Civic

History says that the origins of the city of Madras lie in the north. But, for various reasons, North Chennai has remained one of the least developed regions in the city. Unmilled roads, lack of sewer connections and traffic congestion are among the many basic issues that plague the northern parts of the city.  “The problems faced in the city as a whole is generally aggravated in North Chennai. But there has been steady development,” said P Akash, IAS, Regional Deputy Commissioner (North) Chennai Corporation, in an exclusive interview with Citizen Matters Chennai.  Excerpts from the interview: What are the…

Corporation raids commercial units for plastic usage The corporation has seized over 11.6 tonnes of plastic bags, primarily from shops in Alandur, Adyar, Valasaravakkam and Kodambakkam. The civic body also collected ₹19.45 lakh as fine from the violators of the ban, in the 15 zones of the city. Raids were conducted in various locations, covering 20,423 commercial establishments. The civic body seized 72.76 tonnes of banned plastic from commercial units during the period from January 1 2019 to January 22 2020. Source: The Hindu Corporation to levy fee for garbage collection Residents, commercial establishments and event companies will have to…

KRDCL may axe thousands of trees The KRDCL (Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited) may soon axe 8,561 old, mature trees in the city outskirts. The trees are to be cut for widening six roads: the 20-km stretch from Hoskote/Budigere Cross to airport (1,758 trees), 15-km stretch from Nelamangala to  Madhure (869 trees), 23-km stretch from Madhure to Devanahalli road (1,593 trees), 33-km stretch from Bidadi to Jigani (184 trees), Bannerghatta to Anekal (520 trees), and the 39-km stretch from Anekal to Hoskote (3,637 trees). An expert committee set up to examine applications for tree felling said early this week, that…

Traffic diversions announced for Republic Day rehearsals Chennai traffic police have released a directive with the details of traffic diversion on certain routes between January 20th-23rd and on the 26th. Vehicular movement will be completely prohibited from Santhome church to the War Memorial on Kamarajar Salai from 6 am to 10 pm on all the above four days. Besides the change in the bus routes plying on these routes, the bus stand at Anna Square will be temporarily shifted near Walajah road guest house. Source: The News Minute Three bridges in North Chennai to be retrofitted Plans are underway to…

Double property tax for building law violation Double the property tax will now be applicable to buildings constructed in violation of bylaws. State cabinet has approved an amendment to the Karnataka Municipalities Act to affect the change. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said the tax doubling would apply only to the portion of the built-up area that violates bylaws. BBMP will be able to levy the additional tax as soon as a notification is issued in tune with the cabinet's decision. However, the double property tax does not absolve violators, Madhuswamy clarified; they would have to pay…

Chennai gets AC buses again After nearly a gap of one and a half years, MTC has re-introduced AC buses in the city again. The AC buses have been launched on two routes: Dr MGR Bus Terminus in Koyambedu to Siruseri via Velachery and Thiruvanmiyur to Tambaram. The minimum ticket price has been fixed at ₹15 and the maximum is ₹60 till Siruseri. The MTC further plans to add five more routes. Source: The Hindu Chennai ranks third highest in the no. of murders in metros Chennai has seen a consistent rise in the number of murders according to the…

Activists protest 'film city' plan at Hesaraghatta As the BJP government is reviving the proposal to set up a film city, apparently at Hesaraghatta, environmental activists are getting ready for a fight. One section of activists has written to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, asking him to drop the 345-acre grassland as a possible location for a film city as it would create a biosecurity threat to animal farms nearby. Environmentalists explained that the Hesaraghatta lakebed area, and grasslands in the nearby catchment, are an important reservoir of biodiversity. It could act as a large carbon sink, a powerful tool to…

Today’s nationwide strike comes in the midst of a stream of ongoing protests in the city and has found many convergences. In particular, the workers’ strike has received widespread support from student and civil society organisations protesting against the CAA-NRC and the violence in JNU, AMU and Jamia Islamia.“Around 20 lakh workers in different sectors are expected to be on strike in Bengaluru,” said K N Umesh, Karnataka State Secretary of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). Workers at major industrial clusters in the city, like Anekal, Kanakapura Road, Bannerghatta Road, Mysore Road (Garment Factories), Ramanagaram District, Magadi Road, Tumkur…

Evictions near the Cooum in Triplicane Around 3000 families along the banks of the Cooum river near Triplicane were evicted forcibly by the Chennai police and slum clearance authorities on December 30th. The eviction drive is part of the river restoration project. The families residing in Gandhi Nagar, Sathyamoorthy Nagar and Indira Nagar were evicted without notice, prompting protests from the residents. The residents lamented that the move would leave many without homes and would affect the continued education of many of the school and college-going children. The settlements that have been evicted have seen residents living there for nearly…

Mittiganahalli landfill to be delayed The Urban Development Department (UDD) turned down a bidder chosen by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) for setting up a scientific landfill at Mittiganahalli near Hennur, and asked BBMP to initiate a fresh tender process. BBMP had hoped to dump waste in the Mittiganahalli landfill since the landfills at Bagalur and Bellahalli quarries had already been overflowing. But UDD rejected the bidder on grounds that he was not technically qualified, having had prior experience only as a sub-contractor and not as primary contractor. Garbage management in the city is likely to be hit since…