Civic

Private sewage tankers go on mass strike Nearly 350 private sewage lorries in South Chennai went on an indefinite strike early this week to protest against the hike in rates for discharge of sewage loads at Perungudi treatment plant. Chennai Metrowater has recently hiked charges from Rs 100 to Rs 250 for sewage disposal at its Perungudi sewage treatment plant.  The plant is the sole point of discharge for these tankers, which collect sewage from hotels, multi-storeyed apartment complexes and households from Tambaram, Guduvancherry, Medavakkam, Jaladarampet and along the OMR and ECR stretches. The Perungudi treatment plant receives nearly 208 sewage…

NGT fines the State National Green Tribunal has slapped a fine of Rs 50 crores on the State government for failing to protect Bellandur and Varthur lakes, and has asked that Rs 500 crores be kept aside in an Escrow Account for cleaning up Bellandur lake. The tribunal has formed a committee, headed by Justice Santosh Hegde, to oversee the action plan. The Tribunal also directed that the recommendations made by the Panjwani Committee in its report (dated May 31, 2018) be carried out to ensure that no pollutant is discharged into the lakes and nalas. Source: Bangalore Mirror People…

Despite court orders and civilian protests, the Ward Committees (WCs) were not allowed to function in Karnataka for a long time. Finally, in a weak beginning, a few wards held WC meetings on 1st December, 2018. There are many systemic issues that would not let the WCs function effectively, or bring good governance in the city administration. The following issues need to be addressed as soon as possible: 1)  The WC members do not truly represent the public in the ward: According to 74th amendment, the ward committee members are supposed to be chosen by the Area Sabhas.Thus each WC…

Silicon Plateau Volume 2 is a collection of essays where contributors responded to the question: what does it mean to be an app user today—as a worker, a client, or simply an observer? Stories about contemporary life in Bengaluru, of conversations spoken and typed, of deliberations and connections, through a simple a tap on our mobile devices find a place in this book.  This is edited by curator Marialaura Ghidini and artist Tara Kelton, and published by the Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru. Below is an edited excerpt from the book, from the chapter written by Nicole Rigillo, a…

A worn out broom, an aluminium basket and a pair of gloves form the work kit of C Thenmozhi (name changed), a sanitation worker on Pantheon Road, Egmore. The state of her equipment speaks volumes about her challenges, as she toils on the littered, congested roads of Chennai. On this particular Wednesday night (Nov 28th), the swooshing of her broom is particularly dull and slow, and lacks its usual enthusiasm. “I don’t know if I will even have this job next month,” says Thenmozhi, one of the 8,246 contract sanitation workers in Chennai, assigned the task of keeping the city roads…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities A layer of dust covers every conceivable surface in houses in Samy Nagar in Tirusulam. The vehicles parked on the road have a thin film of grey over them. The drums used to store water have to be shut with heavy lids to prevent the dust from coming in. The curtains in the houses are always drawn tight, so as not to leave any room for passage of dust. But that blocks out the light too. The residents, particularly the women, are constantly dusting and cleaning their…

421 families displaced from Chintadripet Around 421 families living in Navalar Nedunchezhian Nagar along the Cooum river in Chintadripet were evacuated with the help of the police. The evacuation drive that is likely to continue till the end of this week is part of the Cooum river eco-restoration project. Residents of the settlement are worried about their children's education with just a few weeks left for the half yearly examination. Meanwhile, a resident of the area has moved the Madras High Court to restrain authorities from evacuation without providing alternative accommodation. Over 7,500 families living along the river have been…

Farmers march to Parliament with demands Around 35,000 farmers from all parts of the nation undertook a two-day march, the Kisan Mukti March, in the capital to highlight agrarian distress in the country and reiterate their demands. The farmers came from all parts of the country and united in protest against the inaction of the government in response to difficulties faced by them. Around 200 farmers unions and cooperatives participated in the march. The farmers camped overnight at Ram Lila Maidan before marching towards Parliament street. They were stopped by the Delhi Police a short distance from the Parliament. This…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities Chennai’s air pollution scene has progressed from moderate to poor, but despite the alarming data from the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) and private agencies, the focus on dust pollution, that has a strong connection with poor air quality, takes a back seat in the city.  According to a study conducted by Urban Emissions, dust contributes to 23% of the PM2.5 levels (particles with diameters of 2.5 micrometres or less) in Chennai. The study was conducted to represent the mix of pollutants in Chennai’s air, using…

Let us make it quite clear at the outset – we are delighted that the city has a metro rail service in operation, albeit a mere fraction of what ought to have been running by now. Those who use the facility profess to be quite happy with it – it saves time, the stations are clean and Chennai Metro Rail Limited has also organised some kind of last-mile connectivity by pressing into service local auto-rickshaws and taxicabs. But what is of worry, apart from the high fares, is the shoddy workmanship of the stations and the numerous technical glitches that…