EDITORS' PICK | | Citizen Matters, Chennai

Beat your lockdown blues with balcony birding

August 4, 2020 Bhavani Prabhakar

Confined during the lockdown, bird watchers in Chennai have not been able to camp out. But they have been pursuing their passion from their terraces and balconies. You can too!

How can Chennai ensure social distancing in public spaces?

August 1, 2020 Aruna Natarajan

With successive stages of unlock underway, how can the crowded streets, shopping hubs, markets and buses of Chennai become spaces safe for people?

All you wanted to know about plasma donation for COVID treatment in Chennai

July 30, 2020 Bhavani Prabhakar

Though still under clinical trials, plasma therapy has shown good results in COVID patients. Where is plasma therapy done in Chennai? What is the process like? Who can donate plasma? A quick FAQ

COVID deaths in Chennai: What’s the mortality rate in your zone?

July 28, 2020 Bhavani Prabhakar

Zonewise mortality rates, the role of comorbid conditions, the importance of constant monitoring of patients at home and in the hospital — a look at some key highlights from data released by the GCC

Ward committees: The missing link that could have made Chennai’s COVID fight stronger

July 27, 2020 Gokhulraj R

Rural areas and a few other cities have demonstrated the importance of ward committees and areas sabhas, but their absence in Chennai has limited community response to the pandemic.

“Effective online teaching needs longer preparation, much greater effort; why should it cost less?”

July 21, 2020 Aruna Natarajan

An in-depth interview on online schooling, its pros and cons and its long term potential, with Balaji Sampath, a passionate educational activist and entrepreneur.

Private disinfection services step in to fill Chennai Corporation’s gaps; how can you avail the service?

July 20, 2020 Bhavani Prabhakar

Overburdened GCC workers are unable to keep up with demands for sanitising homes and properties exposed to the COVID-19 infection. This has provided an opportunity to private players.

Why many children on Chennai’s streets don’t want to go home for lunch

July 17, 2020 Laasya Shekhar

Five-year-old Kumar says he is not hungry. 10-year-old Surendar is more candid: he misses the mid-day meal at school. What the lockdown in Anganwadi Centres and schools means for these children of the urban poor

கோவிட்-19 தொற்று ஏற்பட்டால் சென்னைவாசிகள் கடைப்பிடிக்க வேண்டியவை

July 15, 2020 Laasya Shekhar

உங்களுக்கு கோவிட்-19 தொற்று உறுதி செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளதா? முக்கிய உதவி எண்கள், தனிமைப்படுத்துதல், மருத்துவமனையை அணுகுதல் போன்று நீங்கள் அறிய வேண்டும் அனைத்து தகவல்களும் இங்கே.

What to do if you test positive for COVID-19 in Chennai

July 9, 2020 Laasya Shekhar

A complete set of guidelines for all Chennaiites who may have symptoms or test positive for COVID — where to get tested, what to expect and important links and resources.

What you should do if there is a COVID patient in your apartment community

July 8, 2020 Bhavani Prabhakar

Will your apartment be sealed off if a patient tests COVID positive in the complex? What measures should the apartment association take? What precautions and measures should you take?

Why are auto drivers in Chennai struggling to survive despite CM’s promise of help?

June 30, 2020 Laasya Shekhar

There exists an Autorickshaw and Taxi Drivers’ Welfare Board under the Tamil Nadu Government. The CM also promised cash support, dry rations and oil. What went wrong?

Caught between past and future, Chennai schools and pupils struggle to adapt

June 26, 2020 Mahesh V

It’s a situation like never before. As schooling moves online, how are teachers, students and the schools themselves coping with the change?

The one step from Chennai Corporation that could have saved many street vendors from misery during COVID-19

June 25, 2020 Laasya Shekhar

Street vendors without identity cards suffered the worst during the lockdown. Could Chennai Corporation have prevented this through better planning and sensitisation?

What I learnt about testing, hospitals and treatment from my brush with coronavirus

June 19, 2020 Aswini Ashok

Aswini Ashok’s father tested positive for COVID-19. She provides a first-person account of what to expect during the entire period from testing through treatment.