Articles by Aruna Natarajan

Elections are due in under a week in the state. Chennai, being the seat of power, becomes the locus of political campaigning by various parties and the release of manifestos. This year is no different, with election season eliciting promises from all quarters, ranging from the realistic to the seemingly improbable. While candidates in the city have come up with their own promises and shared their vision for their respective constituencies, the broad party manifestos too have laid out a roadmap for Chennai for the coming years. The Global Shapers Chennai hub, a non-profit volunteer-driven organization has released a web…

Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, a predominantly working class constituency, has had several concerns over poor infrastructure and civic issues for years. Problems around water, sanitation and civic amenities and questions around patta and evictions are key factors that could weigh on the minds of voters as they choose in the upcoming elections. The constituency will see a face-off between DMK and AIADMK, with the incumbent DMK MLA Thayagam Kavi seeking re-election. The assembly constituency includes areas such as Ayanavaram, Otteri, Pulianthope, Pattalam and a part of Perambur. Read more: With elections coming up, civic works gather steam. Are you watching? The incoming…

Sarathbabu Elumalai is contesting his third election over the last decade. Having cut his teeth in the food business as an entrepreneur, his interest in politics came from a realisation that systemic changes can only be effected through political power and engagement.  He is contesting from the Alandur constituency as a candidate of Makkal Needhi Maiam. MNM is one of the newer political parties in the fray, having been founded by actor-politician Kamal Haasan in 2018. The party’s anti-corruption stance is its key plank, promising to provide an alternative to the major Dravidian parties which have been in power in…

Thiruvottiyur assembly constituency is one of the many that will see the DMK and AIADMK go head to head in the upcoming assembly polls. The constituency has also gained attention due to another candidate, Seeman, the leader of the Naam Tamilar Katchi. The assembly seat has been vacant for over a year due to the death of DMK MLA KPP Samy who had won the seat in 2016.  The constituency includes areas such as Thiruvottiyur, Kathivakkam, Chinnaseekadu, Manali and Ernavur. Fisherfolk form a huge part of the voter base and their issues take centre stage here. Both major political parties…

The upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly election, which will see the state voting on April 6th, is being hotly contested between the two major parties DMK and AIADMK and their allies. On the third front, looking to break their hegemony is the relatively new entrant, Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam.  With polling dates close by, a slew of promises have been made by various candidates and parties. But what do citizens want from their elected representatives? What are their most pressing concerns that they would like the state to address? Citizen Matters brought together a panel of eminent citizens, who have…

A scorching summer sun is the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of Chennai for many. The most common jibe at the city’s unforgiving weather is that Chennai has three seasons: hot, hotter and hottest. While Chennaiites have acclimatised themselves to the heat amidst all these jokes and memes, they have yet to embrace fully the ways to turn that into an advantage. By harnessing the power of the sun.  Solar energy as a renewable energy resource has gained immense popularity over the past decades. So much so, that Tamil Nadu is home to the largest solar…

Translated by Sandhya Raju முப்பத்தியோரு வயது பொறியாளர் எம் பி அழகு பாண்டிய ராஜா, ஜனவரி 25-ம் தேதி அன்று இந்தியாவின் முதல் நகர பதுமுறைகாணல் அதிகாரியாக (City Innovation Officer) நியமிக்கப்பட்டார். இங்கிலாந்தில் மென்பொருள் நிறுவனத்தில் ஐந்து ஆண்டுகள் வேலை பார்த்த அழகு பாண்டிய ராஜா, தாய் நாட்டிற்கு பங்களிக்க வேண்டும் என்ற உந்துதலால், சென்னை திரும்பினார். இந்தியன் ஸ்மார்ட் சிட்டி ஃபெலோ (Indian Smart City Fellow) பணியில் தன்னை இணைத்துக் கொண்ட அவர், சென்னை மாநகராட்சியுடன் இணைந்து ஆகியவற்றிற்கு புது தீர்வுகளை கொண்டு வந்தார். சென்னை மாநகராட்சி ஆணையர் ஜி பிரகாஷ் மற்றும் வருவாய் துணை ஆணையர் மேகநாத் ரெட்டி ஆகியோரின் முயற்சியே புதுமுறைகாணலுக்கான ஒரு பிரிவினை உருவாக்க காரணம் என்கிறார். இந்த புதிய பதவியில் அவரது பங்கு குறித்தும், பதுமுறைகாணல் அதிகாரியாக பொது மக்களுடனான ஈடுபாடு குறித்தும் அவரிடம் சிட்டிசன் மேட்டர்ஸ் உரையாடியது. சென்னையின்…

On January 25th, Chennai appointed the country’s first Innovation Officer. 31-year-old engineer M P Azhagu Pandia Raja is all set to assume the role. Azhagu Pandia Raja spent five years with a software firm in the UK, before his urge to contribute to the nation brought him back to the country. He has since had a successful stint as an Indian Smart City Fellow, during which time he pioneered solutions around waste management and COVID response, working closely with the Chennai Corporation.  He credits the efforts of G Prakash, Commissioner, Greater Chennai Corporation and Meghanath Reddy, Deputy Commissioner, Revenue in…

“If you walk two feet you will bump into a person here and we were all advised to maintain physical distance over the past year,” says Radha R of Perumbakkam, underlining the challenges and irony of the lives of those living here. But this, Chennai’s largest resettlement colony, with 21,000 homes and close to 18,000 families in residence, could yet be set for expansion. On January 2 2021, PM Modi laid the foundation for the Centre’s ambitious affordable housing scheme, the Light House Project, that is set to add a further 1152 houses to the already packed Perumbakkam resettlement colony. …

All through the lockdown imposed to avert the spread of COVID-19, Chennai was without public transport and even now, services have just begun to operate in a limited manner. While there have been signs of a cycling revival, there are also reports of an increase in the sales of personal motor vehicles. But, as colleges and offices begin to reopen, it raises various questions about what commute in the city will be like in the coming year. Even before the pandemic, and in fact, for several years now, there has been a call to rethink how transportation works in Chennai.…