City: Chennai

Translated by Sandhya Raju குற்றங்களை தடுக்கவும், கண்டுபிடிக்கவும் சிசிடிவி கேமராவின் அவசியத்தை பறைசாற்ற, நடிகர் விவேக் நடித்த மூன்றாம் கண் என்ற குறும்படத்தை நம்மில் எத்தனை பேர் ஞாபகம் வைத்திருக்கிறோம்? மூன்றாவது கண்- 2018-ம் ஆண்டு தொடக்கத்தில் அப்போதைய காவல்துறை ஆணையர் டாக்டர். ஏ.கே. விஸ்வனாதன் அவர்களால் அறிமுகப்படுத்தப்பட்ட திட்டம் ஆகும். இதன் பின்னர் நகரத்தில் பரவலாக சிசிடிவி கேமராக்கள் பொறுத்தப்பட்டன. பொது-தனியார் கூட்டமைப்பு மூலம் கடைக்காரர்கள், வணிகர்கள் மற்றும் குடியிருப்பு சங்கங்களை இணைத்து, நகரம் முழுவதும் கண்காணிப்பு கேமராக்களை பொருத்த சென்னை மாநகராட்சி நடவடிக்கை மேற்கொண்டது. ஒவ்வொரு 50 மீட்டர் இடைவெளியில் பொருத்தப்பட்ட சிசிடிவி கேமராவால் காவல் துறை கண்காணிப்பு அடுத்த கட்டத்திற்கு முன்னேறியது. குற்றங்களை கட்டுப்படுத்துவது, சட்டம் ஒழுங்கு பாதுகாப்பு, சாலை விதிமீறல்கள் என முக்கிய நடவடிக்கைகளை கையாளுவதில், சென்னையின் மூலைமுடக்குகளில் நிறுவப்பட்ட 2.5 லட்சத்திற்கும் மேலான கண்காணிப்பு கேமாரக்கள் உதவின. இதனால், பாதுகாப்பு மேம்பட்டு குற்ற…

The children used to come every evening after school, armed with cricket bats and balls, badminton racquets and footballs. They would descend upon the Chennai Corporation playground at RA Puram in droves, challenging one another to earnest matches. Anyone driving past on RK Mutt road or Brodies Castle road could see the children at play, occasionally catching thrilling glimpses of solemn contests, joyous victory, or bitter defeat. The kids have all but disappeared today, for CMRL has taken over the playground to undertake work relating to Phase 2 Corridor 3 of the metro expansion plans. The walking tracks in Panagal Park,…

A study by the Chennai-based NGO Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) was conducted in five resettlement colonies — Perumbakkam, Semmenchery, Gudapakkam, Navalur and All India Radio (AIR) Site, was carried out with an objective of examining and understanding the issues faced by those resettled families. The findings show that there is an urgent need for the government to intervene as pointed out by Vanessa Peter, Founder of IRCDUC who had said that the study highlights the key issues that have to be looked into while framing the policy. Some of these had already been flagged…

Those tagged as ‘encroachers’ are the victims of the historical marginalization process, says Founder of Chennai-based NGO Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) Vanessa Peter. A study by the NGO reveals that limited access to basic facilities, especially during the pandemic, has increased the existing vulnerabilities of the communities who are grappling with the adverse impacts of resettlement.  Life on the margins The report titled ‘Life on the Margins - Access to Basic Infrastructure Facilities in the Resettlement Sites of Chennai’ points out several key issues pertaining to living conditions at resettlement areas. It has been…

Chennai gets first Dalit woman Mayor R Priya Rajan, a 28-year-old M. Com graduate, was elected Mayor of Chennai following the indirect elections which took place on Friday. Priya, of the DMK, became the city’s first ever Dalit woman Mayor. She was elected councillor from Ward 74 in the Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Zone. Priya is the third only woman Mayor of Chennai after Tara Cherian and Kamakshi Jayaraman.Priya’s father has been a long time member of the DMK. Priya enrolled in the party at age 18 and has been involved in politics for the past decade.  Along with Priya,…

The idea of 'bin-less streets' has long captured the imagination of residents and authorities. The Greater Chennai Corporation had planned to make Chennai 'bin-less' as part of the Solid Waste Management Rules(SWM) framed in 2016. The GCC had decided to slow down this process, however, as a number of complications arose in removing the bins. Few neighbourhoods in the city have managed to go bin-less on account of rigorous awareness programmes and associational activity. Some attempts at going 'bin-less' have however inconvenienced residents in the area. While these cases could be chalked up to a matter of shoddy implementation, we…

Translated by Sandhya Raju Bustling all day, this city is similar to a baby that actively plays around all day, finishing tired, having to be tidied up only to go about the same routine all over again. The role of conservancy workers in keeping our city streets clean deserves plaudits. The service that they have been providing especially during the pandemic as frontline workers is commendable! But how many of us really take time to acknowledge and appreciate the indispensable work that they do for us every day? The purpose of this article is to shed light on the ethical…

How many of you remember Moondravathu Kan, the short film featuring comedy actor Vivek which was released to sensitise citizens about the importance of CCTV cameras in crime prevention and detection? Moondravathu Kan (3rd Eye) was actually a project  of the Greater Chennai City Police (GCP), introduced by the then Police Commissioner Dr. A.K. Vishwanathan sometime in early 2018, as part of which Chennai saw a significant increase in the number of CCTV cameras in the city. By forging a public-private partnership, GCP managed to get the shopkeepers, traders and several resident welfare associations to pitch in with their contributions…

The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) with 20 other corporations recently saw the conduct of municipal elections after a gap of 6 years. Since India advocates the theory of “Democracy at the grassroots level”, city governments play an important role in the governance structure. They are directly related to the daily life of the citizens.  The 12th Schedule of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act (CAA), 1992 recognises the Indian Government Structure in 3 tiers: central, state and local. The 74th CAA devolves powers and functions to Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). This is done to enable them to function as the third…

Urban local body polls: DMK sweeps polls, low voter turnout, poor facilities in polling booths The DMK sweeps in urban local body polls in Chennai, held on the 19th, with the results announced on the 22nd. The party won a total of 178 out of 200 councillor seats in the city. This is the first time in 11 years that the party has been in power in the urban local body stage. The AIADMK seems to have significantly lost its strength in voters, compared to the previous civic elections where it held 160 out of 200 councillor seats. The BJP, which…