INFORMATIVE

Daan Utsav, one of the largest volunteer driven philanthropic initiatives across the country is back this week between October 2 - 8. With events, drives and activities helmed by NGOs, individuals and corporate houses, the week-long effort brings together people from all walks and provides an opportunity to improve the lives of the less fortunate.  Chennai will see a variety of activities as part of Daan Utsav, where citizens can contribute their time through volunteering or provide financial support for various causes. Gift a meal No Food Waste, an NGO working to address the twin issues of hunger and food…

Today, the BBMP Council elected M Gowtham Kumar as Bengaluru's new Mayor. Kumar, the BJP corporator from Jogupalya ward, replaces Gangambike Mallikarjun of the Congress. Here is a look at Gangambike's accomplishments, and the causes she had taken up in her tenure as Mayor. Pushing for ward committee meetings: In BBMP Council’s monthly session in November 2018, Gangambike announced that ward committee meetings should mandatorily be held in all 198 wards on the first Saturday of each month, starting immediately. Her announcement came after the city’s civic activists ran several campaigns for the cause over the years. Ward committee meetings…

A month ago, Saritha Kumar of Nungambakkam ordered a designer saree from an online store. She paid the cash of Rs 10,000 online and waited for a month. The delivery never reached her. Upon suspicion, when she read reviews from other customers on the store’s Facebook page, Saritha realised she had been cheated just like many others before her. She was shocked to know that even the store’s address and phone number were invalid.  Had Saritha researched about the store before ordering the saree, she would have saved the money. Either due to carelessness or ignorance, a lot of consumers…

A month after it launched the Adopt-a-Street initiative, BBMP has received 35 applications. “Of these, around 17 applications from various RWAs and corporate companies are serious. They are willing to sign an MoU with us and take the initiative forward,” says Randeep Dev, BBMP Additional Commissioner (Solid Waste Management). Adopt-a-Street is a voluntary service initiative under which citizens and corporate houses can adopt specific streets, and maintain them regularly to ensure visual cleanliness. Launched on August 25th, the programme is supported by The Ugly Indian (TUI), an anonymous group of volunteers working for cleaner streets. Dev says BBMP will shortlist…

This year, thousands of Bengalureans could not vote in the Lok Sabha election since their names went missing from the electoral rolls mysteriously. Among them were people who had voted in the assembly elections just last year. Thousands of applications for new enrolment also lay unprocessed for months before the election, which prevented many others from voting. Those who couldn't vote took to social media to voice their anger, and some even went to the High Court. The problem of voters missing from electoral rolls was reported from other cities too. From September 1st to October 15th, Election Commission of…

Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board's (CMWSSB) tongue-in-cheek tweet to coincide with ISRO's launch of Chandrayaan 2 was an indication that the department had finally got it right on social media. The tweet was a hit and the department, which had been heavily criticised for Chennai's water crisis this summer and the way it was managed, finally seemed to have touched the right chords in the hearts of its followers with this. https://twitter.com/CHN_Metro_Water/status/1153323842644824064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1153323842644824064&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Ftwitter.com%252FCHN_Metro_Water%252Fstatus%252F1153323842644824064%26widget%3DTweet The CMWSSB has, in fact, significantly bolstered its online presence over the last three months, constantly putting out information about the lake levels on Facebook and…

Maram valarpom, mazhai peruvom (Plant trees, get rain) is a common refrain across the state, echoed to promote greening initiatives. Tree planting drives are common activity in many quarters. From educational institutions to charitable organisations,z all engage in tree planting initiatives to mark important occasions. But how effective are these efforts? What happens to the saplings that are planted? Do they really contribute to greening the city? Chennai's shrinking green cover Chennai has suffered considerable loss of green cover over the last two decades. A study by the Care Earth Trust in the aftermath of cyclone Vardah, that devastated large…

In 2012, Bengaluru got its first skywalk with elevators on KG Road. Today, the city has 21 skywalks equipped with lifts on both sides, and CCTV cameras. Another 15 of these will be set up by the end of this year. This would take the total number of skywalks with lifts in Bengaluru to 36. The lifts are helpful especially for the elderly and others who have difficulty climbing stairs. Septuagenarian Madhukar Swamy, a retired government servant, says he uses lifts in the skywalk near BBMP head office almost every day. "Sometimes, if I feel well, I take the stairs…

"You ain’t gonna miss your water until your well runs dry": Bob Marley Why did Indo-Aryans move towards Indus Valley and then to the Ganges Plain? Why did Dravidians settle near rivers? There may be several reasons. But, with the water crisis we are facing, I think we now know the answer - water. Civilisations flourished where water was available. The clock is ticking, and we need to do what is vital for our survival - save water. According to news reports, our city may turn uninhabitable in the next few years due to rapidly-depleting groundwater levels. Rainwater harvesting (RWH)…

We often hear about encroachments and solid waste sounding the death knell for water bodies in Chennai. Villivakkam Lake is no exception; it shares the same plight as any other water body in the city. However, it is set to change. Corporation officials say that the transformation of this 36.5 acre lake will be revolutionary -- replete with state-of-the art recreation facilities such as walkway, gym, children's play area, library, food and play courts, open air theatre and a multipurpose lawn. Greater Chennai Corporation will adopt Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)’s natural process of treating wastewater and use it for…