September | 2019 | Citizen Matters, Chennai

RTI data reveals that only 34% of Chennai roads are flood proof!

September 30, 2019 Ranga Prasad

A robust storm water drain network is the need of the hour for Chennai to prevent floods similar to that of 2015. But only 1894 km out of the total 5500 km of roads in the city were networked with storm water drains as of October 2018.

Chennai Buzz: Rain relief contingency measures | Shortlisted locations for new airport | Cooum bank evictions…and more

September 29, 2019 News Desk

What measures is the Corporation taking, as it expects more rains to hit the city? Where is Chennai likely to see its second airport? Who will now be responsible for approving large housing projects? Catch all this and more in our weekly compilation of buzz.

Climate Strike comes to India — three things to keep in mind

September 28, 2019 Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya

Over the last one week, thousands of Indian students and youth across India, inspired by the Global Climate Strike organised by ‘Fridays for Future’, came together to demand immediate action to mitigate local and global climate risks. What should be the way forward?

Small steps to make your office space greener

September 27, 2019 Surekha Raj

The founder of an HR firm in Chennai describes how she motivates her team to adopt environment-friendly lifestyles and take concrete steps to reduce waste generated at the workplace.

Sustainability needs a people-centric approach; is smart city Chennai geared to that?

September 26, 2019 Varun Sukumar

A city tackling climate change needs to think big and small and involve all stakeholders in the process — policymakers, state and local governments, private entities and citizens. That should be one of the primary goals of the Chennai Smart City programme.

How social media savvy are Chennai government departments today?

September 25, 2019 Laasya Shekhar

Social media engagement by government agencies – particularly on Twitter and Facebook – could be a game changer in terms of building a rapport with citizens and communicating effectively. Not all arms of our local government seem to be faring great on that count, however.

Here’s what you must know before you plant another tree in Chennai

September 25, 2019 Aruna Natarajan

While tree plantation drives are increasingly common across the city, planting non-native, invasive species could cause more harm than good. What should we keep in mind as we take a pledge to add to the city’s green cover?

Trying out eco-friendly initiatives for public transport

September 24, 2019 Varsha Venugopal

Data from the experiment, such as usage patterns, battery life, charging frequency etc will help the government scale up the use of electric buses across the city

Chennai Buzz: Record rainfall in a day | Multimodal hub at Broadway | Metro from Wimco Nagar…and more

September 22, 2019 News Desk

Catch the updates on some of the most important news and happenings from the city over the week gone by.

Not just Villivakkam Lake, apartments and malls too can benefit from our technology: BARC scientist

September 22, 2019 Laasya Shekhar

Chennai Corporation has collaborated with Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to restore the Villivakkam Lake, using waste water treated through a special technology. We spoke to J Daniel Chellappa, Senior Scientist at BARC, to know more about the plans and the larger implications.

சென்னையில் ஸ்மார்ட் பைக்கை உபயோகிப்பது எப்படி?

September 20, 2019 Aruna Natarajan

For our Tamil readers: A translated version of our article on the details of Chennai’s smart bike fleet, its overall performance so far and locations of the docking stations

From 1104 cases in August 2017 to just 196 this year: How Chennai is battling dengue

September 18, 2019 Laasya Shekhar

Thanks to proactive measures by the Chennai Corporation, dengue incidence has shown significant decline in the city. But there’s more to be done and citizens must play an active role in that.

Meet the mridangam makers of Mylapore

September 17, 2019 Ashna Butani/PARI

Jesudas and his son Edwin are skilled craftsmen, known in the Carnatic music universe of Chennai and elsewhere for the mridangams they give life to, though they still face occasional communal bias.

On thriving ECR, a family left behind relates its story

September 16, 2019 Mahesh V

Paul Rajapandian, or Raja, lives with his two daughters and a granddaughter in a small shack alongside ECR road. His family has been in the cane weaving business for over two generations. In the buzzing suburbs of our metropolis, lives such as Raja’s remain invisible.

Chennai Buzz: Crackdown on illegal banners | State mulls lowering traffic fines | Two-way traffic on Anna Salai stretch again

September 15, 2019 News Desk

Outrage over the tragic death of IT worker Subhasri Ravi, new plans of Metro Water, buzz over possible lowering of traffic fines under the new law — read more about these and other important news from the city in this week’s recap.