GENRE: In Focus

கருப்பான மற்றும் துர்நாற்றமான தேங்கி நிற்கும் நீர் - ஒரு காலத்தில் நகரின் குறிப்பிடத்தக்க நன்னீர் கால்வாய்களில் ஒன்றாக இருந்த மாம்பலம் கால்வாயைத் தேடிச் செல்லும்போது இதுவே காணப்படுகிறது.  நான்கு தசாப்தங்களுக்கு முன்பு இருந்த நுங்கம்பாக்கம் குளம் மற்றும் மாம்பலம் குளம் ஆகிய இரண்டு பெரிய தொட்டிகளில் இருந்து உபரி நீரை எடுத்துச் செல்லும் இந்த கால்வாய் அதன் உச்சக்கட்டத்தில் இருந்தது. நகரமயமாக்கல் காரணமாக, இந்த குளங்களின் நீர்ப்பிடிப்பு பகுதி முழுவதும் தற்போது குடியிருப்பு மற்றும் வணிக நிறுவனங்கள் உள்ளன.  அசல் கால்வாய் செல்லும் பாதை வள்ளுவர் கோட்டம் அருகே தொடங்கி தி நகர் மற்றும் சிஐடி நகர் வழியாக நந்தனம் கோல்ஃப் மைதானத்திற்கு அருகே அடையாறு ஆற்றில் வடிகால் செல்கிறது. மாம்பலம் கால்வாயை அதன் தோற்றம் முதல் இறுதி வரை கண்டறியும் முயற்சியில், அதன் சில பகுதிகளை மட்டுமே கண்டுபிடிக்க முடிந்தது.  கால்வாயின் பழைய படங்கள் அனைத்தும் உள்ளூர் மக்களின்…

Rani is a 12-year-old young girl studying in 6th grade. She has lived all her life in Ambedkar Nagar in Colaba. Her day usually begins at 5:00 am. In this informal settlement, water comes for two hours and given her family size of five, she and her mother have to ensure that is available for all. Rani’s mother is a daily wage worker and leaves for her work as early as 6:00-6:30 am. It is up to Rani to ensure enough water for the household. “Kabhi-kabhi paani nahi aata hai time pe, isliye main school se chutti leti hu,” (There…

As I climbed the stairs of the Velachery - Taramani link road Foot Over Bridge (FOB) at around 9 pm, I found myself in near total darkness as the FOB did not have any lights. The FOB has a roof on the top and sheets on the side, limiting light from the street entering it. Using the flashlight from my phone, I climbed further. Soon I found footsteps following me. A man was climbing the stairs behind me. Gripped by fear, I turned around, pretended to make a phone call and waited till he walked past me.  As I walked…

Savitha, a resident of Thirumangalam, travels to Guindy every day by Chennai metro. Last December, when Savitha was walking out of the Thirumangalam metro station, she found the floor of the station wet due to the rain. She slipped and fell, and sustained minor injuries as a result. "I did not know if there were any first aid facilities available at the station. Besides, there were no staff at the place where I fell. So, I walked out of the station and went to the nearby medical shop to get some first aid," she says. Similar instances have also been…

Mayilsamy, a street vendor in Purasaiwalkam who sells toys and trinkets, remembers when the news of the single-use plastic ban broke.  “I tried to tell my customers to bring their own bags,” says Mayilsamy. “But very few people brought them.” In January of 2019, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) imposed a ban against the use of almost all single-use plastic (SUP) products in the state. The ban is one of many measures brought about to reduce the presence of harmful plastic products. Since the ban, the Pollution Control Board, along with other agencies such as the Greater Chennai…

When the Centre refused to allow the state government to procure rice from the Food Corporation of India, the Anna Bhagya scheme appeared to be in danger. As a solution, the Congress-led state government reduced the amount of food grains supplied through ration shops and initiated cash transfers in lieu of the remaining rice. As per the revamped Anna Bhagya scheme, recipients would now get 3 kgs of rice, 2 kgs of ragi and Rs 170 per person on the ration card. Each household can now get a maximum of 21 kgs of rice and 9 kgs of ragi. In…

The Karnataka 2023-24 budget must be examined through the lens of the Congress party's welfare and policy promises. They gave several assurances towards making 'public works' more accessible, particularly in Bengaluru. Towards this end, a section titled 'Sector 4: Comprehensive Development of Bengaluru' was added to the budget document. In this article, I analyse to what extent these developmental initiatives align with the needs of the urban poor. I also highlight the missed opportunities and inadequate measures within the budget and how it fails to address the complexities of Bengaluru’s urban crisis. Read more: Hundreds of crores of SWM budget…

In July of 2022, the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) introduced the ‘Shoreline Renourishment and Revitalization Project,’ a large-scale version of many beach beautification projects introduced in past. The overall project will cover just over 50 km of Chennai’s coastline with various sections being developed along various themes. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) has been constituted to carry out the project with the body comprising officials from various departments. Chennai citizens have consistently brought forth concerns surrounding beach beautification projects in past years, mainly as it had to do with fisherfolk and the environment.  Will the planning for the extensive…

"My children's certificates, the first ever bike my son got on his own and our wedding album was among the many important things that we saw float away when more than 12 feet of water entered our home," says Varadharajan as he recalls the nightmares of the 2015 Chennai floods. Varadharajan lives on the floodplains of Mudichur Lake in Chennai which was one of the worst hit areas during the 2015 floods when the water was released from Chembarambakkam lake into Adyar river.  The 2015 floods came as a wake-up call for the government and the residents of Chennai. Since…

Bengaluru generates around 4,500 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste per day. To regulate this, the Solid Waste Management(SWM) rules, 2016 and the SWM bye-laws were passed, which notifies the best practices of waste management in a sustainable manner. The SWM rules, 2016, are an outcome of several Public Interest litigations (WP 24739/2012 & WP 46523/2012) filed before the Karnataka High Court in 2012, where a range  of directions were issued that ordered the BBMP to stop landfilling, incineration waste as well as ensure source segregation. However, the implementation of these orders is tardy to date. An unscientific landfill continues…