CITIZEN JOURNALISM

On the evening of Saturday, March 31st, the residents of Besant Nagar were taken aback when large stretches of perfectly laid pavements, between Theosophical Society and Olcott School, interspersed with young trees protected by tree guards, were dug up and uprooted by a crew from the Greater Chennai Corporation. When they asked what the work was about, and who had ordered it, they were told that the Bus Route Roads (BRR) department of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), had a plan to widen the pavements and provide bicycle lanes. But why break perfectly good stretches when there are so many…

With elections around the corner and all the political leaders sharing their vision for the state, we thought we at Makkala Jagriti would share our wish list for government schools in the state. This wishlist comes from the experience of working with government schools at grassroot levels. Focus on holistic development in each school It is well-known fact that Holistic development of children is very important for making them well-balanced human beings and preparing them for life. The very thoughtfully drafted National Curriculum framework also talks about Holistic Development: ‘The National Curriculum promotes the holistic development of the child. It…

When old friends of 30 years plus get together, primarily to recollect with nostalgia the years spent in the NCC,  talks are wide ranging, covering  every subject under the sun. So, it was not unexpected that we wandered onto the subject of places where people don't get much of the sun (read cheer), and that led the three of us to knock on the forbidding gates of Puzhal Prison to bring some cheer into prison routine. The good intentions almost vaporised with the tedious process of verification of antecedents by the police - who seemed puzzled as to why anyone…

Namma Bengaluru Foundation hosted its flagship initiative – ‘the 9th Namma Bengaluru Awards’ (NBA) in Bengaluru today. The awards, which aims to honour the ‘real heroes’ of Bengaluru, recognized 6 extraordinary Bengalureans for their unparalleled contribution towards making the city better. Since 2009, the jury members which comprises of leading Bengalureans from all walks of life, select awardees in fair and transparent manner. The winner’s names are kept confidential and is revealed only on the day of the event. In the past, IAS, IPS, IFS and officials in all levels of administration have been honoured in Government Official of the…

74th Amendment of the Constitution provides for the Local Government, that is to say, the constitution and powers of municipal corporations, improvement trusts, district boards, mining settlement authorities and other local authorities for the purpose of local self-Government or village administration. To aid local governance, Corporation Fund - Section 149 details the fiscal responsibility of the BBMP. “All money received by or on behalf of the corporation by or under this Act or any other law, ​all taxes, tolls and other imposts, fines, fees, penalties paid to or levied by it under this Act, ​all proceeds of land or other…

Kurangini is a small village in one of the valleys of the Bodi range, in Theni district. Small estates along with tourism serve as its lifelines. A jeep path connects it to the world’s highest tea plantations at Kolukkumalai. There is another road, made of compacted soil, unmotorable, and lined with plantations that connects the two places. A few metres down, a log tied across the road draws attention to two boards displayed by the forest department. One names the place and mentions Rs 200 as the trekking fee while the other admonishes him for trespassing. Most of the time,…

Among other useful features, The National Voters’ Services Portal (NVSP) allows us to search for voter data by entering the Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number or voter name. Unfortunately, the data we get with this query refers to an older version of the electoral rolls, though the result claims to have been updated on the date of query – misleading us further. This is an old (and ignored?) problem.  Exactly two years ago, I reported to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), his Director, IT, and the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (CEO-KA), about this issue. Since then I have written to them…

So World Water Day is here again and it is time for us all to be reminded of habits that we really must practise the year round! Two questions at the outset: first, can you ever imagine bathing with expensive mineral water, when tap water is available? And second, can you bathe/shower with 5 mugs of water? I am sure the answer to both is no, but hang on to those answers till we revisit them, after we establish that the situation this year is worse than ever before. Yes, it is time to worry! First Cape Town running out…

இரண்டு வாரங்களுக்கு முன் சென்னை கோட்டூர்புரத்தில் அமைந்துள்ள ‘பெரியார் அறிவியல் தொழில்நுட்ப பூங்காவிற்கு’ (http://tnstc.gov.in/periyar-science-tech.html) என் இரண்டே முக்கால் வயது மகளை அழைத்து சென்றேன். வாழ்க்கை பயணத்தில் சென்னை வந்து பல வருடம் ஆகியிருந்தாலும், பள்ளிப்பருவத்தில் சென்னையில் இருக்கும் உறவினர் வீட்டிற்கு வந்தபோது ஒரு முறை மட்டுமே அங்கு சென்ற ஞாபகம். ‘பெரியார் அறிவியல் தொழில்நுட்ப பூங்காவின் ஒரு பகுதியான  பிர்லா கோளறங்கத்தின் உள் அமர்ந்து கோள்களையும், நட்சத்திரங்களையும் கண்டது மட்டும் இன்னும் பசுமையான நினைவாக உள்ளது. நான் சென்றது ஒரு விடுமுறை தினமாதலால் பல பள்ளிகள், சில கல்லூரிகள் என மாணவ மாணவிகளின் பெருங்கூட்டம். பிர்லா கோளரங்கத்திற்கான நுழைவு சீட்டு கூட கிடைக்கவில்லை. அறிவியல் மையத்திற்கு மட்டுமே கிடைத்த நுழைவு சீட்டை எடுத்துக்கொண்டு நானும் என் மகளும் பயணித்தோம்.      பெரியார் அறிவியல் தொழில்நுட்ப பூங்காவில் உள்ள காட்சிக்கூடங்கள்: பெரியார் காட்சி கூடம் Periyar Gallery போக்குவரத்து காட்சிக்கூடம்…

The Annual Panguni Thiruvizha is here again! The festival will begin with Dhwajarohanam (flag hoisting) on March 22 and conclude with Thirukalyanam - the celestial wedding of Kapaleeshwarar and Karpagambal, on March 30, 2018 The annual festival takes place in the month of March at the Mylapore Kapaleeshwarar temple. The highlights of this very prestigious temple festival are the Thiru Ther (temple chariot) and the Arubathu Moovar day, when the divinity of the aura around Mylapore multiplies with the 63 Nayanars being carried around in a procession in colourful palanquins. Thousands of people come from all over and outside Chennai to behold the Arubathu…