேலைகளை செய்ய வேண்டும். நகரத்தில் பெரும்பாலான பெண்கள் சந்திக்கும்…

For the past 21 years I have used the Chennai Airport for domestic and international travels. Over the years, I have noticed many dysfunctional elements that tarnish the airport experience for many passengers. This is especially true for those who are not used to airports and the processes involved. Even as Chennai airport sees heavy footfall and connects many important destinations, the maintenance of the airport and the facilities for passengers leave a lot to be desired. When you combine all the road-blocks one encounters, the airport can sometimes appear as a ‘death-trap’, where it is extremely difficult to get…

Chennai suburbs to see basic street rate reduction The Greater Chennai Corporation council passed a resolution to reduce the basic street rate (BSR) component of property tax calculation for some suburban areas of Chennai. The BSR component will now be equal to or less than that of the core areas. Previously, the BSR component of the suburban areas was higher than some of the core areas, prompting protests by residents.  Residents of Alandur, Valsaravakkam, Ambattur, Thiruvottiyur and Madhavaram saw high BSR after the latest round of property tax revision whereby the rates were set higher than Nungambakkam and T Nagar.…

Ashok*, a first generation graduate hailing from Kanyakumari district in Tamil Nadu, secured a job at a leading IT firm over a decade ago in Chennai. With the state capital being a dream destination for many from rural Tamil Nadu, he landed in Chennai with plenty of hopes and dreams.  As years passed, he gained experience but also realised that the pay scale for his role was much lower than what a professional with the same level of experience would get in Bengaluru and other metro cities. With nearly 12.5 years of experience, Ashok now works in a start-up IT…

Chennai’s potential in terms of harnessing rooftop solar energy is widely spoken about. The city has a rooftop solar potential of 1.38 GW, according to an April 2018 study by Greenpeace India. The domestic or residential segment by itself can account for a capacity of about 586.46MW which is 42.6% of the city’s solar energy potential.  While the picture seems promising on paper, Chennai is nowhere close to making use of the potential of rooftop solar energy in the residential segment for various reasons. In part 1 of the series, we brought to light how realtors in Chennai are flouting…