Another edition of the Swachh Survekshan awards and honours was rolled out recently for 2022, hiding basic failures in India’s urban waste management as envisaged under law. Going by the metrics of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Tamil Nadu fared badly, with only one award for...
Chennai’s storm water drain work has become a major disruption for normal life in a big city. But it could well have been minimised or avoided. One striking feature of Chennai Metro Rail’s construction methods is the speed at which the concrete spans and pillars come up along the elevated...
Chennai’s swirling mass of two-wheelers and cars could technically make the Greater Chennai Corporation a wealthy civic body through parking fees, but the current realisation of revenues is only of the order of Rs.1.2 lakh a day, going up from a low Rs.80,000 after parking lots were “improved.”...
The recently released data for road accidents across India present the shocking picture of Tamil Nadu topping all States in the rise of traffic accidents in 2021 over the previous year, going up from 46,443 to 57,090. Chennai is the mega city that fares the worst on accidents and road safety....
By making travel free for women on public buses, Tamil Nadu joined the league of several global cities that offer free public transport to a socially targeted group. After a prolonged phase of dropping bus ridership in a growing economy, when younger passengers shifted to two-wheelers, there is...
A recent unstarred question in the Rajya Sabha on pollution of groundwater by arsenic and heavy metals has brought renewed attention to an unseen public health enemy. The Jal Shakti Ministry’s answer to the House made headlines, as it showed toxic chemicals in groundwater in as many as 29...
The DMK government has set the ball rolling on enacting an upgraded Town and Country Planning law, one that fits the purpose of combatting climate change, environmental degradation, chaotic urbanisation, rent seeking and lack of redress mechanisms. Priorities for a new planning approach were...
The Akash Ganga Trust banks on a precious commodity that sells in bottles at Rs.20 a litre in your local store. This not-for-profit organisation has been working to promote harvesting of blue gold for years, led by Sekhar Raghavan. It runs the Rain Centre at Gandhi Nagar,in Adyar, Chennai,...
Bizarre as it sounds, around 500 residents of a village in Coimbatore district are under virtual house arrest everyday. From sun-up till sun down, they are held hostage by a small but odious enemy. For the last five years, the tormented people of Thimmanaicken Palayam in Sulur Municipality have...
On June 28, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin made an appeal to Chennai motorists to stop honking unnecessarily, and to join the movement by not honking. He urged them to sign and spread an e-pledge. However, his request was drowned in most parts of the city, as drivers simply pressed on with their...
