In Focus | Citizen Matters, Chennai

How ‘smart city’ Chennai can be more resilient to disasters such as 2015 floods

August 24, 2019 Varun Sukumar

Technology in many ways forms the base for a smart city. With the 2015 floods exposing the city’s inability to deal with heavy rains and flooding, the smart city mission should address the gaps and build resilience through use of digital infrastructure.

On the fast track: Will the proposed Bus Rapid Transit System help Chennai?

August 16, 2019 Aruna Natarajan

The proposed BRTS corridors will cover seven key sections of the city including GST Road, OMR, Koyambedu, Thoraipakkam and Chromepet, running along a stretch of 120 km. But how will it really impact commuters in the city?

Why it’s time for all citizens to push for more women in Parliament

July 29, 2019 Laasya Shekhar

Only 14 per cent of the parliamentarians in Lok Sabha are women. Despite lip service by all political parties, the Women’s Reservation Bill remains the longest pending bill in Parliament. Perhaps it is time for citizens to take up the fight?

When families live on three pots of water a day: Lessons from Chennai slums

July 11, 2019 Laasya Shekhar

A ground report and photos from the slums and economically backward areas of the city: How are people here dealing with the water shortage and sharing the meagre supplies?

Seven reasons why Chennai should have seen this water crisis coming

June 21, 2019 Aruna Natarajan

Severe water shortage has brought Chennai almost to a standstill today, but the writing on the wall has been clear for quite some time now. Here are seven tell-tale signs the state should have taken note of and acted upon.

Does Chennai have enough buses for its commuters?

June 7, 2019 Aruna Natarajan

A large number of commuters in areas unserviced by the MRTS, Metro or other services remain fully reliant on the bus system, but does the city have enough buses to meet the demand?

As Chennai reels under water crisis, faulty restoration of Paruthipattu lake angers residents

May 30, 2019 Laasya Shekhar

An eco park at Paruthipattu Lake is due for inauguration. But with restoration work causing raw sewage to enter the lake, citizens are least cheered by the prospect of a boating facility and more worried about groundwater contamination in this time of acute water scarcity.

To fight sexual harassment of women, it is important to continue to talk: Chinmayi Sripada

May 27, 2019 Swati Amar

Chinmayi Sripada, one of the earliest and most prominent faces of the #MeToo movement in India, was recently denied permission to hold a protest in Chennai against the clean chit to CJI Ranjan Gogoi in a case of sexual harassment. In this interview, Chinmayi tells us why she chose to take this case up, and about her activism on this issue in general.

Nearly a third of Kodungaiyur residents have difficulty breathing, but no action on waste dump

May 22, 2019 Laasya Shekhar

An in-depth survey by CAG revealed the presence of heavy metals at Chennai’s Kodungaiyur dump yard. As it has a direct, visible impact on public health, remediation of the dump yard is the need of the hour. Realisation, however, does not seem very close.

Genre: In Focus