LOCAL

The four empty plots behind the Rathnagireeswarar Siva Temple near RBI Quarters in Besant Nagar had become an eyesore for residents of the locality. Owned by the Government Officials Cooperative Housing Society (GOCHS), these lay vacant for years and had been reduced to wasteland, prone to misuse by miscreants, creating a pain for those living in the area. In August 2015 a set of senior citizens, all members of the GOCHS, led by Colonel Krishnaswami, the President of the Society, decided to pool in funds from individuals and use those plots to create a citizens’ park. It was said that…

Launched in 2009 by the Government of India (GoI), Aadhaar is increasingly becoming inevitable in every walk of life. While it has become mandatory to link your Aadhaar card with your PAN Card, PDS card, bank account, mobile connections etc., many city residents are finding it quite a task to get the Aadhaar card made, primarily due to ambiguities in information available online. Here is a quick FAQ that can help you get started without further delay. Q. Where can I get my Aadhaar card made in Chennai? First things first: it must be noted that application for Aadhaar Card…

The northeast monsoon is here and residents of southern Chitlapakkam have already become victims of yet another flood. Chitlapakkam has seen it all—drought and floods, but this time, the floods have hit residents earlier than they expected. The northeast monsoon has just set in, and residents are left in the lurch, amidst miserable memories of the 2015 floods. As I enquire about the route to Babu Street, a shopkeeper jokingly says, “Walk straight and take a left, you will see water all over the street. That’s the one!” Babu Street, Abraham Lincoln Street, Pamban Swamigal Street, Chokkanadhar Street, Maraimalai Adigal…

Over the past few days, we have been seeing some disturbing pictures of eviction of families from canal banks and sea side tenements. On September 9 and 15, 2015, hundreds of families were evicted from their homes in Maduravoyal and Aminjikarai respectively, with the promise of resettlement in Gudapakkam near Thirumazhisai and Perumbakkam. I know that this is not an issue that resonates similarly even with my peers, most of whom see this as encroachment that needs to be removed. For the moment, therefore, let us set aside the question of justification. The point that must nevertheless be considered is…

In 1942, it was ‘Vellayane Veliyeru’. In 2017, it is ‘Kollayane Veliyeru’ “Kollaiyane Veliyeru”, a large anti-corruption campaign movement to bring together all those who are against corruption is set to be launched at a public meeting this weekend on October 8th  at 4.30 Pm at Mylapore Mangollai. The event is facilitated by Arappor Iyakkam and is co-organized by citizens and various other organizations. Corruption affects all of us. Every day, from the traffic cop on the roads, to sand mining on our river beds, from RTOs issuing licenses to 2G spectrum, from stretcher charges in government hospitals to illegal…

Do you remember the famous wedding video invite with a LED display which had the family lip-syncing to a choreographed welcome song and dance? Ever wondered what happened to the card after the wedding? This was the storyline for the Street play performed by Kaledio to raise awareness on e-waste.  How long does anyone hang on to an invite that has run out of battery? It goes in the garbage. And the performers went on to explain the hazards of e-waste. E-waste is extremely harmful to both human and environmental health. The toxic elements that e-waste contains include chromium, lead,…

In January this year, the organising committee members of Urur Kuppam and Alcot Kuppam, had planned to host a Carnatic music concert and a Chennai Corporation Band performance on Besant Nagar beach during the Marghazhi Festival. Little did they suspect that organising these events would lead to a protracted tussle with the government for the next six months. Applying for permission The two concerts were scheduled for January 29th and February 4th at the Besant Nagar beach. The committee members approached the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) for the necessary permission. But after making several visits to the offices of the…

The compound wall of the AMM Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Kotturpuram was as bad as any other compound wall in the city, till a few months ago. The wall was filled with political posters, making it an eyesore.   Some time last year, three 10th grade students - Ritvik Roy, Siddharth Kumar and Sai Muthuraman thought their school compound wall urgently needed a facelift. In the words of Ritvik, he and his friends were fed up with political posters all over and they wanted to replace it with something meaningful. Thus an idea took shape in the mind of…

For most people, a college campus is a place where you go through very routine activities of study and research. However, when I entered the IIT Madras campus, I was awestruck at the flora and fauna that greeted me. I learnt in the days post admission that the campus was located in the grounds of a national park which meant that I would get to see even some endangered species. This motivated me to photograph all that I could and share it with people I knew. What started off as a pastime quickly turned into my passion, especially as I…

The Corporation of Greater Chennai falls back on certain repeat activities whenever it finds time hanging heavy on its hands. One is the beautification of the Marina and the other is the renaming of roads that commemorate the colonial masters. The latest to suffer from this are Montieth and Fraser’s Bridge Roads, which are to now become Red Cross and Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission Roads respectively. William Montieth entered the Madras Engineers in 1809, became Lt Col in 1826 and Lt Gen in 1854. Fraser’s Bridge gets its name from John Fraser who designed the municipal waterworks. Not undistinguished…