Civic

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…

In a packed Town Hall on Sunday, 14th July, citizens conferred the Corporator #1 Awards (Namma Samiti Puraskaara) to 51 BBMP corporators. Justice Santosh Hegde, chief guest at the event, honoured the winners with a traditional Mysuru Petta. The winners were chosen based on the number of ward committee meetings held in their wards so far - that is, between last December and this June.  Corporators who had held two-third of the monthly meetings - that is, at least four - have been conferred the award. Following are the award winners: Ward No Ward Name Corporator 5 Jakkur Muneendra Kumar…

Media, political cadre and scores of citizens were present at the Villivakkam railway yard on Friday morning, as the special train from Jolarpettai, carrying 2.5 million litres of water chugged in. The fact that the water train, festooned with flowers, was welcomed by hordes of people, underlines the magnitude of water scarcity in Chennai and the desperation with which citizens are looking for solutions. The train is at the centre of focus also because this is the first time in the past 18 years that Chennai has transported water.  But how will a trainload of water quench the thirst of…

On June 29th, hundreds of JP Nagar residents took part in a peace walk from MLR Convention Centre to Nandini Junction along 24th Main road. Our walk was against the illegal commercialisation and bad traffic planning along this stretch. Over 15,000 residents live around this 1.8 km-long stretch of 24th Main road. Thousands of commuters use it as well, but they take as much as 40-45 minutes to traverse it on a regular day. The reason is the unethical commercialisation of the area, which has led to infrastructure breakdown and deterioration of the neighbourhood. As per the Revised Master Plan (RMP…

Ward committees bring democracy to your doorstep, and give you a say in the planning and management of local work. The Nagarpalika Act, 1992, a central law, made ward committees mandatory for large cities. But this was not implemented in Bengaluru for long. It took years of citizen campaigning for ward committees to be formed at all. More recently, the High Court judgement in a PIL by the NGO Environment Support Group, and public outcry, compelled the Bengaluru Mayor to issue a direction to compulsorily hold ward committee meetings on the first Saturday of every month. Following this, the BBMP…

A collective of citizen's groups, working for various causes in the city, has been trying to ensure greater citizen participation in local government. The provision for citizens' participation in urban governance is enshrined in the 74th amendment of the Constitution. The group is of the view that the necessary notifications must be brought into effect at the state-level to extend these rights to citizen in urban centres across Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, the avenue for citizens' participation is created by the Tamil Nadu Municipal Laws (Amendment) Act, 2010. This law allows citizens to raise their voice through forums such…

Private contractors roped in to maintain stormwater drains Amidst complaints against the maintenance of stormwater drains before the monsoon, Chennai Corporation is all set to privatise the maintenance work for these. The contract, expected to be implemented within a year, will see private contractors clean the drains periodically, create awareness and ensure that leaks are plugged. The Corporation Commissioner said that the contract will not only regularise cleaning but also ensure that illegalities are removed. The total length of stormwater drains in the city is 1894 km. Source: The Times of India City to get water from Jolarpet from July…

Chennai Corporation is always on a footpath laying spree, in a purported attempt to make our roads more accessible for pedestrians. One or the other arterial road gets a new footpath every year. But, it is also a reality that our footpaths, built with crores of investment, are not friendly to the end-users: they are either too narrow or riddled with tree stumps, encroached by parked and speeding two-wheelers, EB cables and whatnot. To add to the woes, the Corporation has recently started digging up relatively new, properly laid footpaths to construct a sewer line or a stormwater drain.  Scenarios…

Rain brings respite against heat, but no relief from water crunch Amid cheers on social media celebrating the arrival of scattering rains across Chennai, the city has got respite from the gruelling heat. But the wait for water continues. The bone dry lakes, temple ponds and water bodies were partially filled, but the water table in the city is yet to see a significant rise. Incidentally, residents who had taken rainwater harvesting a little seriously enjoyed the instant benefit of the rains, however light. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has forecast that the city may experience showers over the weekend. Nungambakkam…

The citizens' movement CfB (Citizens for Bengaluru) has launched the first 'Namma Samithi Puraskara' or 'Corporator No 1 Awards'. The award will honour ward councillors who have done the best work in their wards, and have engaged citizens through ward committee meetings. At a press conference yesterday, CfB announced that the awards will be presented at the Town Hall on July 14th, 10.30 am. Justice Santosh Hegde will participate in the ceremony. Corporators will be selected for the awards based on inputs from citizens themselves. You can rate your corporator at citizensforbengaluru.in. This page has a form to gather information…