LOCAL

It was in April 2018  that a bunch of enthusiasts banded together to make an increasingly chaotic Adyar, a more livable place. This led to a programme called 'Azhagiya Adyar' conducted last year at the KNRA Hall in collaboration with the Namma Ooru Foundation (NOF). The event was a big success and it encouraged the bunch to take the movement to higher levels.  It was around the same time that the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) announced plans to implement source segregation of waste, door-to-door collection and proper disposal by GCC of such segregated waste through composting, bio-methanation, recycling etc. We sensed…

Chennai had a severely deficient monsoon in 2018 with 40% less rain than normal. Since then, the city has been bracing itself for a water crisis. But clearly not enough had been done and the severe water scarcity this summer has been a wake-up call for people, highlighting the urgency of finding ways to use their water resources better. Though rainwater harvesting was made mandatory in 2003 when the city experienced similar drought like conditions, the idea has been poorly implemented across the city. With the recent water crisis, the focus has shifted to efforts that the citizens can undertake…

It was not the first time, nor the last, but at 5.30 am on July 16th, around an hour after Metro services resumed, Vadapalani Station had no security officials to guard the baggage scanners or frisk commuters. Commuters who patiently followed rules by waiting at the baggage scanner were met with yells of the staff belonging to the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL). “Just collect your baggage and move,” shouted two staff members, pointing at the unmanned scanners and standing on the other side of the automated gates.  On July 18th, around 7 am, St Thomas Mount station saw a…

For the last three years, citizens plying on Medavakkam road are waiting for the Medavakkam-Koot road flyover to be ready so that their daily woes come to an end. This 4-km stretch has been in complete shambles, thanks to the ever-ongoing flyover construction that started in 2016, but the completion of which does not seem remotely imminent. Medavakkam road connects Tambaram with Pallikaranai and is also an important junction to reach the Elcot SEZ in Sholinganallur, a major hub for IT professionals in the city. This flyover will facilitate non-stop movement of vehicles between Pallikaranai and Tambaram, enabling them to…

One fine morning around mid-March, we, the residents of ST Bed Layout in Koramangala, suddenly found the Maharaja Junction bridge, our main link to the outside world, demolished. On asking around, we were given all kinds of reasons, none of which seemed to justify the demolition. The bridge, which covered a major storm water drain (SWD)/rajakaluve, used to be in good condition. However, we were told that a new bridge was being built, and that it would be completed in around 45 days. We saw a lot of construction activity around the area, and hoped that BBMP would complete the…

C Akhila(name changed), a 12-year-old Muslim girl was forced into marriage by her family, six months ago. Her mother, who is going through a prolonged illness, persuaded her to get married to a 24-year-old man. The persuasion got violent when Akhila asked the groom to call off the wedding. “The girl threatened to complain to Childline if the wedding was not called off. Her family had hit her black and blue for doing so,” said Suganthi from Arunodhaya trust. If you think child marriages are confined to rural areas, Akhila’s incident that happened in Chennai proves you are wrong. Tales…

Cyclone Fani has had a sizzling impact on Chennai. Temperatures are hovering around 40 degrees Celsius in the city, a departure of four degrees from the normal. On May 3rd, Chennai Airport recorded the hottest day of the year touching 42.5°C. There seems to be no respite for Chennai, as weather experts predict no fall in temperatures.  “Heatwave in Chennai will continue for the next two to three days. Cyclone Fani has changed the wind direction from east to west, the reason why the sea breeze is not being set early,” said Srikanth K, who blogs at Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikkalam.…

Chennai South Parliamentary constituency comprises six assembly constituencies: Mylapore, Saidapet, Virugambakkam, Velachery, Sholinganallur and Theagaraya Nagar. It is a diverse constituency, with many contrasts: it has high-profile localities such as Sholinganallur, the IT hub of the state and lower socio-economic localities such as Nochikuppam in Mylapore assembly constituency. A total of 40 candidates are contesting from various political parties and as independents from Chennai South. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has rejected 27 applications for the constituency, while two of them withdrew after filing the nominations. According to the ECI website, the constituency has a total of 19,73315 voters:…

Pushing a green-coloured tricycle in the blazing humid sun, Raju (name changed), a conservancy worker, blows the whistle at Prashanti Colony of Madambakkam. The high pitched sound is an alarm for the residents to wake up from their afternoon nap and bring their waste out to the tricycle. Men and women rush out of their houses, with at least four bags of rotten waste each and start screaming at the worker. “You haven’t showed up in four days. There are no bins in the locality. What do you expect me to do with the waste,” screams one lady. What this…

Accessible through one of the four apartments that surrounds it, Lower Ambalipura lake is a thing of beauty. A short stroll around the lake shows what it has to offer - herbs, fruit-bearing trees, a grassy wetland and the sight of birds inhabiting the island. It is quiet, save for the calls of the birds, and the wind rustling through the leaves of plants that line the walkway. Lower Ambalipura lake is a seven-acre lake in Haralur, surrounded by four apartments- Mantri Flora, Trinity Acres and Woods, SJR Redwood and SJR Park Vista. It is maintained by MAPSAS (Mahadevpura Parisara…