Articles by Laasya Shekhar

Chennai’s potential in terms of harnessing rooftop solar energy is widely spoken about. The city has a rooftop solar potential of 1.38 GW, according to an April 2018 study by Greenpeace India. The domestic or residential segment by itself can account for a capacity of about 586.46MW which is 42.6% of the city’s solar energy potential.  While the picture seems promising on paper, Chennai is nowhere close to making use of the potential of rooftop solar energy in the residential segment for various reasons. In part 1 of the series, we brought to light how realtors in Chennai are flouting…

On 8th July 2021, a Chennai-based construction and real estate firm obtained the completion certificate from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) for its newly-constructed residential building, located in Valmiki Street of East Tambaram. The building consists of a stilt floor plus five floors and houses 15 dwelling units. Along with amenities such as rainwater harvesting structures and fire licences, the building had also declared a functional rooftop solar installation in order to obtain the completion certificate, which is a prerequisite for all builders to obtain water, sewer and power connections.  As per the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building…

In her 158 sq ft home in Semmencherry Housing Board, 12-year-old S Kumudha* chops vegetables, while her elder brother is busy writing an assignment. Kumudha will later make a quick lunch and clean the house; her brother will attend an online class. Both their parents are daily wage labourers, who are out at work from morning to dusk. Kumudha takes the load off her mother by doing the domestic chores. Her mind, once intrigued by the concepts of geometry and the Indian Constitution, is now entirely engrossed with south Indian cuisine.  It wasn't always like this, though. Kumudha and her…

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…

Muthulakshmi S, a resident of Kattukuppam village in the Ennore Industrial Cluster spends a good share of her family income on doctors' fees and medicines. “My kids suffer from severe cold and cough infections every two months. The doctor says that it is common among those living here,” says 27-year-old Muthulakshmi, whose kids are seven and three-and-a-half years old.  Her husband is a fisherman who brings home a few hundred rupees on some days, but nothing on many others. Muthulakshmi is not alone, however. Her trials and tribulations reflect those of many women in Ennore, and much of that can…

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…

Uyali* was among the 220 garment workers fired by Slam Clothing Private Limited in January 2020. Two months later, the textile manufacturer situated at Mahindra World City in the outskirts of Chennai shut down operations, citing ‘irrecoverable losses due to the COVID-triggered lockdown.’ More than half of the workers haven’t received their dues from the Provident Fund (PF) yet. Like hundreds of her colleagues, Uyali is still waiting. “My salary of two months remains unpaid to this day. I had to hunt for a job in the middle of a pandemic when I did not even have the money to…

As the third COVID wave appears imminent in the country, robust communication strategies by government agencies become increasingly important. Public health messaging — in both form and content — is an extremely critical component of the response to a pandemic. Access to information about COVID guidelines, vaccination centres and helpline numbers posed a challenge during the first and second waves for a large section of the population, especially the digitally illiterate, marginalised and senior citizens. The avenues of information in the form of trusted media sources and bulletins from government websites seem to be unreachable for these categories. “Only a…

The fresh, glistening, almost seemingly transparent prawns caught from Ennore was once a prime delicacy for seafood lovers in the city. But that is merely the stuff of memories now. In place of the succulent prawns of the past, one can only find dark, fatty prawns that no longer feed as much on worms as on the fly ash deposited by the thermal power stations in the waters of Ennore. “Prawns caught from the rivers of Palaverkadu and Kosasthalaiyar saw huge demand, both locally and internationally. Ash-coloured prawns (Sambal era in Tamil) form the majority of the catch now and…

Translated by Sandhya Raju தினந்தோறும் காலையில் நம் வீட்டு வாசலில் போடப்படும் செய்தித்தாளை எடுக்கையில், அது எவ்வாறு நம்மை வந்தடைகிறது என சிந்திப்பதில்லை. உலகின் நிகழ்வுகளை நாம் அறிந்து கொள்ள, பத்திரிக்கை விநியோகிஸ்தர்கள் மற்றும் அதைச்சுற்றி இயங்கும் சங்கலித்தொடர் பெரும் பங்கு வகிக்கின்றன. புயல், மழை, வெய்யில் எதையும் பொருட்படுத்தாமல் , ஏன் இந்த பெருந்தொற்று காலத்திலும் செய்த்தித்தாள் விநியோகம் தொடர்ந்தது. செய்தியை தரும் பத்திரிக்கையாளர்களுக்கு நிகராக விநியோகிஸ்தர்களும் முக்கியம். ஆனால், துரதிர்ஷ்டவசமாக, செய்தி விநியோகத் துறையில் உள்ளவர்களுக்கு எப்போதுமே அரசாங்க நலன்கள் அல்லது அங்கீகாரம் கிடைப்பதில்லை. 2500 அங்கீகரிக்கப்பட்ட முகவர்கள், துணை முகவர்கள்/விநியோகஸ்தர் மற்றும் விநியோக பணியாளர்கள் பலவீனமான சமூக பாதுகாப்பு வலையில் உள்ளனர். எந்தவொரு நலவாரியத்திலும் இவர்கள் சேர்க்கப்படவில்லை, அல்லது தமிழக அரசாங்கத்தால் எந்தவொரு திட்டத்திற்கும் கருதப்படவில்லை. "ஐந்து வருடம் முன், விநியோக பணியாளர் பணியில் இருக்கும் போது சாலை விபத்தில் இறந்தார். ஆனால் ஒழுங்கமைக்கப்பட்ட ஏற்பாடு…