GENRE: LN

When former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa inaugurated Bengaluru’s Commercial Street in July, one didn’t expect the makeover to run as quickly as it did. Within hours, the so-called ‘Smart’ street was unable to contain the rainwater, which then found its way into shops. Within a week, the street wore its usual haggard look. It certainly didn’t look like a year had been spent giving the road an expensive makeover! Commercial Street is among the 36 roads being developed under the Smart Cities Mission in the Central Business District (CBD). While the roads under the project have had their issues,…

Among Asia’s largest perishable good markets, the Koyambedu Wholesale Market Complex (KWMC) was in the news last month following reports that traders had dumped unsold stock of vegetables and flowers on the road. Wholesalers pointed to a drop in demand, underlining that apart from other factors, commercial demand from hotels and catering services had dropped by 50 per cent during the pandemic – a figure that is presumably recovering at a slower rate than expected given the volume of wastage. The President of the Koyambedu Market Licensed Merchant’s Association S. Chandran has been quoted saying “We receive the same quantity…

The Institute of Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) is working with the Greater Chennai Corporation to finalize the city’s new parking management policy. The ITDP said that the goals of the new framework included reducing the demand for parking and reclaiming on-street parking spots for sustainable modes of transport – the expectation is that the new policy will minimize traffic congestion, air pollution and accidents.  “In many Indian cities, the phenomenal growth in ownership of private motor vehicles, combined with dwindling investments in public transport, has resulted in streets choked with traffic. Haphazard parking takes up significant real estate on-street…

The residents of Srinivasa Nagar and Ram Nagar of Madipakkam area under the Greater Chennai Corporation have been denied basic civic amenities for several years. They have been living with the dangers associated with bad roads, open kutcha drains, absence of comprehensive storm water drain network covering all the streets, improper sewer systems and absence of quality water supply for nearly a decade now.   The common problems faced by close to 700 houses in the area have interconnected roots, mostly arising from the apathy and inefficiency of various civic agencies like GCC, CMWSSB, TNEB etc. that work in silos without…

City of 1000 Tanks intends to develop a Water Balance Model across the city by collecting rainwater, treating wastewater and runoff pollution with decentralized Nature-Based Solutions, and by recharging the underground aquifer to make Chennai water-rich. City of 1000 Tanks has an immediate, midterm and long-term vision for Chennai’s water security. Based on a unique Water Balance Model the project will harvest rainwater and treat wastewater and runoff pollution before recharging into the underground aquifer. This is achieved by people-friendly and culturally appropriate planning, made possible through aesthetically beautiful nature-based systems. The project will be rooted within the local context…

On September 12th, the Tamil Nadu government passed a government order formalising the formation of the Tambaram Corporation, upgrading the municipalities of Pallavaram,Sembakkam, Pammal, and Anakaputhur, and neighbouring town panchayats like Madambakkam,Thiruneermalai, Perungalathur, Chitlapakkam and Peerkankaranai. Municipalities and Town Panchayats have lesser autonomy as they work with the district administrations for carrying out various civic works while Corporations have greater freedom in decision making. The ability to raise funds through borrowings and by working with funding agencies, including international agencies, are an advantage enjoyed by Corporations. The creation of the Tambaram Corporation has, however, evoked mixed reactions from residents of…

In 2010, journalist and activist Saumya Roy co-founded a non-profit organization called Vandana Foundation to support the livelihoods of Mumbai’s poorest micro-entrepreneurs by giving small, low-interest loans. By 2013, she started getting requests for loans from waste-pickers in Deonar. This year, she is out with a book about their lives, titled Mountain Tales: Love and Loss in the Municipality of Castaway Belongings, published by Profile Books. How it all began Saumya decided to write about the community of waste-pickers in 2016 when a fire began raging in the Deonar dumping grounds, however, her interest in the community was established in…

In July 2021, the State Minister for Human Resources and Finances, PTR Palanivel Thiaga Rajan presented a white paper that indicates that Chennaiites may soon see an upward revision of water charges. The document draws attention to the mounting losses incurred by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) which stood at Rs 2581.77 crores as on March 31, 2021, and identifies "the gross under-recovery of the operational costs" as one of the main contributing factors. It also points to the irrationality of the flat rates at which water is charged in Chennai; to quote from the white paper: "The bulk…

The school education department has announced that September 1 could be the tentative date when schools reopen across Tamil Nadu. Following this, the Department of Public Health has issued a set of detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for school reopening, covering the various precautions and safety measures to be taken by school to prevent spread of COVID-19. General guidelines for school reopening SoPs along with IEC materials to be shared to school management.Sanitizers/soap with water to be made available by the concerned authorities .Schools (Government,Government aided and Private) have to open the campuses in phases, with such activities where they can easily adhere to social…

India’s urban population went up from 17.9% in 1960 to 34.9% in 2020. Bengaluru’s population in the same time period increased more than 10 times. The city’s urbanisation has led to Bengaluru's Land Surface Temperature (LST) increasing from 33.08℃ in 1992 to 41℃ in 2017 -- a whopping 24% increase! Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur have analysed Bengaluru’s urban expansion and how it affected surface temperatures. The study titled Analyzing and Predicting Urban Expansion and Its Effects on Surface Temperature for Two Indian Megacities: Bengaluru and Chennai also predicts the city’s urban area in 2025. Key findings…