City News | Citizen Matters, Chennai

Chennai’s public libraries beckon — have you visited any?

March 28, 2018 Seetha Gopalakrishnan

Chennai has a total of 162 libraries open to the public. While the Anna Centenary Library is the most popular, for its modern infrastructure and ambience, others are also putting up a gritty fight in the age of tablets and e-book readers.

100, 101 or 1091: What to expect when you dial a helpline in Chennai

March 26, 2018 Bhavani Prabhakar

100 for police, 1091 for women, 1098 for Childline… recent experiences in Chennai show that users of a particular mobile service were unable to reach the city’s emergency helplines. So, how do these services work? And how prompt would help realistically be?

A trek, a fire and rumour mills: Making sense of the Theni tragedy

March 23, 2018 Jotsna Iyer

It’s been almost two weeks since the tragic forest fire at the Kurangani Woman’s Day trek, that has claimed 18 lives. While the city grieves the souls it lost, facts remain hazy with media and authorities inexplicably targeting the Chennai Trekking Club.

Saidapet apartment shows Chennai why it pays to recycle grey water

March 22, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

One, it recharges ground water reserves at minimum additional cost and helps you cut down on tanker supply. Secondly, it reduces the burden on the city’s insufficient septage management system, thus saving the lakes and rivers. Here’s how.

அறிவரசனின் விஞ்ஞான கனவு நிறைவேறுமா?

March 21, 2018 Jagadheeswaran D

A young software engineer gives it all up to take Science education to school children in the cities and villages of Tamil Nadu. Through the Vigyan Rath of Parikshan Trust, he has touched the lives of over 10.5 lakh children in 3200 schools.

Kapaleecharam volunteers hope for a litter-free Mylapore temple festival

March 21, 2018 Ganga Sridhar

As Mylapore prepares to celebrate the annual Panguni Thiruvizha, conscious citizen volunteers band together yet again to send out strong messages to the public, requesting them to avoid food wastage and dispose of garbage responsibly.

Balwadi in Perumbakkam resettlement colony has a teacher who doesn’t read!

March 20, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Many balwadis in the Perumbakkam resettlement colony have no power, no play equipment and in some centres, not even a teacher who can help the kids learn. This is a gross violation of ICDS norms.

Trees or classrooms? Anna university experiment could show the way

March 16, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

A number of educational institutions in the city have been felling trees on campus to meet their infrastructural needs. Can transplantation, as tried by Anna University, provide a solution?

Every child is born a scientist: Balaji Sampath at Mandram (VIDEO)

March 13, 2018 News Desk

The very first edition of Mandram, a platform that seeks to promote creative imaginations in Tamil, brought together six people from various backgrounds to share their perspectives. Here is their first video of the talk by educationist and social activist Balaji Sampath.