GENRE: In Focus

"En ward-u," says Councillor V Kaviganesan of Ward 12, to the 26 conservancy workers of his ward who are assembled for a meeting at 6 am. "En veedu," respond the workers. This drill lasts three to four times before the conservancy workers leave for work every day. "My ward is my home" has become the motto of the civic workers in Ward 12. V Kaviganesan of the DMK says that this is his first stint, and he wants to do his best to serve his people. He is also a practicing lawyer at the Madras High Court at the moment.…

A monument to pay tribute to former Chief Minister and DMK supremo M Karunanidhi for his contributions to Iyal, Isai, and Nadagam - the three pillars of Tamil language and literature - has evoked mixed reactions in the state. The 134 feet tall 'Muthamizh Arignar Dr Kalaignar Pen Monument' is proposed to be built in the Bay of Bengal 360m off the Coast of Chennai's Marina Beach near Triplicane. The key opposition to this monument has hinged on its impact on the environment and marine ecology and the livelihood of fishing communities in Chennai. Read more: Women of Ennore are…

You travel on a road in Chennai. You notice smoke from other vehicles and a mound of unsegregated solid waste on the side of the road. Maybe you are in a hurry to reach your destination, and you may not process these scenes. But next time, take in those sights. They are polluting Chennai's soil with heavy metals. Heavy metals are those metals that have greater atomic weight in the periodic table of elements. Moreover, in higher quantities, these metals can become toxic. Examples of heavy metals include Lead, Cadmium and Mercury. Soil pollution due to heavy metals studied in…

2023 has arrived and with it, hopeful Mumbaikars are looking forward to some of the key infrastructure projects opening to the public this year. Surrounded by barricades in all parts of the city for the past five years, at least a few of these barricades will be pulled down and new modes and alternatives of transport and commuting will be thrown open to the public. These promise to change the face of Mumbai, and most likely, they will! The Trans-Harbour Link, metro lines 2A & 7, the underground metro line 3, the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road extension, and the coastal road…

Recent news has it that the Greater Chennai Corporation has decided to take steps to counter the menace of posters in Chennai. A battle that our city has been fighting probably from the time when print became a possibility. The latest in the various rather ineffective measures our city fathers (and mothers) have decided upon is to levy a fine of Rs. 200 on those responsible, if the poster is on a wall, and Rs. 500 in case it is on a signboard, provided that a police complaint is made. It must have been quite clear to those who approved…

Adar Ali Sheikh, 38, came to Bengaluru two years after the devastating 2002 cyclonic storm hit his hometown in Nadia district, West Bengal. It wrecked his home and the fields he worked in as an agricultural labourer, entrapping him in debt. He travelled almost 2,000 kilometres to find a job as a car washer in Bengaluru so he could pay off his lenders.  “I had to leave because we couldn’t save the harvest, and the landowner (who he had leased the land from) demanded we pay the agreed amount. What would I have done?” he asks. Adar lives in a…

"If I had been made a Ward Committee member, I would have pushed for relocation of the wine shop near my lane so that women can walk around safely after sunset," says Mallika, a daily wage worker from Nesapakkam, Ward 137 of the Greater Chennai Corporation. Unfortunately, she was unaware of when the councillor of her ward chose the Area Sabha Representatives or who the Ward Committee Member of her area was. "The councillor came during the local body election time. I do not recollect seeing him coming after that," she says. While it has been touted as a platform…

With each passing year, the government owes private schools the reimbursements for students taken in free of cost under the Right to Education (RTE) Act. The amount has racked up to around a crore for some schools, with several school associations alleging Rs 1,200 crore is due in total. “Last year, we received the RTE reimbursement for the academic years 2016-17 and 2017-18,” says Anushka Pradhan, head of primary at Gyan Kendra school in Andheri. The school takes in 52 new students from financially and socially weaker backgrounds with the promise of a free education till the eighth grade every…

"Many years ago, I bought all of my computer parts from Ritchie street. It was my first ever PC. The market still fills me with nostalgia," says Gokoulane Ravi, a resident of Tambaram. Ritchie street area has been the go-to market for electronics for people not just in Chennai, but in other areas in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. For decades the shopkeepers have kept up with changes in technology and sourced the most in-demand goods. But competition with e-commerce websites and crackdowns from authorities is a looming threat to the business. History of Ritchie street "My father used to…

Translated by Sandhya Raju பிற மீனவர்களோடு, ஜனவரி 9 அன்று, சங்கரும் கடலுக்கு சென்றார். கடலில் போடப்பட்ட வலையை எடுக்கையில், கால் தவறி தண்ணீருக்குள் அவர் விழுந்தார். அவரை உடனடியாக மற்ற மீனவர்கள் மீட்டனர். ஆனால் அவருக்கு காயங்கள் ஏற்பட்டன. கடலில் போட்ட வலையை எடுக்காமல், அவர்களால் படகை கரைக்கு திருப்ப முடியாது என்பதால், உடனடி சிகிச்சை அளிக்க வேண்டிய தருணத்தை கடந்தனர். பின்னர் 108 ஆம்புலன்ஸ் சேவையை அழைத்து அவருக்கு முதலுதவி கொடுக்கப்பட்டது. மேற்சிகிச்சைக்காக மருத்தவமனையில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்ட சங்கர், ஐந்து நாட்கள் பின் உயிரிழந்தார்.  கடலுக்குள் தினந்தோறும் செல்லும் மீனவர்கள் சந்திக்கும் சாதாரண அவசர நிலை இது,” என்கிறார், தென்னிந்திய மீனவர்கள் நலச்சங்க தலைவர் கே. பாரதி.  சென்னையில் பெரும்பாலன மீனவர்கள் கண்ணாடியிழை மீன்பிடி படகுகளை பயன்படுத்துகின்றனர். இவர்கள் 12 கடல் மைல் (22 கி.மீ) சுற்றளவுக்குள் பயணிக்கின்றனர்.  “சூழ்நிலையை பொருத்து கரையை அடைய சுமார் 3 முதல்…