Civic

Residents of OMR have written to the Chief Minister calling for the removal of the toll gate at Navalur. Citing a promise made by the DMK prior to the elections, residents demand that the toll gate, which is close to the limits of the Greater Chennai Corporation be shut down with immediate effect. The residents, through the umbrella body FOMRRA (Federation of OMR Resident Associations), have made an appeal to this effect. The residents state that while four out of five toll gates have been shut down, the one at Navalur remains functional. FOMRRA has also requested the support of other…

Strange as it may seem, the bustling traffic on Arcot Road, a State Highway feeding into Porur, has been redirected since May 6 via densely populated residential neighbourhoods in Kodambakkam and K.K. Nagar, among other places, to facilitate work on the 118 km Phase II of the Chennai Metro. Everyone is reconciled to this two or three-year upheaval as unavoidable pain to construct mass mobility infrastructure. As Chennai Metro says, it is ‘inconvenience today for a better tomorrow’. The story is no different in parts of T. Nagar, Mylapore, and Alwarpet, although the traffic there is not at highway scale,…

GCC takes measures to improve air quality in Chennai In a bid to improve the air quality in Chennai, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has planned to implement civic infrastructure projects. As part of it, projects like door-to-door clearance of garbage, bio-mining, non-motorised transport infrastructure, mechanisation of road sweeping and conversion of ten wood fire gasifier crematoriums to LPG crematoriums are to be implemented. While some of these projects have already been launched, proposals are to be sent for the rest of the projects. Meanwhile, officials from the Central Pollution Control Board are assessing the progress of projects to improve…

Bandra-Versova sea link will be named after Swatantrya Veer Savarkar: Eknath Shinde On May 28th Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that the under construction Bandra-Versova sea link will be named after Swatantrya Veer Savarkar. The CM returned from Delhi where he attended the new Parliament inauguration and 140th birth anniversary of freedom fighter Veer Savarkar at the Maharashtra Sadan. Shinde said, “On the occasion of the birth anniversary of Savarkar, which will now be celebrated as a Swatantrya Veer Gaurav Divas, our government has taken a decision to name Bandra Versova Sea Link as Swatantrya Veer Savarkar Samudra Setu…

May 2023 wettest since 1957: IMD The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on May 30th issued a yellow alert for Bengaluru and 10 other districts. There might be a temporary disruption of electricity in some areas, minor traffic snarls, and uprooting of trees and branches. May, this year, was the wettest for the city in recorded history, with nearly 30.1 cms of rainfall, breaking a 66-year record of 28 cms, set in May 1957. Every year since 2015, the May rainfall hovered above the mean monthly total of 128.7 mms. However, the pre-monsoon showers has brought more threatening potholes on the…

Kodambakkam’s bustling food scene and shopping are experiences enjoyed by visitors. But long-time residents of the area have found that this has led to an increase in encroachments, affecting our quality of life. Since a large part of the locality has turned mixed-use, with commercial establishments coexisting with residences, encroachments have become a common issue in the area. Residents have banded together to raise the matter with the Greater Chennai Corporation to make the locality more livable and navigable. But the many years of working on this issue have shown that with a lack of proper will on the part…

As Ramanan S tears down a political wall poster from the compound wall of his house in Chennai’s Tiruvottriyur he frustratedly says, “This has turned to a huge menace now. It is clearly written here not to paste posters and I wonder why people keep doing this.” He has had to remove wall posters despite painting his wall with a ‘stick no bills’ sign, He points out that the number of posters from the ruling party has increased over time that the party cadres in the locality not only stick them on the public walls but also stick them on…

Imagine working hard, saving up all your life and finally, investing all of your life savings on your dream home, only to be cheated on and deprived of that dream. This nightmare has become a reality for homebuyers in over 30 Nirmal Lifestyle Housing Projects in Mulund. The Mumbai police arrested Dharmesh Jain and Rajiv Jain, directors of Nirmal, a few weeks ago for cheating homebuyers. The firm went into insolvency in 2022 after failing to repay crores of debt. What is the case against Nirmal Lifestyle Ltd.? The authorities arrested the two accused on charges of allegedly duping 34…

New health and wellness centres to be launched in Chennai Around 140 health and wellness centres will be opened in different zones of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) in June. They will function from 8 am to 12 pm and from 4 pm to 8 pm. According to the officials of the civic body, the urban primary health centres will be linked to the health and wellness centres in Chennai. Prior to the opening of the centres, 140 staff nurses, 140 medical officers, 140 health inspectors and 140 support staff have been appointed. GCC hopes to see a footfall of…

Mumbai's slum residents will be able to buy a house for Rs 2.5 lakh The Maharashtra government will provide housing to slum dwellers residing in Mumbai who live in hutments built before January 1, 2011. They will be charged a sum of Rs 2.5 lakh in return. A government resolution (GR) regarding this was issued on May 25th. According to the existing laws, individuals residing in slums built until January 1, 2000, are legally protected and cannot be evicted without being provided a free tenement. Slums exist because the city is unable to produce adequate housing that working people can…