Civic

The real heroes of the 2015 Chennai floods: A volunteer reflects It’s been a little over six months since Chennai found itself in the grip of ravaging floods that wreaked havoc in the urban landscape and devastated its people. But it was again the people who helped the city get back on its feet and tales of heroic volunteerism during those days of crisis abound. Selva Ganapathy, one such volunteer from AID India, recently accepted the CNN-News 18 “Indian of the Year 2015” award on behalf of the ‘People of Chennai’ for their public service during the city floods. Here,…

I needed that drink after just an hour out in the sun on Saturday morning near the Puttenahalli Lake, at Nataraj Layout in JP Nagar. More labour under what looked like a deceptively dull sky that morning and it quietly saps you. At that point, all resolutions incinerate instantly and the body rejects what appears like salad, fresh though it may be. Instead, the body wants to chill on a mat, or even better, on a seat with liquid much stronger. And voila! Nothing like the kind consideration of my fellow nationals in the thoughtful accompaniment of the glass with…

This is the Akshayanagara Lake. Less than three years ago, it was a nothing but a patch of land with overgrown weeds and sewage as seen below.  The transformation is the work of a group of enthusiastic residents of the layout led by Ramesh Kumar who have toiled to restore the lake to its present form. In 2009, one side of the lake bund was strengthened and fenced, most of the sewage was blocked, and the entire lake was cleaned up at a huge cost running into lakhs. The cost was borne by the residents along with the local MLA.…

June 5th is just around the corner — it’s that time of the year when you hear the word ‘environment’ often. The World Environment Day (WED) is here again. While the environment activists and citizens are ready to commemorate the environment day by planting saplings, cleaning the neighbourhood and by organising awareness programmes, let’s be aware that this year’s environment day is dedicated to the vulnerable wildlife population. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has designated WED 2016 as a fight against illegal trade in wildlife. Therefore, the 2016 WED theme is “Go Wild for Life - Zero tolerance for…

Nandi Hillathon is the first of its kind marathon and walkathon bring organised in the picturesque locale of Nandi Hills. It is a unique marathon where the entire proceeds collected from the marathon and walkathon will be used to help in the restoration of Nandi Hills and also support causes in select neigbourhoods. This is an annual city-wide fundraiser event which will be anchored by United Way to encourage associations like RWAs, running and cucling groups, lake groups, NGOs, to raise resources for their respective neighbourhoods. You must participate in Nandi Hillathon for two reasons A unique opportunity to help…

In some Apartment Complexes, it is a practice to charge two different rates of Monthly Maintenance Charges (MMC). While the owners residing in the society are charged a certain basic rate, the owners of the tenanted apartments are charged an extra amount. This additional amount is referred to as Non Occupancy Charges (NOC) - not to be confused with No Objection Certificate. They are also interchangeably called as Tenancy Charges or Tenancy Differential.   This practice is usually the cause of acrimonious relations between the Management Association and the owners who have rented out their property. The situation remains controllable…

Nearly 200 citizens from Nandini Layout ward got together on May 23rd to participate in the KillBill campaign. The drive was organised by B.CLIP’s Civic Hub leader Jayalakshmi K to get rid of the illegal flex boards, posters and banners that were creating ‘visual pollution’ in the surroundings. This was conducted jointly with the Clean Nandini Layout, Beautiful Nandini Layout campaign run by the corporator, KV Rajendra Kumar. Residents peel posters that are defacing the ward. Pic: B.PAC Participants expressed their support towards the well-being of the ward and agreed to spread a clear message that people’s active participation is…

House documents in order? Do you have your occupancy certificate in order? This is an important document to have BEFORE you occupy your new dwelling and one that the builder is supposed to get and often doesn't. Problem is that you wont get a Khata without this. Read on to understand the requirements given by BBMP and be sure to get your OC. Power of standing together It was a big day for Kundanahalli Lake recently as BBMP brought down encroachments. This came after repeated efforts by residents who are on a mission to restore the lake to its healthy…

So far, I have received expressions of interest from people in about 25 wards to work on local solutions for civic improvement and better governance. I'll reach out to each of you individually and see how to help you get going, but meanwhile, here is a list of things to get started with, in thinking about the local area. This is from the work of CiFoS in Sanjay Nagar (thanks, Sathya Sankaran, Subbaiah T.S. and others). Later this week, we'll organise a small workshop for the first few wards to begin to replicate this work in other areas. Meanwhile, if…

Here is a quick guide to all that you might want to know as you prepare to cast your vote. Find your constituency details and information on candidates: 11    Dr.Radhakrishnan Nagar Incumbent: J Jayalalithaa, AIADMK » Candidates: J Jayalalithaa, AIADMK M N Raja, BJP Shimla Muthuchozhan, DMK Agnes F, PMK Vasanthi Devi, VCK More info » 20 Thousand Lights Incumbent: B. Valarmathi, AIADMK » Candidates: B Valarmathi AIADMK Selvam Ku Ka DMK Shivalingam M BJP Ambigapathy C MDMK Rangan V PMK More info » 12 Perambur Incumbent: SoundaraRajan. A, CPI M » Candidates: A SoundaraRajan, CPI-M P Vetrivel AIADMK R Prakash BJP N R Dhanapalan DMK M Venkatesa Perumal PMK More…