GENRE: In Focus

A couple of days back, we had written about the areas in Chennai that are particularly prone to flooding and have even been identified by the Greater Chennai Corporation as 'vulnerable' in a list that they prepared in 2018. But it has been two years since then, and the city continues to be under threat of increased instances of intense rainfall, as highlighted by several studies and research. What is the civic body doing to prevent inundation? As part of flood mitigation measures, the GCC is constructing an integrated stormwater drain (SWD) network in the Kosasthalaiyar Basin in North Chennai…

The National Green Tribunal has ordered the removal of an oil storage facility in Chennai, highlighting that environmental laws were wrongly interpreted. The oil storage facility, which was violating coastal zone rules, was given clearance by the central government’s environment ministry. The project had got post-facto clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) which means it had started without a valid clearance from the authorities. In 2016, KTV Oil Mills & KTV Health Foods (a joint venture with the Adani group’s Adani Wilmar Limited) constructed an oil storage facility and pipeline in Chennai without the Coastal…

On October 28th, the northeast monsoon set in over Tamil Nadu and Kerala. On the 29th, Chennai recorded the highest amount of rainfall in 24 hours since November 2017, as called out by weather expert Pradeep John. AreaRain (in cm)Mylapore (DGP office)18Anna University14Redhills Lake13Chennai district13Alandur, Sholinganallur8Ambattur9Source: IMD Chennai Koyambedu saw heavy rains lashing their neighbourhood on October 29th. As a result of which, people had to wade through knee-deep water. Pic: Avinash D But the writing has been on the wall for some time. A study titled ‘Future changes in precipitation extremes during northeast monsoon over south peninsular India’ by…

Harish Ghaware, who drove private tourist cabs plying between Pune and Mumbai, ferried his last passenger on Gudi Padwa (Marathi New Year) in March. “Then came the lockdown and I could no longer drive the tourist cab.”  But Harish had to keep the kitchen fire burning and like many others, realised that at that point only essential goods would sell. “I took to buying vegetables from the villages on the outskirts of Pune and selling them in the city,” he says. “In the middle of the night, I would travel to Manjri, Loni, Narayangaon, Chakan in a tempo to buy…

Raj Rani, a 45-year-old household help residing in Kaimbwala, is a worried woman these days. Six months after COVID 19 hit the nation, her family income has halved and no new employment has come her way. “Earlier I used to earn Rs 10,000 to 12,000 per month, now it is down to Rs 6000 to Rs 7000,” says Raj Rani, whose case is typical of all labourers living at the margins of society. Her two sons, one employed as a driver and the second working with a local contractor, have also lost their jobs. As has her husband Ram Rattan,…

Pic: Pixabay.com Renuka lives in a three-bedroom house in upmarket Koramangala. Her children go to a prestigious school. She can afford these thanks to her rich clients and her three paying guests who too are sex workers.  But with her children home since lockdown, she can no longer entertain clients at home. The paying guests could not afford the rent and have gone back to their villages. One of her clients died after contracting COVID-19 a week after visiting her. She got herself tested and was relieved when results came negative. Once lockdown eased, her clients began to pester her,…

Ritu Kumar is a known brand for top class bridal and fashion wear. On September 5th, despite the pandemic and every other shop owner complaining of negligible footfalls and even less sales, the brand opened a new store on the ground floor in New Delhi's plush Khan Market, possibly the costliest pocket of real estate in the country. It was the owner’s decision, said Neha, one of the young sales staff. Ritu Kumar, incidentally, already has a store spread over the first and second floor in the middle lane of the same market. That store now sells traditional bridal wear,…

In the recently concluded monsoon session of the Karnataka state assembly, two audit reports by the CAG of India were tabled: Report No 1 of 2020, tabled on September 22, pertains to State Finances of Karnataka Government for the year 2018-19.Report No 2 of 2020, tabled on September 23, presents the Performance Audit on Implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act. (Read the English version of the CAG report here, and the Kannada version here.) Also, on September 23, CAG’s Audit Report on Union Government (Finance Accounts) for the year 2018-19 was tabled in parliament. This showed a savings of…

The inauguration of Chennai's first incinerator in February by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) at Manali has paved the way for many more in and around the city. The civic body has, in quick succession to Manali, floated tenders to set up six more incinerators at Pallikaranai, Mylapore, Ambattur, Sathankadu, Kodungaiyur and Aynavaram zones.  In the suburbs, the Tambaram Municipality has floated tenders for two incinerators at Venkatamangalam, while Chitlapakkam Town Panchayat has floated for one in that area. The rationale behind setting up incinerators First things first; what is an incinerator and why is it used? To put simply,…

Hyderabad lay submerged under the highest ever rainfall since 2003. While the October average has seen around 103.6 mm, October 13th saw the skies discharge 192 mm of rain, followed by another deluge in and around Hyderabad on October 17th. Added to the pandemic, the heavy rainfall made an already bad situation for Hyderabadis much, much worse. Major roads and highways were severely damaged and several colonies were isolated from the rest of the city. Hundreds of families were unable to access basic needs like drinking water, food and power for over three days following the rainfall. About 80 colonies…