GENRE: Voices

Queuing up to buy Aavin milk from the milk booths makes a quintessential Chennai morning for many of us.  However, recent steps introduced by the state government have made it difficult for many customers to be able to continue buying Aavin milk in the city. What I assumed was a simple exercise to link my Ration card and Aadhar information with the milk cards issued by Aavin turned out to be a much more complicated exercise that laid bare the failings of the system.  Read more: How to get your Aadhaar card in Chennai Chaos reigns at Aavin office When…

Here is the tale of two roads from Kotturpuram. A once-quiet, leafy neighbourhood made up of six roads. I say once-quiet because we are seeing that the inexorable march of beauty parlours, co-working spaces and other commercial establishments can only be delayed by a vigilant community, not denied. So we have cars parked on all sides of our roads these days, by people who want to visit the shops and clinics on Gandhi Mandapam road, but of course, it is not their responsibility to see if their cars are blocking our access to the road. We, who have been living there…

"One of the first things I did as soon as I took charge as a Councillor was to ensure that the frontline workers in my ward were treated with respect. I gathered all the sanitary workers and the local officials in my ward and instructed that the frontline workers, especially the women who are often ill-treated, should be treated with respect. This includes gestures like providing them with a seat during a conversation," says Ambedvalavan (A) Kumarasamy, Councillor of Ward 73. Most of the people in Ward 73 are the people from the economically weaker section who are discriminated against…

Tamil Nadu generates a whopping Rs 44,000 crores in revenue from the Government owned TASMAC liquor stores every year. It is truly unfortunate that these shops have turned into a key source of revenue for the state as their adverse effect on the populace is not quantifiable. Making the entire situation even more unpalatable is the location of such shops across the state. Residential neighbourhoods which were once peaceful have seen great disruptions due to the presence of TASMAC shops.  One such area is in Perambur where three TASMAC shops operated within 100 mts, making the lives of residents increasingly…

Elliot’s Beach in Besant Nagar is one of the most abused natural spaces within the city.  The beach was in pristine condition until the early 1980s, with sparkling sand with two prominent structures, the Karl Schmidt Memorial and the governor’s Guest house with terracotta tiled roof. It was a scenic beach with scattered Ipomea patches.   Uca crabs could be seen busy de-silting their burrows at the same time being vigilant about their safety from their predators and humans.  There would be three rolls of ropes, used for dragging the net, stacked neatly in a circular pattern by the well-disciplined fishers.…

Key roads in Ashok Nagar have been subject to floods in recent years whenever there have been severe cyclonic storms in the city. An outdated stormwater drain (SWD) network was one of the key reasons for the flooding and the misery that the residents faced. Having seen the impact of the urban floods, the residents of the area organised themselves into a Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) that has successfully managed to work with the civic body in creating infrastructure that will prevent future floods.  Read more: Perambur SWD construction: Sewage, exposed cables and other horrors Key roads in Ashok Nagar…

Chennai’s Semmozhi Poonga, which experiences fluctuating fortunes based on who is in power at Fort St. George hosted a a short three-day flower show from June 3. To prepare the park for the event, funds have flowed in for beautification, including the laying of granite walkways. In recent days, a new park in Gandhi Nagar, Adyar, has been named Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi Park, after the former Chief Minister. The question that showpiece parks, some of which levy entry and photography charges, pose is this: can green commons in a populous and sprawling city be created only at high expenditure? Read more: In…

While much of Chennai enjoys the benefits of privatised Solid Waste Management (SWM), the Zones managed by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) have faced issues such as a shortage of equipment and manpower. As different agencies have managed solid waste in these Zones over the years, the present state of affairs calls for a switch to a more efficient, privatised system of waste management for the greater good.  History of SWM in Perambur The conservancy services in Perambur in Zone 6 used to be handled by the government for several decades post-independence. As a young kid, I recall the conservancy…

“Patience is required to work in the education field,” says Preeti Gehlot, who was appointed as Special Commissioner for Education on January 25th. “It’s not like building a road, but more like bringing behavioural change in students,” she says. Though Preeti is also in-charge of estate, horticulture, lakes and forest, she prefers to devote more attention to education. In an interview with Citizen Matters, Preeti talks about the education department’s plans and proposals as well as priorities and implementation of policies.  Excerpts from the interview: How are BBMP schools different from schools under the jurisdiction of the Karnataka Government?  BBMP…

சென்னை முகப்பேர் மேற்கு பகுதியில் 200 அடி பைபாஸ் (NHAI) சாலையின் பணிகள் இருபுறமும் சர்வீஸ் சாலை அமைக்கப்பட்டு இருபுறத்திலும் ஒருபகுதி கால்வாய் அமைக்கப்பட்டு இருந்தது. சர்வீஸ் சாலையின் இருபுறமும் மழைநீர் கால்வாய் 1 ×4 அடி அகலம், 8 அடி ஆழத்தில் அமைக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது. சர்வீஸ் சாலையின் இருபுறமும் தார்சாலை இரண்டு தடவைக்கு மேல் போடப்பட்ட காரணத்தினால் கால்வாயும் - தார் சாலையும் ஒரே சம அளவில் நிறைய பகுதியில் இருந்தது. அப்பகுதியில் வேலைநிமித்தமாக தினம் சென்று வரும் அப்பகுதியில் கால்வாயில் நாய், ஆடு, மாடுகள் விழுந்த வண்ணம் வாரத்திற்க்கு இரண்டு தடவைக்கு மேல், அவர்களை காப்பாற்றும் பொருட்ட வண்ணம் (நடந்து செல்லும் மக்கள் துணையுடன் செய்து இருந்தேன். மழைபெய்யும் காலங்களில் இரவு நேர பணிக்கு சென்று வருபவர்கள் சரியான ஒளி விளக்கு இன்மை காரணத்தினாலும், மழைநீர் சமஅளவில் உள்ளதாலும் பலர் விழுந்து இயற்கை எய்தினார்கள். Read more: How citizen…