GENRE: In Focus

In our deeply undemocratic traffic system, we need to call out how strong the automobile lobby is, how suppressed pedestrians are and how small is the resistance from pedestrians and public transport uses. Consider this: peaceful, democratic protesters are not allowed by a force-wielding police to come anywhere near Mantralaya. They are confined to a corner some 2 km away in Azad Maidan, in a corner, rendered invisible to the people. But axe-wielding men of the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) could easily dig up the footpath right in front of the state government headquarters, supposedly to protest the presence of…

State transport department in dire need of funds  Transport Minister DC Thammanna has said that the state transport corporations BMTC, NEKRTC, and NWKRTC have run into annual losses worth Rs 600 crore, and a fare hike may be inevitable if operations are to be continued. The decreasing fuel efficiency (mileage) of buses caused by halting in congested, traffic-ridden roads and additional taxes for fuel have only added to the debt, the minister complained. In order to make profits and generate some revenue, a proposal for a 20% hike in bus fares has already been made. The matter is being considered by the…

அன்புள்ள பெற்றோர்களுக்கு, பாலியல் வன்கொடுமைக்கு ஆளான பதினோரு வயது சிறுமி பற்றிய செய்தியை படித்ததும் என்னைப் போலவே நீங்களும் அதிர்ச்சி அடைந்திருப்பீர்கள். இருபத்தி இரண்டு ஆண்கள், சிலர் தாத்தா வயதுடையவர்கள், தொடர்ந்து ஏழு மாதங்களாக இந்த கொடுமையை செய்திருக்கிறார்கள். இதை பற்றி அணுளவும் தெரியாமல் பெற்றோர்கள் இருந்துள்ளனர் என்பதை தான் ஜீரணிக்க முடியவில்லை. பாலியல் வன்கொடுமைக்கு ஆளான குழந்தையை பாதுகாக்க வேண்டிய பொறுப்பு முதலில் பெற்றோரிடம் தான் உள்ளது – பிறகு தான் ஆசிரியர்கள், பள்ளி நிர்வாகிகள், அரசாங்க அதிகாரிகள் ஆகியோறின் சிறிய பங்கு. இன்றைய சூழலில் குழந்தைகள் எதிர்கொள்ளும் ஆபத்துகளை பற்றி முதலில் பெற்றோர்கள் அறிந்து வைத்திருந்தால் மட்டுமே பாலியல் வன்கொடுமைக்கு ஆளாகியுள்ளார்களா என்று அறிந்து கொள்ள முடியும். வருமுன் காப்பது என்றுமே சிறந்தது, ஆகவே, நான் பெற்றோர்களுக்கு சொல்வதெல்லாம் உங்களால் இயன்ற அளவு குழந்தைகள் இது போன்ற கொடுமைகளுக்கு ஆளாகாமல் பார்த்து கொள்ள வேண்டும். அதே போல் அத்தகைய…

Dear parents, I am sure you have been as shocked and appalled as I, by the reports of repeated rape of a 12-year-old hearing impaired girl in Chennai, by as many as 22 men, some old enough to be her grandfathers, over a prolonged period of seven months. It is also equally, if not more, disturbing that her parents didn’t suspect anything for seven months. The onus of protecting a child from sexual abuse lies primarily with parents -- and then to a lesser extent with teachers, school authorities, other care givers and government authorities, in that order. So, to protect…

The incomplete pillars on Chennai's Inner Ring Road are a stark reminder of one of the tall claims of the state and central government about the extended Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS). Twenty three years after Phase-1 of Parakkum Rail between Chennai Beach and Mylapore was inaugurated in 1995, construction over a 1.5-Km stretch from Adambakkam to Puzhuthivakkam on the Inner Ring Road remains suspended. The 20-kilometre long MRTS line from Chennai Beach to Velachery includes prominent and populated localities that are not serviced by the older suburban railway network. However, the MRTS  has not been utilised to its maximum potential…

Pourakarmika kills self due to non-payment of salary for six months:  As many as 3,385 waste-pickers who had joined the BBMP's workforce recently and have less than one year experience with the civic body, did not receive salaries for the last six months. This allegedly led to Subramani, 37 year old resident of Vyalikaval, committing suicide on July 8th. BBMP has claimed to have released Rs 27 crore on July 10 subsequently to ensure that others are paid their dues and that such incidents do not recur. Meanwhile, the civic body is also planning on-ground verification of workers, because the list includes…

On June 27, Bengaluru’s National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) formally launched its digital academy, virtually, with the government's participation. Along with NIMHANS director B.N Gangadhar, who was at the office of the Union Health Minister JP Nadda in New Delhi, 500 doctors from 15 states logged in. "It was a formal event. We announced the course, launched digital books and shared the link to the website. We also discussed the agenda, and the benefits of distance education in this sector," Gangadhar said. Mental illnesses present an ever-growing cause for concern across the world. Statistics that emerge from…

Management of liquid waste (sewage and septage) is a huge challenge for urban local bodies in India. Despite efforts in various directions, the scourge of manual scavenging – cleaning of sewer networks, septic tanks and other onsite sanitation systems by human labour – is something that has not been completely eradicated from our cities. Manual scavenging is, in fact, one of those sad dichotomies that continue to haunt our cities, which are, on the one hand, adopting sophisticated technology to upgrade the quality of urban life in many ways, and on the other, grappling with the social and health ramifications…

The Union government launched the Smart Cities programme on June 25, 2015 with the objective to "promote sustainable and inclusive cities that provide core infrastructure and give a decent quality of life to its citizens, a clean and sustainable environment and application of ‘Smart’ Solutions". Chennai was one of the 20 cities selected in Round 1 of the smart cities mission in January 2016. Chennai's smart city projects are funded by a Rs 500-crore allocation from the Centre and an additional Rs 500 crore from the state. Chennai Smart City Projects But for all the hype, the Corporation of Chennai…

On June 8, Delhi’s peak electricity demand broke all previous records, hitting a new high of 6,934 megawatt (MW) at 3:28 pm on June 8, which was 6 per cent higher than last year’s peak. This is surprising because even though Delhi crossed the 2017 record four times since June 1, it was not even the hottest day of the season! The earlier record of 6,526 MW was set on June 6, 2017, which was a hotter day than June 8, 2018. In fact, Delhi's peak demand has been consistently higher than that of Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai taken together during this…