GENRE: In Focus

On a late Wednesday evening in mid-April, a queue of women forms in front of the water tap at Doraiswamy Reddy Street, Korattur. Leaving their domestic chores and cooking half done, these women have rushed with their pots and cans to source their bi-weekly water supply from the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB). The anxiety on their faces is palpable. Not everyone will have filled pots to take back home at the end of the evening. A light brown coloured liquid with a rotten smell trickles down the road, as a woman opens the tap. She just lets…

“One of our neighbours suddenly saw notices, announcing the Pune Municipal Corporation’s proposal to widen six-metre roads to nine metres and inviting objections within a stipulated time frame, pasted randomly in the lanes of the Anand Park locality,” says Dr Dhananjay Rau, president of Anand Park Residents Association (APRA), a housing society in Aundh. “It took us completely by surprise. Thankfully, we still had time, so we submitted our objections to the PMC.” The six internal lanes of Anand Park are dead-ends and do not connect to the main road. So why widen the roads, the residents ask. Uncertain utility apart,…

“I am really frightened; it is not a wave, it is a tsunami this time,” said Dr Rajesh Gupta, additional director, Pulmonology and Critical Care, at Fortis Hospital, Noida, as he rushed towards the COVID ward which he heads.  A month back, Dr Gupta, a recovered COVID patient himself, had stopped wearing the PPE kit. Not because of any discomfort it caused, but because the numbers of COVID cases had fallen to an all-time low by the first week of February, with not a single COVID patient in his ward. Six weeks later, the hospital’s ICU is packed to capacity and he is…

On April 6th, a humid day, Zaitoon Begum, a 87-year-old resident of Kottivakkam went to the nearby polling station to cast her vote. Presently a Sholinganallur constituent, Zaitoon Begum has been voting for more than six decades now — she voted first at the then Madras Presidency.  Zaitoon Begum's polling experience was smooth — social distancing was maintained at the booth, masks and gloves were mandated for all voters. But she is still a little disappointed, having had to visit the polling booth at a time when COVID infections are rising across Chennai. “Given the circumstances, the ballot box should…

It's one of the less discussed fall-outs of the pandemic. One year of COVID-19 has reversed all the small victories and legitimised the usage of plastic and single-use products in Chennai, dealing a huge blow to the efforts at fostering a more sustainable lifestyle among its citizens. Immediately after the state government announced the plastic ban in June 2018, the city had started taking sincere steps towards minimising the use of single use plastic (the ban was implemented from January 2019), and in the months that followed Chennaiites appeared to be adapting to a more sustainable, plastic-free lifestyle. Retail and…

Mylapore, commonly regarded as the cultural hub of Tamil Nadu, is one of the few constituencies which is a stronghold of the AIADMK+. While one part of the constituency is dominated by upper caste voters, fishing hamlets such as Nochikuppam and Santhome are also part of the constituency.  Some of the areas that fall under Mylapore constituency are  Alwarpet, Raja Annamalaipuram, Mylapore, Foreshore Estate and Santhome. Upper caste Hindus form a huge part of the voter base and their issues take centre stage here. Retired DGP and former Chairman of the Tamil Nadu Public Services Commission (TNPSC) R Nataraj (AIADMK),…

Nestled between Tambaram and Airport, Pallavaram is a suburb that derives its name from the Pallava settlement. This constituency has several water bodies and Tirusulam hill, tanneries and cosmetics industries. The Grand Southern Trunk (GST) Road that connects Chennai with other districts passes through the constituency. The locality is known for the Friday shandy which is the only weekly market in the metropolitan city, epitomising the rural Indian ‘bazaar’ culture where one can buy anything under the sun. Some of the areas that fall under Pallavaram constituency are Chrompet, Pammal, Pozhichalur, Anakaputhur, Tirusulam and Pallavaram. Representative image. Votes cast in 2016…

Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, a predominantly working class constituency, has had several concerns over poor infrastructure and civic issues for years. Problems around water, sanitation and civic amenities and questions around patta and evictions are key factors that could weigh on the minds of voters as they choose in the upcoming elections. The constituency will see a face-off between DMK and AIADMK, with the incumbent DMK MLA Thayagam Kavi seeking re-election. The assembly constituency includes areas such as Ayanavaram, Otteri, Pulianthope, Pattalam and a part of Perambur. Read more: With elections coming up, civic works gather steam. Are you watching? The incoming…

Alandur constituency has several localities that promise low cost of living. As a result, there is a significant population of lower middle class and economically weaker families in these areas. The other dominant population here is that of software engineers working in the hubs of OMR and ECR. Localities such as Nanganallur are close to these hubs.  Many temples dot the Alandur constituency much like Mylapore. Alandur is a peripheral constituency. Just 4 km from the airport, it also borders another junction of the city and an industrial hub Guindy. St Thomas Mount is the closest railway station. Velachery, another prime…

“People have forgotten that the virus is still here,” says Dr Narendra Kumar Arora, member, National Covid Task Force. “They stopped wearing masks, or don’t wear them properly. They began to organise large social gatherings. It helped the virus spread,” causing a second country-wide wave of the COVID-19 infections, with daily cases crossing 50,000, for the first time since October last year.  Worryingly, the second wave seems to be more widespread than the first one, with the number of daily cases rising sharply from a low of about 8600 a day in February first week to a new high of 59,118…