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It was just in January that a Government Order was issued for the construction of three new flyovers for the city at a cost of Rs. 335 crores. Now, Chennai’s new mayor Ms. Priya Rajan has signalled the administration’s intent to focus on a new batch of flyover projects as part of a roster of key civic solutions. Flyovers are touted to be essential infrastructure to decongest traffic snarls, but whether the benefits are commensurate with the steep price tags is a matter of some debate. Flyovers did not add much extra capacity A 2016 piece in The Hindu states…

While COVID-19 virtually shut down bus systems around the world, Chennai started losing its appetite for bus travel even earlier. The share of bus trips in total travel had started dropping before the pandemic, with a marked shift to two-wheelers. The pandemic made things worse. Bus services were off for 8 days in 2019-2020, 141 days in 2020-2021 and 42 – 56 days in 2021-2022. Now, shooting fuel prices and a waning fear of the virus present an opportunity to win back passengers to MTC buses, which can save them petrol money and fund purchase of other goods and services.…

A new Mayor and Council are in place at Ripon Buildings. And in keeping with that there is plenty of hope. The Worshipful Mayor, in keeping with the ideology of her party, has resurrected the Singara Chennai slogan. A new plan had earlier been unveiled by the Chief Minister under the name Singara Chennai 2.0. There is no doubt that the Mayor and Council will focus on making that vision a reality, given that she is from the same political party. And there is no doubt the opposition will protest, chiefly because it is the ruling party’s idea. The interests…

The children used to come every evening after school, armed with cricket bats and balls, badminton racquets and footballs. They would descend upon the Chennai Corporation playground at RA Puram in droves, challenging one another to earnest matches. Anyone driving past on RK Mutt road or Brodies Castle road could see the children at play, occasionally catching thrilling glimpses of solemn contests, joyous victory, or bitter defeat. The kids have all but disappeared today, for CMRL has taken over the playground to undertake work relating to Phase 2 Corridor 3 of the metro expansion plans. The walking tracks in Panagal Park,…

Translated by Sandhya Raju Bustling all day, this city is similar to a baby that actively plays around all day, finishing tired, having to be tidied up only to go about the same routine all over again. The role of conservancy workers in keeping our city streets clean deserves plaudits. The service that they have been providing especially during the pandemic as frontline workers is commendable! But how many of us really take time to acknowledge and appreciate the indispensable work that they do for us every day? The purpose of this article is to shed light on the ethical…

இந்த நகரம், சுறு சுறுப்பாக இயங்கி கொண்டு இருக்கும் ஒரு குழந்தை! தினமும் இது ஓடி, ஆடி, விளையாடி  களைத்து வரும்! மீண்டும் காலையில் இதை புதிப்பித்து, அழகுசேர்த்து , சீர்படுத்தி  பள்ளி செல்லும் பிள்ளை போல அழகாக மாற்றுவது  தூய்மை பணியாளர்களே!  நமது பகுதிகளை சுத்தமாக வைத்துக்கொள்ள தூய்மை பணியாளர்கள் வகிக்கும் பங்கு என்பது ஒரு மகத்தான போற்றுதலுக்குரிய பெரும் பங்கு, அவர்கள் மிகவும் பாராட்டுதலுக்குரியவர்கள். குறிப்பாக இந்த கொரோனா காலகட்டத்தில் முன்கள  பணியாளர்களாக அவர்கள் செய்த, செய்து கொண்டு இருக்கின்ற சேவை, மிகவும் போற்றத்தக்கது! ஆனால் நம்மில் எத்தனைபேர் அவர்களை, அவர்களின் இன்றியமையாத பணியை, அங்கீகரிக்கிறோம்? திருக்குறள்:  ஒழுக்கத்து நீத்தார் பெருமை விழுப்பத்து வேண்டும் பனுவல் துணிவு.  மு.வரதராசன் விளக்கம்: ஒழுக்கத்தில் நிலைத்து நின்று பற்று விட்டவர்களின் பெருமையைச் சிறந்ததாக போற்றி கூறுவதே நூல்களின் துணிவாகும். சஞ்சீவி குமார், மேரி, எடிசன், பழனியம்மாள் ஆகிய  தூய்மை பணியாளர்களின் நேர்மையை போற்றி கூறுவதே இந்த கட்டுரையின் சிறப்பாகும். சமீபத்தில் சென்னை, புழலில் உள்ள தனியார் நிறுவனத்தில் தூய்மை…

“Sun’s out, snakes out!” exclaimed Shuayb Ahmed, and Yatin Kalki as they jumped to action. Ahmed, an independent snake rescuer, had received a frantic call from a woman who spotted a snake – claimed to be a juvenile spectacled cobra – in her house in Bengaluru. The team quickly geared up for the ‘rescue’ – an empty pillow case, a snake hook, a hollow pipe, and a flashlight. “Timeliness is key,” Ahmed said, as he hurried to the vehicle. On reaching the house, Kalki went about locating the snake, while Ahmed checked for access points from where the snake possibly…

Let’s face it – our city ­administration has done a magnificent job over the last two years trying to keep the pandemic within control. We have emerged better than some other metropolises though that does not mean we have been exemplary. But yes, we can commend our performance. Which is why, in the light of all this, we did seem to detect something of a flap in the last two weeks before matters righted themselves once more. Of course, with numbers continuing to rise we need to watch the ground situation more closely. And in that, perhaps we can avoid…

It had been raining in Chennai since the beginning of November 2021, which culminated in a heavy spell on November 7th, when the city recorded over 200 mm of rain. The news of a cyclone hovering over the Andaman and Nicobar islands pushed the panic buttons of the otherwise pragmatic Chennai residents and the social media pages of weather bloggers were full of queries on flooding. The distress of the residents was justified, as Chennai is only 6.7 metres above sea level and more often than not, large areas of the city are quickly flooded after a shower. Memories of the…

“Lakes are like the organs and rajakaluve, or the storm water drains that connect them, are like nerves. Organs will not survive without the nerves,” says Captain Santhosh Kumar, an army veteran who has been volunteering towards identifying and restoring storm water drains and lakes of Bengaluru. Read more: 50% stormwater drains lost: Bengaluru’s flooding is no surprise It all started when Kumar, a military intelligence officer hung up his boots and returned to his native village Anekal in Bengaluru urban district, in 2008. He was shocked when he saw the villagers struggle for water while the water mafia pumped the…