City: Chennai

Post-COVID care centre at Guindy hospital To cater to the needs of those dealing with post-COVID issues, the state government has set up a post-COVID care clinic at the Government Corona Hospital in Guindy. Some of the services offered by the clinic are general medicine, cardiology, neurology, nephrology, gastroenterology, ENT, ophthalmology, diabetology, chest medicine and psychiatry. An ENT specialist has also been stationed to screen patients for any signs of mucormycosis. A 100-bed pediatric COVID ward and a 40-bedded intensive care unit has also been inaugurated at Stanley Medical College & Hospital’s Institute of Social Paediatrics in order to deal…

Retteri lake has been one of the biggest blessings for many households in the areas around Madhavaram and Kolathur and provides a cooling effect to these surroundings during Chennai’s scorching summers. But the neglect of the lake during recent times has residents of these areas seriously worried about the future. While many other lakes have got a facelift and revived focus on maintenance, this, despite being one of Chennai’s largest lakes, has not got the attention that it deserves. The residents of these areas have been fighting against the encroachment of the lake and for better maintenance over the past few…

It has been two months since Geetha Foundation apartments in Puzhuthivakkam installed water meters at a cost of Rs 8500. Since then, the apartment of five flats has been able to save 100-150 litres of water in a month. As part of the installation, a float switch sensor is added to the overhead tanks which sends an alert as soon as water levels reach a particular level. This stops the roof/storage tank from overflowing, resulting in significant conservation of water. “Water level in the storage tank is maintained at the level of the float valve inside the tank. Once water…

Chennai’s checkered history of water management has come under the spotlight every time the city has found itself face to face with a crisis, such as the catastrophic floods of 2015 or the unprecedented drought faced by the city in 2019. Experts have repeatedly called for better management of water resources, alluding to the fact that the city’s many water bodies could be the answer to its water woes, if they are managed better. There have, in fact, been some concerted efforts in recent years to restore and manage the tanks and lakes in Chennai. However, there are multiple organisations…

[Translated by Sandhya Raju] சென்னை பள்ளிகளில் நடந்த முந்தைய மற்றும் சமீபத்திய பாலியல் தொல்லைகள் குறித்த புகார்கள், பெரும் அதிர்வலைகளை எழுப்பியுள்ளன. பாதுகாப்பான இடமாக பள்ளிகள் இல்லை என்பதையே இது உணர்த்துகிறது. ஆனால், ஒரு சில ஆசிரியர்கள் இது போன்ற குற்ற செயல்களில் ஈடுபடுவதற்கு பள்ளிகள் பொறுப்பேற்க முடியுமா? பாதிக்கப்பட்டவர்களுக்கு நீதி கிடைக்க கல்வி நிறுவனங்கள் என்ன செய்ய வேண்டும். முக்கியமாக, இது போன்ற சம்பவங்கள் நிகழாமல் தடுக்க என்ன செய்ய வேண்டும்? சிறார் நீதி (குழந்தைகளின் பராமரிப்பு மற்றும் பாதுகாப்பு) சட்டம், 2015 படி, குழந்தைகளுக்கு அருகாமையில் இருந்து, தேவைப்படும் கல்வி அல்லது பயிற்சியை வழங்குவதில் எந்தவொரு பள்ளி, நிறுவனம் அல்லது தனிநபர்கள் ஈடுபட்டுள்ளனரோ, அவர்களின் பாதுகாப்பை உறுதிப்படுத்த பொறுப்புணர்வு மற்றும் சொந்த பொறுப்பு ஏற்க வேண்டும் என கூறுகிறது. பள்ளி வளாகத்திற்குள், பள்ளி பேருந்தில், ஆன்லைன் அமர்வுகளின் போது அல்லது மாணவர்களுடன் பள்ளி ஊழியர்களின் எந்தவொரு ஈடுபாட்டிலும்,…

Corporation website for vaccine slots In a bid to boost the vaccination campaign, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has rolled out a website for Chennaiites to book vaccination slots. People may choose one of the centres in the zone they belong to and pick a time slot for their jab.  The website has also clarified that this does not bypass the CoWin booking. The site is only to secure slots in the vaccination centre. A separate CoWin booking will be done in the vaccination centre by the officials. Besides the website, residents can also register by dialling 044-4612 2300 or…

Looking at Chennai's roads, one would wonder if the roads in Indian cities are designed only for motorised vehicles. Two wheelers and four wheelers account for 90% of the total vehicle fleet pushing users of public transport, pedestrians and cyclists to the margins even though the majority of trips are made by them. The civic administration in Chennai woke up late to this issue. It began constructing footpaths in several parts of the city. And I decided to get a feel of these footpaths to see how comfortable it is to walk on them. What better place to experience than to…

Sweeping changes at the helm of affairs in government brings with it sweeping changes in ground realities as well. In the mid-nineties, even though the IT revolution was already well underway, Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, then called Madras, did not sport a presentable or attractive enough look for a capital city. In fact, it was way behind other state capitals and metro cities in terms of the first impression it made. Soon after their victory in the May 1996 elections, then CM M Karunanidhi renamed the city as Chennai and initiated a host of projects under the umbrella…

Decentralised Micro Composting Centres, garden waste processing units — Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has initiated a slew of projects in the past two years, said N Mahesan, Chief Engineer, Solid Waste Department (SWD), GCC. He was speaking at the webinar conducted by Citizen Matters Chennai on managing waste during and post COVID-19. When the trial run for the Bio-CNG plants in Chetpet, which converts kitchen and food waste to energy, is completed, the civic body will inaugurate six more such facilities. “Through these plants, we can process 1500-1800 tonnes of wet waste,” said Mahesan.  In addition to the Material Recovery Facilities…

Everyday, the advertisement sections of our morning newspapers bear notices of banks auctioning the properties of enterprises that failed to repay loans for more than three months. Everyday, smaller manufacturing companies in Chennai, which had successfully braved the economic distress even during the tsunami and the 2015 floods, are bringing down the shutters for good. And while the COVID-triggered medical crisis and political news routinely eclipse such news, COVID-19 has actually crippled the MSME sector in Chennai (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), leaving many entrepreneurs neck deep in debt. Industrial estates in Chennai that were always abuzz with activity are now…