Articles by Geetha Ganesh

“It is extremely stressful to cross the Guindy race course stretch to get on to the foot over bridge (FoB) from the Guindy bus stop and board the metro at the Guindy Metro station or an EMU, especially during peak traffic hours in the morning and evening,” says G Nandini, a college student, who uses buses and the Metro to travel to her college in Teynampet.  While the new foot over bridge was a welcome addition to the area that was meant to help pedestrians, the design falls short of serving its complete purpose. The new FoB inaugurated in January…

“Though we are enrolled by conservancy contractors to sweep dust and garbage off the streets, we end up clearing construction and demolition (C&D) waste that has been disposed of illegally in a few places which should be cleared by a separate private agency,” says Manjula*, a conservancy worker in south Chennai.  As per the Solid Waste Management (SWM) by-laws, clearing of construction and demolition waste does not fall under the purview of the routine SWM operations managed by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). Despite there being fines ranging from Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 for illegal dumping of construction and…

Of the total Bulk Waste Generators (BWGs), both residential and commercial buildings, across Chennai, only 43.86% follow the Solid Waste Management bye-laws and dispose of their waste through empanelled vendors. Commercial establishments, in this case, refers to include large restaurants, educational institutions, government buildings, offices and IT parks, shops and malls and cinemas, stadiums and wedding halls.  The bulk waste generators have been mandated to engage vendors to process waste on-site and dispose of the wet and dry waste. The waste collection from BWGs does not involve the civic body and the waste generated by them is not to be…

Translated by Aruna Natarajan "ஒரு பகுதியில் இருந்து மற்றொரு பகுதிக்கு கழிவுகளை மாற்றுவது கார்பன் படிவத்தை உள்ளடக்கியது மற்றும் ஒரு இடத்தில் இருந்து குப்பைகளை மற்றொரு இடத்தில் கொட்டுவது சுற்றுச்சூழல் அநீதியாகும், இதன் விளைவாக மற்ற பகுதிகளில் வசிப்பவர்களுக்கு ஆரோக்கியமற்ற சூழல் ஏற்படுகிறது" என்கிறார் பூவுலகின் நண்பர்களின் சுற்றுச்சூழல் ஆர்வலர் ஜியோ டாமின். சமீபத்திய ஆண்டுகளில், சென்னை தனது கழிவு மேலாண்மை அமைப்பை மறுசீரமைக்க முயற்சித்து, குப்பைக்  கிடங்கில் அடையும் கழிவுகளின் அளவைக் குறைக்க முற்பட்டுள்ளது. இந்த இலக்கை அடைவதற்காக ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்ட பரவலாக்கப்பட்ட கழிவு மேலாண்மை அமைப்பின் கீழ், பெரிய அடுக்குமாடி குடியிருப்புகள் மற்றும் வணிக நிறுவனங்கள் மொத்தக் கழிவு உருவாக்கிகள்(Bulk Waste Generators - BWGs) என வகைப்படுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளன. விற்பனையாளர்களின் உதவியுடன் அவர்கள்  உருவாக்கும் கழிவுகளை கையாளும் பொறுப்பு அவர்களுடையதே. சென்னையில் மொத்த கழிவு உருவாக்குபவர்கள் 2016 ஆம் ஆண்டின் திடக்கழிவு மேலாண்மை (SWM) விதிகள் மற்றும் 2019…

"Transferring waste from one area to another area involves carbon footprint and it's an environmental injustice to dump garbage from one place at another, resulting in an unhealthy environment for residents of other areas," says Geo Damin, an environmental activist with Poovulagin Nanbargal. In recent years, Chennai has attempted to revamp its waste management system to reduce the quantum of waste reaching landfills. Under the decentralised waste management system adopted to achieve this goal, large apartment complexes and commercial establishments that are classified as Bulk Waste Generators (BWGs) are responsible for handling their own waste with the help of vendors.…

The Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) budget is expected to be tabled in the council meeting on March 27. The state of the finances of the civic body requires close scrutiny as the quality of daily life of Chennaiites is linked to how well the civic body can carry out its functions. Chennaiites part of active Residents' Welfare Associations and Civil Society Organisations share their expectations on what must feature in the city’s budget. On roads and stormwater drains in Chennai While residents are aware of the importance of stormwater drains for flood mitigation, many raise grievances about the impact of…

Chennai had an earthquake scare on February 22nd, where people in Anna Nagar and Anna Salai alleged that they felt mild tremors. This triggered a panicked reaction among the people who came running out of their buildings and waited on the streets till they felt safe enough to return indoors. But the incident turned out to be a false alarm. However, if there is an actual emergency, how many of us know what needs to be done? Having a robust disaster management plan and training residents to be aware and equipped for emergencies becomes a pressing need in the era…

“In my eight decades in Chennai, I have never faced such cold weather for so long”, says 86-year-old S Krishnamurthy, a resident of Alandur. Chennai residents have felt the effects of winter linger longer than usual this year, well into the early weeks of February.  Frequent floods, drier summers and longer winters are all now a part of life in Chennai. Could climate change be behind these anomalies? Read more: More rainy days, more rainfall: CSTEP report predicts climate change impact on Chennai Winter trends in Chennai K Srikanth, an independent weather blogger running the platform Chennai Rains- ‘Chennayil Oru…