City: Chennai

Chennai experienced its hottest day of the year this week On Tuesday 22nd March, Chennai residents experienced high humidity and searing heat.  The weather stations in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam recorded a maximum temperature of 37.6 degree Celsius and 38 degree Celsius respectively, around 4 degree Celsius above average for the day. According to experts from the Meteorological Department, the extreme heat has been triggered by the Westerlies and Northwesterlies from the land. In addition, there was a deep depression that crossed Myanmar, which could have contributed to the heat. Sea breeze was also obstructed on Tuesday by a trough that prevailed in…

On Friday, March 18th, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister, Palanivel Thiaga Rajan presented the budget in Assembly for the 2022-23. Environmental sustainability, increased connectivity, focus on access to services and promotion of Tamil learning were some of the prominent aspects of the budget. As for what was in store for Chennai, the budget mainly comprised of a number of development projects related to easing traffic congestion, expansion and construction of highways, flood mitigation, disaster preparedness of the city, climate change and increasing green cover. Finance Minister PTR Thiagarjan. Source: Wikimedia Commons by Avenuesmadurai Read more: Sustainability needs a people-centric approach; is…

Chennai has seen catastrophic floods that have inundated the city over the past few years. The city is also grappling with increasing temperatures in the summer months. With each passing year, the impact of climate change only seems to get more pronounced and ominous for the city. And a recent report from the Centre for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) has predicted what exactly the city could face on the climate front over the next approximately 30 years. CSTEP, of course, is not the only one. Warning bells have been sounded by various reports that predict rise in temperatures…

A new Mayor and Council are in place at Ripon Buildings. And in keeping with that there is plenty of hope. The Worshipful Mayor, in keeping with the ideology of her party, has resurrected the Singara Chennai slogan. A new plan had earlier been unveiled by the Chief Minister under the name Singara Chennai 2.0. There is no doubt that the Mayor and Council will focus on making that vision a reality, given that she is from the same political party. And there is no doubt the opposition will protest, chiefly because it is the ruling party’s idea. The interests…

New Stormwater drains worth 28 crores to come up in parts of the city The tenders for constructing new storm water drains (SWDs) in Chennai have been floated under the Singara Chennai 2.0 funding and by the Greater Chennai Corporation. These drains are to be constructed in central areas of the city such as Nungambakkam, Virugambakkam, T Nagar, Gopalapuram. Prior to this, tenders for SWD projects in Kodambakkam, Teynampet, Adyar and Santhome were floated by the GCC. The SWM projects in the central areas will be constructed in Radhakrishnan Salai, Kannadasan Street, Virugambakkam Street, Kaliamman Street and Reddy Street.  All…

The lack of enough accessible public toilets has long been an issue in Chennai. Lessons from the pandemic and the emphasis on hygiene has made clean toilets all the more important for the city’s many residents. Recycle Bin, an NGO, has multiple ideas to make Chennai’s public toilets accessible and clean, in addition to a larger toilet masterplan at the policy level. Citizen Matters spoke to Ganga Dileep C, Founder-CEO and Principal Architect and Urban Designer at Recycle Bin on the various programmes in place and the possible roadmap for change for Chennai public toilets.  What does Recycle Bin do?…

Resettlement sites where those evicted from across Chennai are moved to are known to be constructed in poorly connected areas, with a lack of people-centric infrastructure, often neglected by the state. But another oft neglected complication that arises as a result of the resettlement is that many stop receiving their pension once they move to their new homes. The reason cited by local officials is that since residents' addresses change to another district, in this case from Chennai to Chengalpattu district, they would have to file a new application to receive pension. This results in a long drawn out process…

Translated by Sandhya Raju 2016-ம் ஆண்டு வரையப்பட்ட திடக்கழிவு மேலாண்மை விதிமுறைகளின் ஒரு அம்சமாக சென்னையை குப்பைத்தொட்டி இல்லா நகரமாக மாற்ற சென்னை மாநகராட்சி முற்பட்டது. இந்த திட்ட யோசனை அதிகாரிகள் மற்றும் சென்னைவாசிகளின் மனதில் கற்பனை வடிவம் பெற்றது. ஆனால், தொட்டிகளை அகற்றுவதில் ஏற்பட்ட நடைமுறை சிக்கலால், மாநகராட்சி இந்த திட்டத்தை அமலாக்க நேரம் எடுத்துக் கொண்டது. விழிப்புணர்வு நிகழ்ச்சிகள் மற்றும் சங்கச் செயல்பாடுகள் காரணமாக சில சுற்றுப்புறங்களில் குப்பைத் தொட்டியை குறைக்க முடிந்தது. குப்பைத் தொட்டி இல்லாதது சில சுற்றுப்புற பகுதிவாசிகளுக்கு சிரமத்தை ஏற்படுத்தியது. குப்பைத்தொட்டி இல்லா நகரமாக சென்னையை மாற்ற என்ன தேவை, கடந்த ஆண்டுகளில் இந்த திட்டத்திற்கு என்ன ஆனது. நகரத்தின் கழிவுப் பயணம் சீராக இல்லை சென்னையில் நாளொன்றுக்கு சுமார் 5400 MT (மாநகராட்சி தரவு படி)கழிவு உற்பத்தியாகிறது. இதில் கோடம்பாக்கம், தேனாம்பேட்டை, ராயபுரம், அண்ணாநகர் ஆகிய பகுதிகளிலிருந்து 50% மேல் கழிவு…

Chennai saw unprecedented flooding the past year during the monsoon. Many streets were water-logged for days and residents marooned until the water receded. Analysis of the various reasons behind inundation in different parts of the city pointed to poor stormwater drain networking, poor construction of drains and loss of water bodies such as ponds and lakes to encroachment.  In addition to issues of flooding, loss of water bodies also leads to the loss of ecosystems that are supported by it. This is surely a cause for alarm in Chennai. The story of one such water body, a pond in Kolathur,…

Temperatures on the rise due to urban sprawl The urban and peri-urban parts of Chennai Metropolitan Area are affected by rise in temperatures and increasingly experiencing heat island effects as a result of urban sprawl. The built-up area in the CMA stands at 48.7%, according to a case study by the Centre for Water Resources, Anna University. The vegetation cover has shrunk to only 6.7% of the area under study and stands at 7,288 hectares as of 2017. The reduction of vegetation cover is evident as the same stood at 14.9% in 1988. Water bodies have also shrunk to cover…