GENRE: Voices

Chennaiites have a complicated relationship with water. It seems like we either have too much or too little depending on the vagaries of the yearly monsoons. Which is why when ten years ago. we began getting water from the Nemmeli Seawater Desalination Plant, we heaved a sigh of relief as it seemed like a solution to our water woes.  From this desalination plant in Nemmeli, areas like Neelankarai, Kottivakkam, Besant Nagar and Tiruvanmiyur got their daily supply. While things looked promising at the start, we have found that lately the amount of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in our water supply…

In the past few months, Mumbai's worsening pollution levels have made headlines. It has even been compared to Delhi, which has one of the worst winter pollution levels, year after year. Increased construction activity, industrial pollution and vehicular emissions continue to worsen pollution in Mumbai. To understand this better, Citizen Matters spoke with Ronak Sutaria, Founder and CEO of the Climate Tech startup Respirer Living Sciences in an interview that is now available on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtLkl7WkyFQ In the discussion, Ronak explained that Mumbai’s pollution levels were lower than Delhi but emphasised the need to increase monitoring in Mumbai. “Mumbai has…

What's better for the average middle class income tax payee, the old regime of exemptions or the New regime, that this government has created? The latter is now the default, meaning that is the form that  you will see on your screen when you get online to file your income tax returns. Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman, and some economic analysts, insist the new rebates and tax slabs will reduce the tax burden on salary earners. But an important part of the Sangh parivar, the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, a staunch opponent of globalisation, says otherwise. In a statement on February 3rd, Manch convener…

While most of Chennai roads were dug up for the construction of stormwater drains last year, many residents raised issues about the inconvenience caused during this period. The project highlighted the many problems that come with creating and maintaining civic infrastructure in residential neighbourhoods. An experience much closer to home has made me realise how some processes must be put in place to avoid suffering caused to the residence when civic agencies take up work. No notification of civic work Around two months ago, the space right outside my house in AGS Colony in Velachery was dug up for sewer…

Every day we see two Indias. One with Indians heading prestigious companies, one with high unemployment rates. One where children thrive in online classrooms, learning new digital skills and coding games and one where 15-year olds struggle with reading from a children’s picture book. As a country we have taken gigantic strides, while leaving so many of our own behind. The real status of literacy in India  One morning, I saw my maid’s daughter, who was educated in an English medium school and is pursuing her Bachelor’s in commerce, struggle to read and understand a story meant for Grade 2…

On the morning of January 31, a friend, Priya*, and I went to attend the public consultation for the ‘Pen Monument’ held at Kalaivanar Arangam. A group of us were attending the consultation, some in an official capacity and some as citizens who wanted to voice their thoughts on the issue. Little did we apprehend that this would lead to a long, traumatic experience for her, as some time into the consultation, she was sexually harassed by a group of men.If that wasn’t disturbing enough, she had to go through a seven-hour-long ordeal, just trying to lodge a police complaint…

After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) put out an open call on Twitter for suggestions on the upcoming BMC budget, over 1,000 responses poured in. Citizens, by virtue of their lived experience, have plenty to ask from the budget of the municipality, expected to be released today (February 4th) and likely to entail allocations of over Rs 45000 crore. As the city's most popular and effective citizen welfare and grievance redressal forum, we at Mumbai North Central District Forum (MNCDF) too have a list of demands from the municipality. Our network of 110 members come from different walks and areas…

On January 18th, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) asked people for their suggestions on the municipal budget, a step towards the making of a democratic participatory budget. And while there have been criticisms of the timing and structure of the call, many have responded. Below are a few suggestions from a few citizens, some of whom are experts in their fields. Rini Annie Cherian, program coordinator at Praja Foundation The 2022-23 BMC budget speech had made some progressive proposals for infrastructure and environmental rehabilitation of various locations in the city, but fell short in carrying forward the proposed plans of…

We live in Shivaji Nagar, which is part of Govandi, a heavily populated neighbourhood. We have always known that there is toilet scarcity here. After participating in a survey, we realised the situation is far more problematic than the lack of toilets. There is a total of 152 toilets, of which 27 are in the peripheral area, and the remaining 125 toilets are located in the site and services plots. However, only 96 toilets out of the total are functioning, and that is a major issue for us. This study also showed us many other problems we never knew about…

A famous colloquialism in Tamil about the need for protests translates roughly to say only a baby who cries gets the milk. In my many years of civic activism in Chennai and its suburbs, I have come to realise that constant vigilance and readiness to speak up for our needs are key tenets to achieving our objectives to improve the city and quality of life in the city. While much has changed, what remains constant is the need to raise our voices collectively to demand better from the powers that be.  Protests alone will not fix issues we face in…