Civic

Wooden cutlery, cloth and paper bags, steel containers to replace disposables. The implementation of the plastic ban is increasingly becoming visible in all quarters of life in Chennai, as traders, hoteliers and the general public are slowly taking to eco-friendly alternatives. When it comes to businesses, there have been mixed results, in terms of adherence to the ban on plastic. Big food brands such as Adyar Anand Bhavan, Fassos and The Black Box have switched to eco-friendly packaging material such as cloth bags, paper cartons and wooden spoons, while some are still to comply. The transition Close observation of the…

“Sir, only Rs 10,500/- service charge for Khata and property tax. Quick and reliable service!” said a representative of a broker firm in Akshay Nagar, Begur. The firm facilitated the issuing of Khatas for apartments, while residents of West End Heights, an apartment complex of 1,830 units, were looking to get Khatas. But they decided they had to do something about the blatant corruption in the delivery of Khatas. What followed was a tale of how a group of aware and vocal citizens fought against the system and won, and received their Khata certificates without having to pay any bribes.…

Recycling sewage, the only resort for Chennai Poor show of north-east monsoon and dry summers have become the new order in Chennai. As water scarcity turns out to be a burning problem, researchers from Anna University’s Geology department feel that recycling sewage water could be an effective and viable solution. According to ‘Predicting future water supply-demand gap with a new reservoir, desalination plant and waste water reuse by water evaluation and planning model for Chennai Mega City’ published in Elsevier’s Groundwater for Sustainable Development in October 2018, the city’s water woes can be solved by next year through recycling sewage…

Women come together for show of solidarity on Sabarimala A 35-lakh strong contingent of women formed a 620-km long wall across the state of Kerala to show solidarity with the women who defied tradition to enter the Sabarimala temple, and to demand the upholding of their constitutional right to do so as per the Supreme Court verdict in 2018. The participants of the wall pledged to uphold gender equality. The protest was organised by the Kerala government after the state saw a backlash for implementing the Supreme Court verdict that allowed the entry of all women into Sabarimala, which was previously…

Compare this. Actor Rajinikanth, who lives in Poes Garden pays Rs 2.66 per square foot as tax for his property, while N Nagarajan, a resident of Nanganallur has to pay Rs 3.685. Poes Garden, an address for the who’s who of Chennai has all facilities: wide roads, well-designed storm water drains and a comprehensive underground drainage system. On the other hand, Nanganallur in Alandur zone presents a sorry contrast. Roads are battered even after a brief spell of rain, and connectivity to arterial localities of the city appears to be a distant dream. The information gathered by Alandur residents reveal that…

With the Tamil Nadu government's partial ban on single-use plastic in place since January 1st, Citizen Matters spoke to Rajendra Ratnoo, IAS, one of the the three regional coordinators working to make the transition to a plastic-less state smooth and ensure the success of the ban. We asked him some of the questions raised most often by our readers. What happens to the existing single use plastic in possession with the people as on January 1st? The segregated collection of waste by the local body is already underway in many places. People can turn in the single use plastic they…

Here we are! The day that many naysayers said would never come. The day the Tamil Nadu government's ban on single use plastic goes into effect. With the Madras High Court rejecting a plea to stay the ban on December 27th, the first step has truly been taken. As Lao Tse famously said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Our solid waste management crisis is huge. Many issues remain to be acknowledged, leave alone addressed. Source segregation of garbage (mandatory since October 2, 2017), better door to door collection of segregated waste, forcing bulk generators…

Road user survey: Kolkata most friendly; Delhi most hostile A survey of road users on behaviour and attitude towards safety was carried out by Ford India in six metro cities and four non-metro cities. The survey covered private drivers, passengers and pedestrians across the ten cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Lucknow, Pune and Indore. The survey covered various parameters such as compliance with traffic safety laws, precautionary measures and compassion for those in need of help. While on the subject of consideration for other road users, Kolkata and Ludhiana ranked most courteous, Delhi was ranked the…

Citizens of Tamil Nadu will start the new year without plastic, thanks to the state government's decision to impose a ban on plastic. In the absence of sufficient awareness of alternatives to plastic, a sense of ambiguity prevails among  citizens and trader communities, even though it has been six months since the announcement was made.  We spoke to various stakeholders, whose livelihoods have traditionally remained linked in one way or the other to plastic, to know how they plan to cope with the ban. https://youtu.be/BisUHNQR4Z8  

2019 to begin with plastic ban The High Court has dismissed the writ petition seeking a stay on government's move to ban plastic of use and throw products. With this, the city is expected to begin the new year on an environmental friendly note. The government had banned 14 items including  plastic carry bags, plastic sheets used for food wrapping, dining table spreads, plates, plastic-coated tea cups, tumblers, water sachets, plastic straws and plastic flags, irrespective of their thickness. Justices S. Vaidyanathan and P.T. Asha observed that there should be a total ban that extends to the currently exempted products…