News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bala Vidyalaya helps spread awareness about the significance of diagnosing hearing impairment early in children, to help them lead a normal childhood.

The Rubella vaccine, taken before pregnancy, prevents hearing defects in newborn children. For children born with impairment, early diagnosis and treatment can help them learn to speak and lead near normal lives.

In a beautiful, nostalgic ode to Chennai that was Madras, heritage activist V Sriram tells us about the lost landmarks of the city: the tree-lined avenues and what they have become today.