Greater Chennai Corporation

L Kumar, a resident of Vadapalani, was on his way to T Nagar on his bike. It was one of those rare days when the weather in Chennai was pleasant and the road was free of traffic. All was well until Kumar encountered a herd of stray cattle which barged into the middle of the road abruptly. In an attempt to avoid colliding with the herd, he hit the brakes hard. He slipped from his bike and hit the ground. The accident left Kumar with a dislocated shoulder, a fractured elbow and injuries to both his legs. The bike was…

While social media lauded the efforts of the civic body and state administration in preventing widespread urban flooding during the initial spell of the Northeast Monsoon, the past week also saw parts of North Chennai's residents feel neglected in terms of response to the rains and overall flood mitigation efforts.  "If the Corporation can constantly keep vigil in core areas in Chennai like Nungambakkam, what about North Chennai? There may be so many people who are educated enough to raise complaints in the centre of the city. But North Chennai is predominantly made up of the working class, who are…

Residents need street vendors in Chennai, to buy fruits, vegetables, and even small ornaments or jewellery. The latter need residents to buy their wares because that's how they make both ends meet. On the face of it, residents and vendors share a symbiotic relationship in Chennai. But conflicts between these two groups seem to erode their relationship, undermining the chance of peaceful co-existence and creating a contentious issue out of street vending in principle.  Vendors claim that evictions could affect their livelihoods. Residents claim that the latter occupy footpaths and improperly dump waste, among other issues.  Citizen Matters organised a panel…

"Of the people. By the people. For the people." Former US President Abraham Lincoln defined democracy thus. This quote is also the idea behind the Namakku Naame Thittam (NNT) scheme in Chennai, as the scheme calls for public participation in creating community spaces and facilities: spaces of the people; built or revamped by the people; and for the use of the people. To put it simply, the public can restore or create community infrastructure by collaborating with the Greater Chennai Corporation under the NNT. The public will have to bear a share of the cost of the projects they want…

Nobody wants 2022 to pull a 2015 on Chennai. Each monsoon since the infamous Chennai floods has been a reminder of the devastation that rains can cause to the city. Last year's rains were an eye-opener that the city's flood management still leaves a lot to be desired. The civic body is working frantically to complete the stormwater drain work in Chennai this year before the onset of the monsoon. Since March 2022, the Greater Chennai Corporation has been carrying out desilting existing stormwater drains and building new ones in areas with no drains or damaged ones. The question in…

"The houses on that street must not complain of mosquito menace again. Spray mosquito repellents there," instructs Shanthi (aka) Yazhini, Councillor of Ward 135, to an employee as I enter her cabin on the first floor of the ward office in Ashok Nagar.  A portrait of Thol. Thirumavalavan, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi's (VCK) leader, hangs in a place of prominence in her office. "When I was a college student, I heard him passionately talk about uplifting the downtrodden. Inspired by that, I joined the party to serve people," says the 48-year-old councillor and lawyer. VCK chose her as the councillor candidate of…

Life with animals offers a bit of peace in today’s fast-paced, individualised world, where we often feel there is no time for family, community and care. Pets often give us company in these increasingly isolating times. However, raising pets in a city like Chennai comes with its own difficulties, especially when you raise them in urban spaces, which can often be unkind and dangerous to animals.  Over time, Chennai has seen numerous initiatives that rescue, rehabilitate and take care of animals in the city. The most well-known initiative is Blue Cross, which mainly deals with abandoned, injured and sick animals.…

104 accident hotspots identified in Chennai Chennai police have identified 104 accident hotspots in the city. Ranked second in terms of fatalities due to road accidents, Chennai saw 5,034 accidents and 998 deaths last year as per the data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Commissioner of Police (CoP) Shankar Jiwal, who addressed the media persons on September 8th, said that a special task force, which might turn into a road safety authority, has been formed. The special task force constitutes officials from six departments including corporation officials, highway department engineers, traffic police personnel and IIT professors who will work…

Schools under Greater Chennai Corporation to be revamped ICT for teacher development, infrastructure, classrooms and school management systems will be revamped in 80 schools run by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). The timeline for the project is six months. Around Rs. 174.91 crore has been allocated for revamping the schools under the City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain (CITIIS) and Singara Chennai 2.0.  The revamping includes a greater focus on homework, remedial sessions and weekly tests.  Additionally, GCC plans to build 3600 classrooms and get 4000 more dual desks for the schools. GCC has already bought 10,000 dual desks…

GCC to create 28 new playgrounds In a welcome move, Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has planned to construct 28 new playgrounds with several amenities across the city. It would be made free for the public. A sum of Rs 29.4 crore has been allotted to construct the playgrounds.  Ten of these playgrounds will come up in the first phase of the project. In a bid to make it more accessible for people from the economically-weaker sections, the GCC has planned to set up these grounds near Urban Habitat Development Board colonies. As a pilot, a playground has been created near the KP…