GENRE: In Focus

On December 15th, 2022, around 15 students at the Banegar English High School in Mira Road were in for a rude shock. Denied permission to attend class as on a normal day, they were made to sit apart in a spare classroom with broken desks and benches. The reason: their parents had been unable to pay their school fees, and this was their punishment. "They switched off the fan and made them sit in the storeroom for the entire day. No teacher came to check on them, nor were they let out at recess," says Swaleha, mother to seventh grader…

“In my eight decades in Chennai, I have never faced such cold weather for so long”, says 86-year-old S Krishnamurthy, a resident of Alandur. Chennai residents have felt the effects of winter linger longer than usual this year, well into the early weeks of February.  Frequent floods, drier summers and longer winters are all now a part of life in Chennai. Could climate change be behind these anomalies? Read more: More rainy days, more rainfall: CSTEP report predicts climate change impact on Chennai Winter trends in Chennai K Srikanth, an independent weather blogger running the platform Chennai Rains- ‘Chennayil Oru…

The mere mention of Cooum conjures up images of a dirty, smelly water body. The pollution of the Cooum river has been an issue that takes centre stage in all discussions around improving life in Chennai. The fate of Chennai's other water bodies, the Adyar river and Kosasthalaiyar river and the Buckingham canal also mirror that of the Cooum. Many attempts have been made over the years to clean up Chennai's polluted rivers. Allocations running into thousands of crores have been made for these projects by various governments, but progress has been slow and incremental. Read more: Sewage lorries polluting…

Just breathe. Take a deep breath and let your body and mind relax. Easy enough to say but a difficult thing to do for a Mumbai resident. Given the severe lack of public open spaces (POS) or, to put it differently, spaces to breathe.  The first day of 2023 saw record crowds flocking to the city’s Zoo and the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), as the city lacks enough healthy options for family outings. The Mumbai Zoo was so overflowing with over 33,000 visitors that at one point during the day, it closed its gates and refused to take in…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தமிழ் மொழி மற்றும் அதன் இலக்கியத்தை பறைசாற்றும் விதமாக முன்னாள் முதல்வர் மு கருணாநிதி அவர்கள்  இயல் இசை நாடகம் ஆகியவற்றிற்கு ஆற்றிய பங்களிப்பை போற்றும் வகையில் அமையவிருக்கும் பேனா நினைவுச்சின்னம், பல்வேறு தரப்பிலிருந்து பல விதமான எதிர்வினைகளை தூண்டியுள்ளது.   சென்னை மெரினா கடற்கரையிலிருந்து 360 மீ தொலைவில் வங்காள விரிகுடாவில் 134 அடி உயரத்தில் “முத்தமிழ் அறிஞர் டாக்டர் கலைஞர் பேனா நினைவுச்சின்னம்” அமைக்கப்படவுள்ளது.  இதனால் சுற்றுச்சூழல், கடல் சூழலியல் மற்றும் மீனவர்களின் வாழ்வாதாரம் பாதிக்கப்படும் என எதிர்ப்பு எழுந்துள்ளது.   மேலும் படிக்க: Women of Ennore are living testimony to the many costs of pollution பேனா நினைவுசின்னம் கட்டமைப்பு சென்னையில் கட்டப்படவுள்ள பேனா நினைவுச்சின்னத்தில் இடம்பெறவுள்ல கூறுகள் பேனா பீடம் பாதசாரி மற்றும் கண்ணாடி நடைபாதை பின்னல் வகை நடைபாதை உயரமான நடைபாதை  PWD வெளியிட்டுள்ள முன்மொழியப்பட்டுள்ள திட்ட…

As with Joshimath, the ecological crisis threatening an already sinking Shimla and other hill towns in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh was long foreseen and predicted. Prof A K Mahajan, a geologist at Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Shahpur (Kangra) undertook a scientific study in 1998 on the twin-towns of Dharamshala and McLeodganj. “There is high similarity in the land subsistence crisis at Joshimath and McLeodganj town,” says Professor Mahajan. “Since 1998, I have been repeatedly highlighting the warning signals relating to the sinking threat at McLeodganj. Recently, when a road, ‘Khara Danda’ connecting Dharamshala with  Mcleodganj started sinking, it was a…

"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…