Civic

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…

Cyclone Fani unlikely to bring heavy rains to Chennai The depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm that is about 880 kms from Chennai according to the IMD.  Named Cyclone Fani, it is expected to make landfall in Odisha, bypassing Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The IMD forecast squally winds with speeds over 50-60  kmph between April 27 and 30 in the regions along the east coast, with fishermen warned not to venture into the seas which are expected to be rough. Though Cyclone Fani might bring little respite from the heat, it may…

Namma Bengaluru Awards Trust hosted its flagship event – ‘The 10th Edition of Namma Bengaluru Awards’ (NBA) in Bengaluru today. The awards, which aim to honour the ‘real heroes’ of Bengaluru, recognised six extraordinary Bengalureans for their exemplary contribution towards making the city a better place. Namma Bengaluru Awards was launched in 2009, by the initiative of MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar. In this award system, the citizens of Bengaluru themselves identify and nominate their heroes. Following nominations, an eminent jury of Bengalureans shortlist candidates after a series of meetings, which include interviews of nominated individuals, before deciding the final recipient of…