GENRE: In Focus

“There has been a 20 percent increase in patients admitted for alcohol and drug abuse this year, as compared to 2007,” says Dr Poorna Chandrika, Deputy Superintendent, Institute of Mental Health. “Alcohol and drug related crimes are on the rise in Chennai. In over 25 percent of criminal cases in Chennai, the offender was inebriated during or before the crime,” says V Kannadasan, a criminal lawyer, practising in Madras High Court. The above data signify two things: one, the number of citizens falling prey to alcoholism and other substance abuse is clearly on the rise and that this may well…

Riding on the wave of riverfront development as exemplified by the Gujarat Sabarmati Riverfront project, the Uttar Pradesh government approved the Gomti Riverfront Development Project (GRDP) at an estimated cost of Rs 656.58 crore in March 2015.  By September 2017, Rs 1447.84 crore had already been spent, though the project still remains incomplete. Now, in a CAG audit report tabled on February 7 this year, the project has come under scathing criticism, on various grounds as outlined below: The case of the missing tender invites The office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India examined files of the project…

It would be hard to miss the recent additions to the streets of Chennai over the past few months. The ubiquitous presence of tiny flickering lights that belong to the many CCTV cameras placed within 50 metres of each other at most roads and intersections have attracted considerable attention and publicity. The CCTV cameras are part of an initiative launched two years ago by the Chennai Police to combat crime. Dubbed 'Third Eye’, the campaign has gained steam over the last six months or so and now covers over half the city. Who's watching? The Third Eye campaign took wings…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities If you were to go walking in Nagavarpalya area in the city, and take the inner by-lanes ahead of Gopalan Mall, you would come upon a sprawling settlement, home primarily to migrant workers from Northern Karnataka. They stay in small makeshift structures that are covered with blue tarpaulin sheets. Such settlements are present in several parts of the city, and they are usually devoid of basic facilities of sanitation, adequate supply of water, electricity etc. "If the migrant workers are staying with their families, they usually cook inside…

What does a city look like? Who lives in the city? If you are thinking of the New York skyline, skyscrapers, wide roads, clean streets and cars, you are perhaps not alone. These westernized imaginings are quick to invade our mind whenever there is talk of urbanscape. However, now think consciously of the space that we inhabit, a typical Indian megacity, and our own daily experiences may present themselves as stark contradictions. Having lived in Mumbai, when I think of a city I am taken back to my daily commutes to college, in the local trains. Standing at the doorstep,…

Reports about a third desalination plant, with a capacity of 550 million litres a day (MLD), have raised hopes among Chennaites. Convinced that their water woes can be successfully addressed with advanced technology, citizens welcome the state government’s proposal of the plant that would make sea water potable. But, are desalination plants really the solution we need? Environmentalists are often deeply critical of pollution caused by desalination plants. But, even if we put aside the concerns around environmental damage  for the present discussion, desalination plants themselves do not appear to be economically viable for the city. An extravagant affair The…

63-year-old Ghulam Mohammad Akhoon leaves his home in Zoonimar, Srinagar everyday at around 8 in the morning to sell vegetables in different parts of the city, so that he can feed his family of seven members comprised of his aged mother, his wife, three daughters and a teenage son. He is the only earning member of his family, apart from his elder daughter who makes a meagre amount sewing clothes. The chief breadwinner himself makes around 200 to 300 rupees a day from the sale of vegetables. He is always in a state of confusion over whether to move out…

In February, the Manipur State Power Distribution Company Limited – MSPDCL announced a whopping number of total vacancies within the company --- 622 for various posts across departments. The jobs advertised included those for Computer Operator, Junior Technical Assistant and other vacancies. Other than two positions which required a Bachelor’s degree, the vacancies were mostly for undergraduates and specified no requirement for technical or higher education. Given the open call and the large number of vacancies, the response was overwhelming. Unemployed youths – men and women thronged the MSPDCL office located in the state capital Imphal. The large number of applicants swelled to…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தற்போது நிலவி வரும் தண்ணீர் பிரச்சனைக்கும் ஏரிகள் சுரண்டப்பட்டதிற்கும் சம்மந்தம் இல்லாமல் இல்லை. நிலத்தடி நீரின் அளவை உயர்த்த உதவும் இந்த ஏரிகளை மக்களும் அதிகாரிகளும் முறையாக பராமரித்து இருந்தால், தண்ணீர் தட்டுப்பாட்டை சந்திக்கும் நிலை உருவாகியிருக்காது என்பதே நிதர்சன உண்மை. நகராட்சி எல்லைக்குள் இருக்கும் பல்லாவரம் பெரிய ஏரி மற்றும் கீழ்கட்டளை ஏரிகளின் நிலை என்ன என்று பார்ப்போம். நட்டேரி, அன்னேரி, ஜதேரி என இங்கிருக்கும் பல ஏரிகள் குடியிருப்பு பகுதியாக மாறிய நிலையில், பல்லாவரம் பெரிய ஏரி, கீழ்கட்டளை ஏரி போன்ற சில ஏரிகள் மட்டுமே இன்று இருக்கின்றன. இந்த ஏரிகளும் பரிதாபகரமான அழிவு நிலையில் தான் உள்ளன. வணிக ரீதியாக முன்னேறி இருக்கும் பகுதியில் ஐந்து கிலோமீட்டர் தொலைவில் இருக்கும் இந்த இரண்டு ஏரிகளும் சந்திக்கும் சவால்கள் ஒன்று தான்: குறைந்து போன நிலத்தடி நீர் மற்றும் கழிவு நீர் குப்பைகளால்…

Are incinerators and waste to energy plants the solution to the city's mounting landfills? How are tenders for solid waste management issued by the Corporation? Can informal waste workers be integrated into the waste ecosystem? These were some of the pressing concerns at the centre of deliberations at a public meeting for solid waste management and the way forward, organised by city-based think tank Citizen, consumer and civic Action Group (CAG). Harsh realities on ground Speakers at the meeting highlighted the invisible ground realities of waste management that the general public are oblivious to. M Radhakrishnan of social service organization…