GENRE: Voices

Many key players in the space of Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services (IT & ITES) in Chennai are located in OMR, Perungudi, Thoraipakkam, Navalur and Siruseri. Over the past few decades, the number of offices in the area has grown exponentially. With many jobs available, large apartment complexes began to be built to cater to the needs of the people. The population along the IT corridor now runs into lakhs. Unfortunately for the residents, the area is also home to the Perungudi dump yard, one of the city’s two dump yards. Much of the solid waste from all…

Residents of OMR have written to the Chief Minister calling for the removal of the toll gate at Navalur. Citing a promise made by the DMK prior to the elections, residents demand that the toll gate, which is close to the limits of the Greater Chennai Corporation be shut down with immediate effect. The residents, through the umbrella body FOMRRA (Federation of OMR Resident Associations), have made an appeal to this effect. The residents state that while four out of five toll gates have been shut down, the one at Navalur remains functional. FOMRRA has also requested the support of other…

Strange as it may seem, the bustling traffic on Arcot Road, a State Highway feeding into Porur, has been redirected since May 6 via densely populated residential neighbourhoods in Kodambakkam and K.K. Nagar, among other places, to facilitate work on the 118 km Phase II of the Chennai Metro. Everyone is reconciled to this two or three-year upheaval as unavoidable pain to construct mass mobility infrastructure. As Chennai Metro says, it is ‘inconvenience today for a better tomorrow’. The story is no different in parts of T. Nagar, Mylapore, and Alwarpet, although the traffic there is not at highway scale,…

"I was inspired to start my political journey after looking at the political life of my father and uncle. So, I cannot say that I am completely new to politics," says Mayor Priya Rajan, who belongs to Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Her father, R Rajan, has been a functionary of DMK and her uncle, Chengai Sivam, was a DMK MLA. It has been a little more than a year since Mayor R Priya assumed office. As the youngest Dalit woman Mayor of Greater Chennai Corporation, she has overcome many hurdles to find success. We catch up with her to know…

“I want to dance with my daughter, take Marble (pet dog) for a walk, go on a second honeymoon with my husband, travel alone and just go out and buy something for myself.” These are the wishes of Swarnalatha, a young woman who has been struggling with a rare disease called Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis for the past 14 years in India. Swarnalatha has been bound to a wheelchair for all these years. While there is no cure for the disease, her dream to do something as simple as dancing with her daughter keeps her going. When Swarnalatha was diagnosed…

Kodambakkam’s bustling food scene and shopping are experiences enjoyed by visitors. But long-time residents of the area have found that this has led to an increase in encroachments, affecting our quality of life. Since a large part of the locality has turned mixed-use, with commercial establishments coexisting with residences, encroachments have become a common issue in the area. Residents have banded together to raise the matter with the Greater Chennai Corporation to make the locality more livable and navigable. But the many years of working on this issue have shown that with a lack of proper will on the part…

Despite the previous government’s claims of developing 47 lakes in Bengaluru at the cost of Rs 317.25 crore, under the Nava Nagarothana scheme, with an additional Rs 200 crore being sanctioned to restore 17 lakes, the process of lake maintenance is shrouded in issues. Chief among these is the lack of transparency and access to information, poor enforcement of laws, and above all, absence of public consultation.  Environmentalists and citizen groups have worked against these odds to protect lakes, but questions remain on why public consultation is not duly followed and why lakes continue to be encroached upon and overflow…

Bengaluru has attracted people from all walks of life. In addition to long term inhabitants, it is a city for students, factory workers, small vendors, and sees a lot of migrant population. The Bangalore Urban district mostly comprises the Bangalore metropolitan area. In 2011, this district was 90% urban, and it may be assumed to be almost entirely urban in nature.  Understanding the healthcare needs of migrant workers Migration is a complex process with far reaching effects on individuals, societies, and health systems. The urban migrant population often experiences significant barriers to accessing health services, including limited availability of services,…

School is where children learn, play and have their first encounter with the actual world. An informed teacher who encourages curiosity in children can do wonders for students with the proper guidance. A suggestion by a school teacher to attend a curated walk titled ‘ComplexCity’ for a school project led us to a resettlement colony in Mankhurd, Mumbai.  We got to know about the ComplexCity walk by YUVA for the first time through our school teacher, Ms. Deepti, at the Bombay International School. This was possible as she is in touch with various NGOs such as YUVA. The walk's theme, conducted…

As I write this article, we are in the middle of May which began with unseasonal rainfall occurring in the plains of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers. There was snow in the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand. Since then, the sun is out and the skies are clear. But uncertainty remains of what the future holds, especially as the monsoon season sets in. This situation is worrisome, not only from a health perspective but also from an agricultural standpoint. Before moving forward, it is vital to look at the weather patterns from this winter to now. The weather has been hotter than…