On Thaipoosam this year (February 5), Thanjavur district was packed with tourists, many of them from abroad — the fear of the coronavirus mostly overcome and the grand architectural achievements of the Chola era casting a magnetic spell anew. Against a clear blue sky after a few days of rain,...
The shocking acquittal of all eight accused in the Zion Matriculation School bus case, in which seven-year-old Sruthi slipped through a hole in the floor of the bus and was killed in 2012, has shown up the lack of integrity in the prosecution, which could not even prove that there was a hole on...
After several years of water prosperity through the monsoon months, the alarm has been sounded globally that some periods of 2023 and all of 2024 could bring unpredictable climate due to the return of the El Nino phenomenon — extreme heat, drought, and in some northwestern states of India,...
Chennai continues to struggle with its problem of poor public sanitation, even as it tries to change an unflattering reputation. Open defecation is still not a thing of the past, public toilets are few and far between, lavatories built under Swachh Bharat have been neglected to the point where...
Another annual Road Safety Week is around the corner, this time from January 11 to 17, and the Supreme Court has set the stage for it. State governments may not be giving road safety top priority, but a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud has taken it up seriously again, with...
The death of 22-year old software engineer Shobana near Maduravoyal on January 3 could fade away as another statistic in India’s world-leading road accident death tally, unless civil society pushes back against governmental indifference to abysmal road safety conditions in Chennai and its...
The movement to restore stolen artefacts including precious 1,000-year-old antiquities to their countries of origin is set to gather momentum in 2023, with India making new claims to museums abroad and individual collectors. Potentially, they would attract cultural tourists, both national and...
As Cyclone Mandous and its wake dumped considerable rain in Chennai suburbs as well as the city, residents in gated communities and housing units experienced yet another year of misery. It was in stark contrast to the marketed images of gated communities where people happily drive in and out of...
Tamil Nadu looks east with a hint of worry at a possible sequel to heavy rain that accompanied Cyclone Mandous, before it powered its way to the west coast. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) said in its forecast on Wednesday that until December 20, the skies over Chennai are likely to...
In the times of frequent road digging and constant potholes, can there be a sort of “instafix” for potholes? Yes, if civic agencies want it. Enter Jetpatcher, a repair system for broken roads that can fill up the death traps in just 15 minutes. This international road repair technology is being...
