garbage | Citizen Matters, Chennai

Chennai Buzz: Water situation improves | Lake clean ups | Plans for Metro Phase 2… and more

August 17, 2019 News Desk

What exactly is the water scenario in the city now? Shall the rains continue long enough? Why are eateries and food vendors under the scanner of the Chennai collectorate? And what can we expect from Metro Phase 2? A quick compilation of some important news from the week gone by.

We wish you a happy and plastic-free new year!

January 1, 2019 Meenakshi Ramesh

As the ban on single use plastics comes into effect in Tamil Nadu, we recap our stories related to solid waste management, and appeal to all our readers to join the movement.

How much can we do? ask the conservancy workers of Chennai

May 25, 2018 Shobha Menon

Conservancy staff work quietly and tirelessly in the face of growing amounts of garbage and indifference among the citizens of Chennai. Nature lover and journalist Shobha Menon spends a morning with them and comes away with a heavy heart.

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.

SPARKing a civic movement

January 6, 2018 Meenakshi Ramesh

Battered roads, mounting garbage or hanging cables, whatever the problem, members of this civic forum will guide you on informing the right officials and having these resolved.

Waste segregation: The challenge Chennai must overcome

November 10, 2017 Seetha Gopalakrishnan

Inefficient solid waste management results in piles of garbage that aggravate urban flooding in cities like Chennai. While most citizens blame civic authorities for the lapse, are they doing their bit?

Mandatory segregation? Great idea, but how can we implement it?

September 15, 2017 Meenakshi Ramesh

The reported move of the GCC to make segregation at source mandatory is music to the ears of many waste champions in the city, but they know that a lot more needs to be done to make the mission a success on a city-wide scale.

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.

Watch how this group of Chennai kids are cleaning up Besant Nagar!

April 27, 2017 Mallika Kumar

A group of 11 kids from Grandma & Grandpa’s International Early Learning Center come together to solve the neighbourhood’s garbage problem.

What Manali can teach the rest of Chennai about waste

February 16, 2017 Aarti Madhusudan

Aarti Madhusudan recounts what she saw and learnt about waste management initiatives, as she spent a day in this North Chennai Zone.

Garbage woes a constant reminder of Cyclone Vardah for Chennai

January 11, 2017 Bhavani Prabhakar

Close to a month since tropical cyclone Vardah threw Chennai off its rails, the city administration still appears to be grappling with the management of the mammoth quantities of waste that it generated.

Residents of Padur on OMR raise their voices against dumping

October 7, 2016 Jayanthi Jacob

A citizen journalist reports on their long-standing struggle to stop environmental damage and health hazards due to indiscriminate dumping and burning of mixed waste in Padur on Old Mahabalipuram Road.

Chennai’s garbage: Long journey ahead to sustainable waste management

May 3, 2016 Nileena MS

As the flood waters started to recede, one of the main issues that the city of Chennai grappled with in the aftermath of the recent floods was the clearing of tonnes of garbage strewn all