City: Chennai

Pallikaranai gets eco-park A new eco-park has been inaugurated at the Pallikaranai marshland. Chief Minister MK Stalin opened the park to the public through video conferencing. The eco-park has a walking path, greenery and boards displaying the details of flora and fauna, including the many migratory birds that make the marshland their home. The eco-park was created at a cost of Rs 20 crores.  A few other measures have been taken to protect the ecosystem such as the building of a wall along Tambaram-Velachery in order to prevent encroachments. A proposal has also been sent to the Union Government to…

Imagine you’re about to go to bed after a long and tiring day’s work. And at that very moment, you hear the dreaded sound of those heavy drilling machines from a house next to yours, as part of some work that looks likely to continue late into the night. Or imagine having to deal with the constant menace of dust pollution in your homes and locality because of some building activity in the neighbourhood. Perhaps not so difficult to imagine, given that it is a common issue that residents of India’s metro cities, including Chennai, have been facing for years:…

The past month has been a whirlwind for most residents of Jawahar Nagar. Our streets made headlines and featured in news snippets, a scenario many of us didn't imagine possible. It was due to the heavy downpour that the city experienced during the northeast monsoon. For many of us, this was reminiscent of the floods of 2015. The downpour left our streets waterlogged and residents had to scramble to reach higher ground and save their belongings. Jawahar Nagar during the rains On November 6th, we received an unprecedented amount of rainfall from 10 pm to 3.30 am. This led to…

Translated by Sandhya Raju கடந்த சில நாட்களுக்கு முன் பெய்த அடர் மழையின் போது, தி.நகரில் வசித்த விஎஸ் ஜெயராமனை, தரைத்தளத்தில் வசிக்கும் அவரது சகோதரர் அதிகாலையில் எழுப்பினார். அதிகாலை வேளையில் அந்த குடியிருப்பு பரபரப்புடன் இருந்தது. தி.நகர் மோதிலால் சாலையில் உள்ள அந்த குடியுருப்பு முழுவதும் வெள்ள நீரால் சூழப்பட்டு, தரைத்தளம் முழுவதும் நீர் புகுந்தது. "உடனடியாக மாநகராட்சி அலுவலர்களுக்கும் ஆர் 1 காவல் நிலையத்திற்கும் தகவல் அளித்தோம். காவல் துறை மற்றும் சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர் அலுவலக ஊழியர்கள் உதவியுடன், தரைத்தளத்தில் வசித்து வந்த என் 96 வயது அம்மாவை, முதல் மாடியில் உள்ள என் வீட்டிற்கு கொண்டு வந்தோம்" எனக் கூறும் ஜெயராமன் தி.நகர் குடியிருப்பு வாசிகள் சங்கத்தின் தலைவரும் ஆவார். மாநகராட்சி அலுவலர்களின் அறிவுறுத்தலின் படி குடியிருப்பின் மின்சாரம் நிறுத்தப்பட்டது. இதனால், தண்ணீர் வெளியேற்றப்படும் வரை பல நாட்களுக்கு மின்சாரம் இல்லாமல் இருந்தோம். தி.நகரின் பல…

‘At risk’ travellers to be tested on arrival  Passengers arriving to the Chennai airport from ‘at risk’ countries, where the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been detected, will be subject to additional screening. Those who reach Chennai from Europe, South Africa, Brazil, Bangladesh, Botswana, China, Mauritius, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, Singapore, Hong Kong and Israel have been deemed ‘at-risk’. The passengers from these countries will undergo a rapid PCR test which would take 30 minutes to provide results. The test would cost Rs 3400. They also have the option of taking the regular PCT test at Rs 700.  A special corridor…

“I feel like crying when talking about the problems we are facing now,” laments Mary, a resident of Chennai’s Perumbakkam resettlement colony, who has been grappling with the recent floods. “We do not have access to water, electricity or food. Government authorities have not taken any relief measures whatsoever.” Anguished voices such as Mary's are now echoing across the resettlement colonies in the city. Unlike buildings elsewhere, people on the ground floor were not the only ones who had water enter their homes. “The top floors had water leaking in many of the buildings because the construction is of poor…

With intense spells of rain over the past month, there has been widespread flooding in Chennai. Areas such as T. Nagar, Guduvanchery and K K Nagar are among the many localities that experienced extreme waterlogging. Residents raised their concerns and requests to the civic body on social media by posting photos of water-stagnation and the damage caused by it.  Care Earth Trust, a city-based environmental organisation, saw here a need for better information at the ground-level for proper flood mitigation measures. And this information needed to be sourced from citizens themselves. Seeing as many in the city were taking to…

The torrential rains that hit Tamil Nadu’s state capital of Chennai in November this year is said to be the heaviest since the downpour in 2015 which caused massive floods in the city. The rains that lashed Chennai this time around following the festival of Diwali have also led to water logging and inundation in several areas such as T Nagar, Adyar, Velachery, Pulianthope and other places.  In the backdrop of the severe problems faced by residents of Chennai due to the heavy downpour, Citizen Matters Chennai organised an online panel discussion on November 17th (for full video, check below),…

Imagine all that unused space underneath a massive flyover being converted into a public square with a bus stop, parking area, a children’s park, food stalls and other commercial establishments? That’s exactly what the Chennai Metro Rail Ltd (CMRL) is working on with regard to the multi-modal Kathipara urban square project in Chennai. Located at Alandur, where various prominent city roads such as the Grand Southern Trunk Road, Inner Ring Road, Anna Salai  and Mount - Poonamallee Road intersect, the Kathipara junction is probably one of the busiest and most important junctions in Chennai. Along with its geographical importance, the…

Revenue sharing under consideration for bus terminals The Chennai Metropolitan Development authority is looking into the feasibility of a revenue-sharing model for Kilambakkam, Kuthambakkam and Madhavaram bus terminals. It is also exploring how best to use the Koyambedu bus terminal and the omni bus terminal when the south and west bound buses start operations out of Kilambakkam. Tenders have been issued as the planning body is looking for a concessionaire to operate and maintain the three bus terminals. The bidder can earn revenue through various means such as parking charges, rent from shops and dorms and through advertisements.  A similar…