EDITORS' PICK

The inauguration of Chennai's first incinerator in February by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) at Manali has paved the way for many more in and around the city. The civic body has, in quick succession to Manali, floated tenders to set up six more incinerators at Pallikaranai, Mylapore, Ambattur, Sathankadu, Kodungaiyur and Aynavaram zones.  In the suburbs, the Tambaram Municipality has floated tenders for two incinerators at Venkatamangalam, while Chitlapakkam Town Panchayat has floated for one in that area. The rationale behind setting up incinerators First things first; what is an incinerator and why is it used? To put simply,…

Hyderabad lay submerged under the highest ever rainfall since 2003. While the October average has seen around 103.6 mm, October 13th saw the skies discharge 192 mm of rain, followed by another deluge in and around Hyderabad on October 17th. Added to the pandemic, the heavy rainfall made an already bad situation for Hyderabadis much, much worse. Major roads and highways were severely damaged and several colonies were isolated from the rest of the city. Hundreds of families were unable to access basic needs like drinking water, food and power for over three days following the rainfall. About 80 colonies…

'Abhi koi Randi ya Dhandhewali nahi bolega, Izzat milega ," says Anita Thapa, a sex worker in Pune’s Budhwar Peth. Anita was reacting to the latest National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) recommendation designating sex workers as 'dignified workers' of society. On October 7th, the NHRC issued a 11-page advisory recognising sex workers as informal workers, making them eligible for the various Central and state benefit schemes. The advisory titled 'Human Rights Advisory on rights of Women Context of COVID-19', includes a recommendation that sex workers facing domestic abuse from partners should be identified and reported. Check the detailed advisory here. The…

The administrative backing strengthening civic society volunteering towards water conservation. Chennai sets a water standard for India. Collaboration is the key to conservation. When cause is the hero, any project, no matter the difficulty or challenges ahead, is executed perfectly. Our cause has been and will always be water conservation. We thank the Greater Chennai Corporation for providing support in the water conservation projects in the city of Chennai. Take a look at the #Eco-Restoration projects under the GCC-E.F.I collaboration. Anaikeni Pond, Sholinganallur Located in the I.T. Hub in Chennai, the Anaikeni Pond is going through scientific restoration prior to…

The scenes inside the Kumaran Silks store at T Nagar that went viral on Tuesday, leading GCC to seal the shop on grounds of violation of COVID protocol, would lead most to believe that shopping fervour in the run up to the festive season has defied pandemic blues. And that there has finally been a revival of cheer among retailers in Chennai after a long, lean season. Sadly, that is far from the truth for many small retailers in T Nagar and other shopping districts in the city. Take for example, Kadhar Moideen, a footwear store owner on Usman Road.…

Part 1 of this series looked at the scale at which farm produce is traded through the APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) system in Bengaluru. In this part, we explore how the APMC operates, and how successful the system has been. Yeshwanthpur APMC yard, spread across 85 acres, is one of the largest market places for farmers and buyers across the country. It is commission agents who play a key role in facilitating trade between farmers and buyers here, especially in case of perishable vegetables like onions and potatoes. The agents receive farmers’ produce, which is then auctioned in their…

Air-conditioned coaches, swanky stations, easy ticketing options -- the infrastructure in Chennai Metro places it at par with similar commute options in developed global cities in most ways. The third largest metro in India, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) is also often lauded for connecting the arterial parts of the city and being the fastest mode of transportation.  But when Raghuraman K, a person with visual impairment takes the metro, he does not feel very positive about it. The tactile paving (textured tiles on the ground) doesn’t serve its purpose of assisting visually challenged people with navigation, as a result of…

Two large drainage holes almost incessantly vomit filthy, stinking, dark liquid into what has become a cesspool. Wild vegetation and slum pockets encircle its peripheries. While just a few metres away are tall residential and commercial structures that have mushroomed in recent years. The cesspool is the Makarba lake in Ahmedabad. Today, this sprawling pit is where rainwater and sewerage converge to create a veritable breeding ground of mosquitoes and stray dogs. And this is not an isolated instance of a once clean lake in the city being turned into a foul water body.  Makarba is a historical natural lake, which…

Yeshwanthpur APMC yard is one of the biggest markets for onions in South India. Pic: Mohit M Rao In September end, M Dasappa loaded the onions harvested on three acres of his farm in Seegehatti in Chitradurga district, and headed towards the APMC yard in Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru. There is a foreboding of disappointment in the trip this time around - he normally produces 300 quintals of onions; this time, heavy rains had led to losses and he is selling only 220 quintals. At the APMC (Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee) yard, the truck unloads the bags of gleaming onions. Byaravishwara…

It was the low land prices that encouraged citizens to settle in Thoraipakkam in the 90s. More people chose to invest in homes in the locality with the boom in the IT sector around twenty years ago.  In 2011, when Thoraipakkam became one of the areas to be included in GCC limits, citizens here were excited. They hoped that this would bring them good roads, better drinking water supply and an underground drainage (UGD) system -- all things they had been fervently waiting for.  Indeed, several schemes were soon rolled out, raising hope among residents. But most of the schemes…