Articles by Prashanth Goutham

The warning bells have been ringing at a high note for quite some time now. Chennai has just gone through the longest spell of rainless days, as a result of which water levels in our water bodies are at an all time low, causing a severe drought. However the government of the day seems to be in absolute denial of any water crisis in Chennai, nor do their actions indicate any move towards a sustainable and resilient Chennai. Arappor Iyakkam has come forward to highlight this issue through people’s participation in a unique protest called ‘KeluChennaiKelu’ on June 30 2019…

Lokpal and Lokayukta Acts were introduced by the Congress in 2013 and received the President’s nod to become law in 2014. The Act made it mandatory for states to set up a Lokayukta within one year of constitution of the Lokpal at the centre. However, Tamil Nadu (TN) and Jammu & Kashmir, are the only states which have not even constituted the Lokayukta yet through the passage of the Lokayukta Act, way past the one-year deadline. In 2015 the High Court pulled up the TN state government in response to a PIL for not setting up the Lokayukta. At that…

The standard of roads in Chennai city is something that the common citizen is all too familiar with. Newly laid roads last a year at the most, after which some patch work has to be undertaken. Otherwise, a total relay is called for within 2 to 3 years, by which time the whole road surface is battered badly. Thus the lifecycle of a road in Chennai usually stretches from one monsoon to the next. World standards indicate asphalt roads last anywhere around seven years; why, then, are roads in Chennai of significantly lower quality, needing constant repair and frequent relay?…

Imagine a beautiful lake in your neighbourhood that is not just a lifeline in terms of freshwater for the city, but could also be a seat of leisure for you and your kids at the end of a tiring day, and home to a thriving, aquatic ecosystem. Instead it becomes, over decades, a disposal site for untreated sewage, marred by excessive encroachment and irresponsible, damaging activities like washing of clothes, cars etc. It is rarely desilted, and there is no proper outlet for the excess water leading to flooding of roads around it every rainy season. That is a scenario…

During the 2015 floods, civil rights and advocacy group Arappor Iyakkam had carried out relief work for the common man in an organized manner. Once the worst was over, they pondered whether it would be enough to just engage in relief work every single year when disaster strikes or more prudent to work to make sure that such an incident never ever occurs again. Translating thought to action, over 20 volunteers started ground work from March 2016 when they started the social audits on water bodies. A part of the waterbodies team concentrated on sewage issues and more specifically on…