Infrastructure

In part 1 of the story, we wrote about how citizens partnered with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to create three new public spaces for the city, despite the limited framework available for doing so. And while these changes are a step towards greater change, Mumbai still has an abysmal 1.24 sqm of open space per person.  The Development Plan 2034, drafted by the BMC, aims to increase this from 3,798 acres to 8,710 acres. A big chunk of this - around 200 acres - is expected to come from the land reclaimed as part of the Coastal Road Project.…

When fishermen at Worli Koliwada tried to take their boats out to sea in the last week of August, soon after Narali Poornima - a festival that marks the onset of the fishing season - they found that reclamation work had affected the coastline used for docking boats. “They have left us with no space to dock our boats in the shallow waters," says Sanjay Baikar, secretary of the Vanchit Machimar Worli Haji Ali Sahkari Sansthan Maryadit, an organisation of fishermen. "Where earlier 35 boats would stand, today even 19 boats are finding it difficult to find space in the…

Did you know that at least a hundred litres of water are used up in construction of one square foot of built-up area? In a growing city like Chennai, where you find some construction or the other going on whichever way you look, think of what that means for groundwater resources, which currently constitute the primary source of water supply for the requirements of this water-intensive industry.  In a city that is constantly under the shadow of a looming water scarcity, finding alternative, eco-friendly ways to reduce the burden on groundwater tables has never been more important. And that is what…

Picture this: a Miyawaki forest, a play area for children, a sculpture court and a pedestrian plaza along the Buckingham Canal, that now stands as just a conduit for sewage water amid squalid surroundings. But if plans on paper are implemented on the ground, the Buckingham Canal beautification project initiated by the Greater Chennai Corporation under the Smart City Mission, will soon transform the IT corridor (Rajiv Gandhi IT Expressway) stretch along the canal into upgraded, modern recreational spaces. Over the years, the Buckingham canal, which holds such an important place in the ecology of Chennai, has suffered the neglect…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தரமற்ற சாலைகள், மேடு பள்ளங்கள், சீரற்ற ஒட்டு வேலை செய்யப்பட்ட சாலைகள் ஆகியன சென்னையின் ஒரு அங்கம். புது சாலைகள் போடப்பட்டவுடன் அரசு நிறுவனங்களால் அவை தோண்டப்படுகிறது. இதனால், சாலையை சீரமைக்க புகார் அளிக்கப்பட்டாலும், பிற துறைகளின் மீது அதிகாரிகள் பழி சுமத்துகின்றனர். சென்னையில் சாலைகள் அமைப்பதில் உள்ள தொழில்நுட்பங்கள் குறித்து பொது மக்களின் அறியாமையே இதற்கு காரணம். சென்னையில் போடப்படும் சாலைகளின் வகைகள், அவற்றைப் பற்றி எங்கு புகார் செய்வது, பொதுமக்கள் எப்படி கண்காணிப்பது என்பது பற்றிய விளக்கங்கள் உங்களுக்காக இங்கே வழங்கியுள்ளோம். சென்னை சாலைகள் மற்றும் மாநகராட்சியின் பங்கு சென்னை மாநகராட்சியின் கீழ் இரண்டு வகையான சாலைகள் வருகின்றன. பேருந்து வழிதடங்கள் சாலைகள் (BRR): இரு சக்கர வாகனங்கள் முதல் கன ரக வாகனங்கள் வரை அனைத்து வகையான வாகனங்களும் செல்லும் சாலை. உதாரணமாக, காமராஜர் சாலை, ராதாகிருஷ்ணன் சாலை, வேளாச்சேரி சாலை(தரமணி…

Driving to my neighbourhood in the periphery of Bengaluru is like maneuvering a lunar module on the moonscape. Walking or biking is almost impossible. Every year, the gram panchayat ‘repairs’ the roads, thanks to years of advocacy from residents. And every monsoon, the road washes away. To my solution-oriented mind, the answer is really simple: study the problem - the history of the road and area; socio-cultural conditions of the neighbourhood, villages, and industries on the road; the number of cars/ buses/ people using the road; environment and climate-related aspects such as soil, drainage patterns, etc. Then, it is about…

Last year, BESCOM, Bengaluru’s electricity supply company, had called for applications from consumers to set up rooftop solar panels. BESCOM also launched a first-in-the-country project called CREST, a tool that enables consumers to evaluate their rooftop’s potential for solar energy production.  These ambitious initiatives saw BESCOM receiving around 1200 applications for rooftop solar installations since March 2020, according to a trusted department source. But 250 consumers later withdrew their applications, according to S S Raghunandan, President, Karnataka Renewable Energy Association (KREA).  Let’s crunch some numbers. Bengaluru has an actual realisable potential of 2.8 GW of solar energy. But the city that…

On 17 June 2021, landslides in Chembur and Vikhroli killed more than 30 people, injured many others and destroyed several houses. Hanslal lost his entire family in the Vikhroli landslide. He lived in a one-room house, paying Rs 3,000 as monthly rent - a price he could thankfully afford in the absence of work and social security during the pandemic. He worked as a carpenter and was out of work in the past few months. Hanslal is aware that both the Union and the State Governments have announced compensation, but he is not hopeful of receiving the money because he…

Residents of Mumbai are complaining about potholes via social media platforms like Twitter to the local civic authorities. This monsoon, it seems to have made some difference. Every year in the rainy season, BMC receives major complaints regarding potholes on roads via the control room helpline (1916) and mobile app. But now to reach out faster, the residents of various areas in the city are tagging BMC local wards’ Twitter handles and sometimes the Assistant Municipal Commissioners, local Municipal Corporators of the wards to report potholes in the area. Many times, a before and after photo of potholes complaints are…

Poor quality roads, with stretches of potholes and uneven patchwork are a common sight in Chennai. Newly-laid roads are often dug up by government agencies shortly after. As a result, complaints pertaining to fixing roads take longer than needed as authorities perpetually shift the blame to other departments. This stems from the fact that citizens are generally unaware of the technicalities involved in laying roads in Chennai. Here is an explainer on the kind of roads laid in Chennai, where to complain about them, how we can escalate matters and how citizens can keep a watch.   Chennai roads and the…