Civic

Waste management has been an issue that the city has grappled with unsuccessfully in the past. But that might soon change with the Chennai Corporation’s blueprint for reduction of the quantum of waste sent to landfills under a new decentralized system to be implemented city-wide in the coming six months. Corporation Commissioner G Prakash gave us an overview of the changes that can be expected: What are the ongoing efforts in wet waste management in the city? The idea is to make the system of waste management as decentralized as possible. It will reduce the quantum of waste being handled…

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.…

What if you had a say in where the public toilets in your ward are situated? Would you like to know exactly how much funds have been allocated for the creation of new civic amenities in your ward? Would you like to meet your corporator and civic authorities to put forth your grievances directly to them? This might seem like a pipe dream for the residents of Chennai (and elsewhere in Tamil Nadu) but a coalition of citizens' groups such as Voice of People, Satta Panchayat Iyakkam, Arappor Iyakkam, Thozhan, Makkal Paadhai and Thannatchi have come together to explore the…

Thirst for water rises as storage levels are near empty As the much-expected relief to the impending water crisis through Cyclone Fani failed, the city is back to battling with acute water crisis. The storage in the four reservoirs has already hit rock bottom and is expected to last only for the next 15 days. Metro water has now started tapping the agricultural wells on the city outskirts to meet the demand. This apart, Metro water has also started other measures like erection of new borewells, additional filling points and extending the operation of tanker lorries. In addition to new…

The Kundanahalli junction is "the" gateway for lakhs of commuters going in and out of Whitefield. People from across the city come in for work in the area as this is a tech hub while school children traverse in their buses to head to the multitude of schools in the Whitefield/Varthur area. Across Bangalore and in fact outside too, people know how bad the traffic is this side of town. We have therefore engaged in the Traffic warden program for years to contribute our time and effort to help manage the traffic. An underpass was to come at the junction 5…

Fani ravages Odisha towns and cities, goes soft on Bengal Cities in the east coast braced themselves for heavy rainfall and winds as severe cyclonic storm Fani was to cross Odisha and West Bengal. Bhubaneswar went into lockdown with the cancellation of flights and train services as well as suspension of road transport as the storm battered the city. The category 4 cyclone made landfall on May 3 at the seaside town of Puri and left a trail of destruction in the district. Bhubaneshwar airport too sustained damages to key equipment. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences building also…

  BWSSB water supply hits peak limit of 1453 MLD Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) reveals that it has been supplying water at the peak limit of 1453 MLD (Million Litres per Day) since March. The city's consumption has reached an all-time high with the advancing summer and the depleting groundwater levels. The Board says it cannot supply more water even if the demand shoots up. The supply will be within the limit of 1453 MLD until the Cauvery Phase V project is completed in 2023. This is the first time that the city's supply has hit the…

Meghala Kumari is a software engineer working in Chennai. But this is not what her life was always like. As a child in a poor family, she had to work part time to support her education even as a minor. All through her early years, she was completely ignorant about anything called a community certificate, a document that could have made things easy for her. "If I had my community certificate, I could have availed the concession in the annual fees, besides getting other benefits such as free school bag and uniform," says Meghala, who got the certificate only during…

Translated by KJ Krishna Kumar 2016-17 நிதி ஆண்டு அறிக்கையின் படி "டாஸ்மாக்" அரசு மது விற்பனை நிறுவனத்தின் மொத்த வரவு : 31,247 கோடி , நிகர லாபம் 25.23 கோடி ஆகும். இது 2016 டிசம்பர் உச்ச நீதி மன்றம் 220 மீட்டர் அருகாமையில் உள்ள மதுபான கடைகளை இடமாற்றம் செய்ய இட்ட ஆணையின் படி 3321 டாஸ்மாக் கடைகளை தற்காலிகமாக மூடியதினால் வந்த இழப்பையும் தாண்டி. மது விற்பனையால் அரசுக்கு கொழுத்த லாபம் வந்த நேரத்திலும், மதுவால் பாதிக்கப் பட்டோர்களுக்கு திருத்தம் செய்ய என்ன செய்திருக்கிறது / போதுமான அளவு ஏற்பாடுகள் செய்திருக்கிறதா? சமூகநீதி மற்றும் தன்மேம்பாடு அமைச்சகம் நியமித்து AIIMS'சின் தேசிய போதைப்பொருள் மறுசீரமைப்பு மையம் செய்த ஆய்வின்படி மதுவினால் வரும் பிரச்சனைகளில் முதன்மை மாநிலமாக உள்ளது தமிழ்நாடு போதையடிமை மறுசீரமைப்பு மையங்கள் எல்லாம் ஒரு அரசு மருத்துவமனையோடோ, பொதுநல மையங்களோடோ இணைக்கப்பட்டு இருப்பதால்,…

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his campaign speech in Aligarh on April 14th, invoked three main development indicators, "bijli...kanoon vyavastha...sadak” (electricity, law and order and roads)**." Development or "vikas" has been one of two constants in his campaign; the other being "karobaar " or business. In his Aligarh speech, he specifically mentioned how this election was a fight to get "nyay" not only for youth, women and farmers but also for "chote karobaari" or small business owners. Yet, in Aligarh, vikas and chote karobaari clashed head on when shops belonging to small business owners were demolished to widen roads as…