Environment | Citizen Matters, Chennai

A new green revolution in Royapuram

March 20, 2017 Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya

Inspired by the Kotturpuram Tree Park and the guidance of the Nizhal team, members of the Dawoodi Bohra community start NABAAT, a movement to plant and nurture trees.

People’s day out as Chennai gears up for T Nagar pedestrian plaza

March 16, 2017 ITDP India

Shoppers greeted the second trial run of the proposed Pondy Bazaar Pedestrian Plaza with great enthusiasm, even as shop owners had to be convinced that their businesses would not suffer.

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.

Ennore oil spill: How to make a bad disaster worse

February 13, 2017 Seetha Gopalakrishnan

Irresponsible port authorities, unprepared disaster management systems and institutional failures have created an environmental crisis on the Chennai coast, the impact of which will be felt over months to come.

With three rivers and five wetlands, why is Chennai staring at ecological collapse?

February 6, 2017 Mahesh Kumar S T

With its waterways polluted, wetlands encroached and groundwater overexploited, Chennai must wake up immediately to the need for preserving its well-endowed natural heritage.

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.

Upcycling: A citizen’s guide to creatively reducing landfill waste

November 28, 2016 Bhavani Prabhakar

Upcycling — producing creative, high-end products from reusable waste — has found a growing following in the city of late. Bhavani A P captures the trend and provides a primer for the beginner.

Creating cooler shades for Chennai: A chat with the Founder of Nizhal

November 4, 2016 Meenakshi Ramesh

Citizen Matters caught up with the founder of Nizhal, who has been committed to the cause of greening Chennai for over a decade now.

The many faces of Deepavali in Chennai

October 29, 2016 Meenakshi Ramesh

The pull of the fireworks and the call of a cleaner, greener planet – how is Chennai balancing the two this Deepavali? Meenakshi Ramesh finds out.

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.

Arun Krishnamurthy is saving our environment, one lake at a time

September 22, 2016 Meenakshi Ramesh

Krishnamurthy, who has founded the Environment Foundation of India, is a shining example of the positive change that one passionate and committed individual can bring about. Meenakshi Ramesh meets the inspiring young man.

From Pallikaranai to Ennore, Chennai citizens fight to save the wetlands

September 6, 2016 Navya P K

The Pallikaranai marsh measures barely a tenth of it used to 50 years ago. Who is batting for the wetlands of Chennai?

How 89-year young Kamakshi Paati is inspiring change in Chennai

August 29, 2016 Meenakshi Ramesh

Her enthusiasm for meeting people is equalled only by her indignation at the pathetic state of the infrastructure all over the city – the roads that get relaid without being milled, the storm water drains

Chennai Trekkers clean up Theosophical Society

July 8, 2016 News Desk

For over 10 weeks now, Friday after Friday, volunteers from CTC and other organisations, have been tirelessly cleaning up the Adyar river, inside the Theosophical Society grounds. While it is distressing to see the amount

A Memorable Morning at Neelankarai – Hitesh

June 27, 2016 News Desk

A Memorable Morning at Neelankarai It was 5.25 a.m on June 19th. We were walking towards the Beach from East Coast Road. I’m part of Just Volunteer, an independent volunteering group and along with 30