Civic

Maximum pothole complaints reported from Western suburbs Data from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a day after a couple lost their lives to a pothole accident, at a carriageway flyover on the WEH opposite the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), showed that nearly 48% of total pothole-related complaints have been raised from Mumbai’s western suburbs in 2022. “The WEH is being maintained by MSRDC and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). The WEH along with the adjoining service road is infamous for potholes, however, it’s not BMC’s responsibility to maintain them. Whenever we receive any complaint we forward it to the responsible agencies,”…

Greater Chennai Corporation cracks whip on unauthorised hoardings The civic body removed 1705 unauthorised hoardings out of a total of 1800 hoardings across the city. The frames that hold these hoardings were also removed. Thiru vi ka Nagar had the most number of illegal hoardings with 355. Around 200 hoardings in the zones of South Chennai, including Perungudi, Sholinganallur and Alandur were also removed. Manali had the least number of unauthorised hoardings, with only 10 hoardings in the Zone. This initiative was part of the mass cleaning drive organised in Chennai, which saw the participation of 877 volunteers and 133…

Pullapuram has been home to around 1,000 residents for over five decades now. Now, recent developments in the area have created serious difficulties for them in accessing basic civic amenities. Developments that have arisen due to an ongoing friction with the residents of the nearby Tamil Nadu Police Housing Board Quarters. Years of peace no more Pullapuram is located adjacent to the Police Housing Board Quarters on Poonamallee High Road in Chetpet. The locality has eight streets with over 320 houses. Most of the residents here are involved in manual labour such as conservancy work with the Greater Chennai Corporation…

When Bano Abdul Sattar (28) was a young girl living in Bandra east chawls, she could only do jobs that her family deemed appropriate for a woman. She picked up multiple jobs in her early teens; she helped her family run a roadside anda bhurji stall at night, worked as a tailor, and even as a mehendi artist. But this was far from what fascinated her. What captured her imagination when she was young were cars and the thought of driving one someday. And so, at the age of 16, she did just that. "Main na, chupke uncle log ko paise deti thi.…

With Chennai's many roads being dug up for various civic works, it becomes crucial for the several agencies carrying out such tasks to coordinate better. A look at some streets in Perambur lays bare the problems faced by residents when civic agencies do not bridge the gap in communication or carry out shoddy and unscientific work. Problems in Rajabhathar street Rajabhathar Street in Ward 71, Zone 6, Perambur was once a model street in our neighbourhood and had drawn the attention of the then state government and won several awards. Now, however, one can often see sewage overflowing onto the…

Who owns Bengaluru's playgrounds? Do the city's urban planners and developers see free access to open spaces such as playgrounds as basic rights of citizens? Are playground spaces set aside as dedicated areas for public access? In the public space discourse, why do parks get more attention than playgrounds? More importantly, as the city's population has exponentially grown to about 13.1 million people in 2022, has the city planned its public spaces to accommodate playgrounds? The Open City Data suggests that many wards - Kempegowda, Chowdeswari, Kuvempu Nagar, T Dasarahalli, Nagavara, Kacharkanahalli, Kadugondanahalli, Kushal Nagar, Gangenahalli, Peenya Industrial Area, Malleshwaram,…

Madhavaram bus terminus to become a net zero emission zone soon The Madhavaram Mofussil Bus Terminus (MMBT) in Chennai is set to become the first terminus to earn the “Net Zero Carbon Emission” status in Tamil Nadu. Member-Secretary of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), Anshul Mishra, said that the bus terminus would completely switch to green energy. A study on offsetting carbon emission by opting for an on-grid solar power plant system and achieving net zero carbon emission status for the terminus was recently completed by CMDA. Following the success of the project, Kilambakkam and Kuthambakkam bus termini will also…

Gearing up for 75th I-Day The government is paving the way for the 75th Independence Day celebrations at Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground, in which a hundred COVID-19 warriors, including healthcare professionals, frontline workers and 25 recovered patients are special invitees. To celebrate the silver jubilee of the BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation), it has decided to give free services of all types of buses on Independence Day.  Meanwhile, authorities scramble to meet their flag sales targets two days before the Har Ghar Tiranga programme. The BBMP has been asked to sell 15 lakh machine-made polyester national flags, each for…

BBMP ward reservations announced The government announced the notification for the reservation of all 243 BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) wards. Objections can be filed in writing, from the date of notification up to a week, to the Urban Development Department at Vikasa Soudha. A significant number of the BBMP wards have been reserved for Backward Classes and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Of the 243 seats, 81 seats have been reserved for the OBC, 28 for the SC and four for the ST communities. A total of 130 seats have been reserved for the candidates from the…

More air quality monitors to be set up in Chennai To check the air pollution levels in the city more efficiently, five more Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS), budgeted at Rs 7.08 crores are likely to be set up across the city. Four stations would be placed in industrial and residential areas, while one would be at the seat of the civic body at Ripon Building. A decision on the locations will be arrived at by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). The Fifteenth Finance Commission has released Rs 91 crores for the city under the National Clean Air…