April, 2018 Citizen Matters, Chennai

How a pond becomes a sewage dump: The Vannankuttai tale

April 6, 2018 Raghukumar Choodamani

Toilets by the shore, illegal sewage pipes draining into stormwater drains, debris dumped secretly — A citizen journalist’s trip to the Vannankuttai in GKM Colony reveals the sordid tale of how Chennai is losing its precious waterbodies.

Don’t cry for me, Chennai

April 4, 2018 News Desk

Don’t cry, even though the systematic destruction of Chennai’s lakes, rivers and waterbodies by the steady inflow of sewage is something that would stir every thinking citizen’s heart. A poignant photo-essay by two citizen photographers.

How proactive citizens stalled shoddy pavement work in Besant Nagar

April 3, 2018 Meenakshi Ramesh

Large stretches of pavement were dug up and young trees uprooted by the GCC between Theosophical Society and Olcott School to make way for bicycle lanes. Citizens put up strong resistance and have forced authorities to rethink the project.

Regular lifeguards, watch towers a crying need at the Marina

April 3, 2018 Bhavani Prabhakar

Given the length and nature of the coastline, Marina Beach should have a number of watchtowers, rescue boats and other precautionary measures in place. What it currently has is just an ill-equipped police patrol and occasionally, fishermen volunteering as lifeguards.

7600 families, one PDS centre: How resettled slum dwellers buy rations in Perumbakkam

April 2, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Carpenters, electricians, domestic workers — for many residents at the Ezhil Nagar resettlement, getting their quota under the PDS means multiple visits, and hence days of leave from work that they can ill afford. Even then, supplies are not guaranteed.