July | 2017 | Citizen Matters, Chennai

Meet the Chennai crusader who has filed 20 PILs in two years!

July 28, 2017 Akshatha M

Businessman-turned-PIL advocate VBR Menon is on a mission to clean up the city system — from water bodies management to registration of unapproved plots. Akshatha M catches up with him.

What Chennai should know about the IT industry shake-up

July 26, 2017 V Sriram

As the country’s second largest exporter of software, the city must wake up to the realities of the current phase that Indian IT is going through, and ‘downturn’ may not be the right word for it.

When selling banned ‘gutkha’ is easier than restoring a city lake

July 24, 2017 Prashanth Goutham

As part of its efforts to restore Chennai’s Porur Lake, NGO Arappor Iyakkam educates people about the issues around the lake and also the politics that goes on around our urban water bodies.

Chennai MTC website misleads commuters

July 20, 2017 G Ananthakrishnan

Confusing route information on the official website of the Chennai Metropolitan Transport Corporation and the failure to provide real time information or adequate signage reeks of a lack of focus on the commuter, writes this citizen blogger.

Embracing all creatures great and small

July 18, 2017 Meenakshi Ramesh

Not even threats to personal safety can thwart him off his chosen path of saving animals. Meet Chennai’s 16-year-old animal rescuer who imparts strong lessons in compassion in an increasingly cruel world.

New green movement in city to focus on native trees

July 12, 2017 Dharshini Ramanaa

20 organisations come together to launch ReGreen Chennai, an initiative that looks to plant 500,000 trees in five years and build sustainability through proper planting and monitoring.

The story of how Chennai’s suburban rail commuters got usable toilets

July 8, 2017 Ranga Prasad

17,60,000 passengers travelling daily by the Chennai suburban railway had only nine toilets that they could use across 47 stations, till NGO Satta Panjayathu Iyakkam stepped in. The results hold important lessons for civic problem solving.

Sewage lorries polluting Chennai lakes, drains with impunity

July 5, 2017 Balaji Srinivasan

Private sewage lorries illegally dump the entire raw sewage water that they collect from various residential complexes on to open fields, lake beds and storm water drains, while both CMWSSB and police look the other way.

Can Buckingham Canal acquire new meaning for Chennaites?

July 3, 2017 Bhavani Prabhakar

Why is the Buckingham Canal so critical for Chennai’s ecosystem? Can it be revived from its present sorry state to serve a new purpose for the city and its residents? Bhavani Prabhakar interviews a research team exploring these issues and more.