City: Chennai

Let’s face it – our city ­administration has done a magnificent job over the last two years trying to keep the pandemic within control. We have emerged better than some other metropolises though that does not mean we have been exemplary. But yes, we can commend our performance. Which is why, in the light of all this, we did seem to detect something of a flap in the last two weeks before matters righted themselves once more. Of course, with numbers continuing to rise we need to watch the ground situation more closely. And in that, perhaps we can avoid…

Chennai has made strides in cycling in the recent years. The promising start has seen many new riders take to cycling during the pandemic. Recognising the need to make the city safe for cyclists, dedicated cycling lanes have been piloted in parts of the city. While these steps augur well for the future of cycling in the city, there is a long way to go in making cycling mainstream. Cycle lane in ECR  A proposal for creating more happy streets - closure of streets for activities by citizens - came from the cycling community and has been taken up with…

COVID cases show downward trend Chennai saw 7,038 new cases of COVID-19 as on January 21st. This is the fourth day in a row that the city has registered a decline in the number of cases. A total of 60,698 individuals are under treatment for COVID-19. The test positivity rate stood at 24% for the city.  The civic body had amped up screening following the spread of the omicron variant. A total of 200 teams are currently engaged in assessing the severity of the cases and recommending future course of action. Volunteers are also assisting those under home quarantine for their…

78-year-old D Suresh lives with his wife, son and daughter-in-law in Kilpauk, and he says he has bought only two LPG cylinders per year since 2012. His family does not eat outside every day, nor do they use electric or induction stoves for cooking their daily meals. "It is not rocket science," says the septuagenarian when he says that he has been generating his own cooking gas from kitchen waste for over nine years. When the waste decomposes in the absence of oxygen, Suresh gets biogas that he uses for cooking. This process does not happen in a scientific laboratory…

As one takes a left turn from the East Coast Road or the ECR, as it’s popularly known in Chennai, into the Kuppam road in Kottivakkam, which leads to the Kottivakkam beach, a sense of calm sets in. A complete contrast from the bustling main road, which is just a few metres away. This sense of calm can also be seen in the residents of the Kottivakkam kuppam (Tamil for hamlet), most of whom you will find unwinding on a weekday evening. The women folk, after having finished their day’s work of selling fish are huddled in one corner of…

Translated by Sandhya Raju எதிர்காலத்தை வளமாக்க அழகாக்க, மீண்டும் நம் பாரம்பரியத்திற்கு திரும்ப வேண்டும்," என்கிறார், தமிழக அரசின் சுற்றுச்சூழல், பருவநிலை மாற்றம் மற்றும் வனத்துறை கூடுதல் தலைமைச் செயலாளர், சுப்ரியா சாஹு, IAS. தமிழக அரசின் மீண்டும் மஞ்சப்பை விழிப்புணர்வு இயக்கம் பிரசாரத்தைப் பற்றி நம்மிடம் பகிர்ந்தார். இவர் தலைமையில் நடைபெறும் இந்த பிரச்சாரம், ஐஏஎஸ் அதிகாரி தலைமையில் நடத்தப்படும் இந்த பிரச்சாரம், பிளாஸ்டிக் பைகளை பயன்படுத்துவதை விட்டு, ஒரு காலத்தில், குறிப்பாக திருமணங்களின் போது மாநிலத்தில் பரவலாகவும் பிரபலமாகவும் இருந்த, ​​சுற்றுச்சூழலுக்கு உகந்த பாரம்பரிய மஞ்சள் துணிப் பைகளைப் பயன்படுத்த மக்களை ஊக்குவிப்பதை நோக்கமாகக் கொண்டுள்ளது. கடந்த சில மாதங்களாக, சென்னையில் பிளாஸ்டிக் உபயோகத்தை கட்டுப்படுத்தும் நடவடிக்கைகள் மீண்டும் செயல்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளன. இதன் முயற்சியாக, ஆசியாவின் பெரிய மொத்த விலை காய்கறி மற்றும் பழ சந்தையான கோயம்பேடு சந்தையில், பிளாஸ்டிக் பை உபயோகத்தை தடை செய்ய முடிவெடுக்கப்பட்டது. ஒரு…

It had been raining in Chennai since the beginning of November 2021, which culminated in a heavy spell on November 7th, when the city recorded over 200 mm of rain. The news of a cyclone hovering over the Andaman and Nicobar islands pushed the panic buttons of the otherwise pragmatic Chennai residents and the social media pages of weather bloggers were full of queries on flooding. The distress of the residents was justified, as Chennai is only 6.7 metres above sea level and more often than not, large areas of the city are quickly flooded after a shower. Memories of the…

Report pins household transmission as key spreader of COVID-19 In a report by the Greater Chennai Corporation done via contact tracing, it is shown that as of January 8th,  30% of the new COVID-19 cases in Chennai have been household contacts. According to Doctor C. Jagdeesh, while the spread of the disease inside households was observed in previous waves of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of the spread is much faster this time around.  In North Chennai, nearly half of the new cases were family contacts. Areas such as Thiruvika Nagar, Tondiarpet and Madhavaram showed especially high percentages of family…

According to reports in media, the average footfall on Chennai Metro Rail crossed the one lakh mark in December 2021 and on December 30th, as commuters in the city found road traffic coming to a standstill in the face of unseasonal torrential rain, 1.83 lakh passengers used the Metro on the single day to reach their destinations. While the figures may have made news, it's clearly not enough to put authorities at ease. For, according to a report by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), if the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd were to break even, it would have to…

“In order to do something beautiful for the future, you need to go back to the roots,” said a beaming Supriya Sahu, IAS and Additional Chief Secretary of Environment, Climate Change and Forests, Government of Tamil Nadu, as she spoke of the Meendum Manjapai Vizhipunarvu Iyakkam (Back To Yellow Cloth Bags) campaign of the state government. The campaign, which is spearheaded by the IAS officer, aims to motivate people to quit the use of plastic bags and go back to using the eco-friendly traditional yellow cloth bags, which were once widely used and popular in the state, especially during weddings. …