URBAN PLANNING

Reports about a third desalination plant, with a capacity of 550 million litres a day (MLD), have raised hopes among Chennaites. Convinced that their water woes can be successfully addressed with advanced technology, citizens welcome the state government’s proposal of the plant that would make sea water potable. But, are desalination plants really the solution we need? Environmentalists are often deeply critical of pollution caused by desalination plants. But, even if we put aside the concerns around environmental damage  for the present discussion, desalination plants themselves do not appear to be economically viable for the city. An extravagant affair The…

"Fire safety plan should be made part of the city plan," emphasised Dr. A Ravindra, former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, while delivering the Beyond Carlton Memorial Lecture ' Our cities on Fire'. The lecture which was held on the 23rd of February at the Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services Headquarters, marked nine years since fire broke out at Carlton towers on Old Airport Road, claiming nine lives. The event saw the launch of the Campaign -  Fire Risk Assessments for Apartments. The campaign is a collaboration between Beyond Carlton, Bengaluru Apartments Federation (BAF), Citizen Matters, Jain University and When…

Translated by Krishna Kumar சென்னையில் கோடை காலம் இப்போது தான் ஆரம்பம், ஆனால் இப்போதுள்ள நிலைமையை பார்த்தால் கொடூரமாக இருக்கும் என்று தான் கணிக்க முடியும். சென்னையின் தேவையை பூர்த்தி செய்ய தேவையான 50% தண்ணீர் மட்டும் தான் நம்மிடம் உள்ளது.பல இடங்களில் தண்ணீர் சேவை வாரம் ஒருமுறை மட்டுமே என்று குறைக்க பட்டுள்ளது. நிலத்தடிநீர் நிலைமையோ கடந்த மூன்று வருடத்தில் குறைவாக உள்ளது மற்றும் ஏரி நீர்தேக்கங்கள் அதைவிட மோசமான நிலை. நிலத்தடி நீர் நிலைமை பொதுவாக ஏப்ரல், மே மாதங்களில் உள்ள அளவுக்கு இப்போதே தள்ளப்பட்டுள்ளது. ஜனவரி முதல் வாரத்தில் சென்னை சேர்ந்த 24 கிணறுகளில் எடுத்த கணக்கின்படி நிலத்தடி நீர் நிலை வெகுவாக குறைந்துள்ளது - மூன்று ஆண்டுகளில் இதுதான் மோசம். பெரிய மழை வரும் வாய்ப்பு குறைவு என்பதால் இந்நிலை மேலும் மோசமாகத்தான் போகும் என்று எதிர்பார்க்கலாம். குறைந்துவரும் நீர்நிலை மழை மய்யம் (The…

Bengalureans will get a chance to showcase their love for the city this Valentines Day. The Bengaluru Civic Fest organised by IChangeMyCity (an initiative of Janaagraha) along with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will be held on the 14th of February at Freedom Park from 10 am to 8 pm. The festival will be a platform where various civil society organisations and groups discuss their work, government agencies communicate their work with citizens and school children will discuss their participation with local governments. The festival will see the presence of BBMP mayor and Corporators. Sapna Kareem, coordinator, Civic Participation, Janaagraha,…

When a 93-year-old school on College Road, a cluster of shops in Purasaiwakkam and over a hundred homes that offerred new life to repatriates from Burma and Sri Lanka in Assisi Nagar were served eviction notices in July for the construction of Phase 2 of Chennai Metro, the affected came together to launch a fight to save their land from the project. Chennai Metro wanted the land for its Phase 2 which will cover 108 kms and span three corridors. The priority corridors 3 and 5, for which the land is being sought, are to see construction first and will run between Madhavaram -…

Dear H D Kumaraswamy, Do you have children or grandchildren? The reason I ask is this: What future are we really gifting them? Have you got any idea what the specialists at the United Nations Climate change, COP conventions are deliberating these days? Let me offer you a flavor: They are debating which countries will take the upcoming waves of Climate Change Refugees. ie, when Maldives goes under the sea, who will receive the wave of refugees that will flee? When Bangladesh is fully under sea, who will receive those millions? These make it look distant. But then what I…

A park unlike any other! The city is revolutionising play time for children with the Infinity Park in Santhome, Chennai's first 'inclusive' park, which was opened to the public on December 17th. The unique sensory park is a haven for children with its design lending itself to playing by touch. The park has been created to provide a space of leisure for all children, with or without any disabilities. The various elements in the park have been crafted to make it disabled-friendly and welcoming for children of all ages. The project is a partnership between the Disability Rights Alliance and…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship #PlasticsGottaGo seems to be the rallying cry in cities across India as it is globally, and for obvious reasons too. Attempts to raise awareness about the hazards of plastic waste and its disposal are on an overdrive as climate change and waste management become the key challenges faced by cities. Yet, not everyone thinks that an entirely plastic-free world will be feasible or even desirable. K Ahmed Khan, Managing Director, K.K.Plastic Waste Management Ltd asserts that that they believe in saying 'yes' to plastic but only after ensuring its eco-friendliness,…

December 2015 -- a date that Chennai is unlikely to forget in a long time to come. The ruthlessness of nature coupled with an unprepared civic administration created one of the worst floods that any city in India has ever seen. But if there was anything good about the floods and their aftermath, it was the awareness created among large sections of citizens about the need to restore and preserve the water bodies in the city. Among the many water bodies that were identified to be in need of a major makeover was the Buckingham Canal. Several discussions, research and…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities "Even though a mechanised sweeper is being used along the arterial roads of Mahadevapura Zone, the roads accumulate dust in no time, and it feels like they have not been cleaned in the first place", says Anu Govind, a volunteer with the citizen's group Whitefield Rising (WR). Dust is something we see everyday, but never think about controlling it outside our homes. A study done in 2010 titled Air Quality Monitoring, Emission Inventory and Source Appropriation Study for Indian Cities, found that road dust accounts for 20 percent…