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Candidate lists, MP profiles, interviews, voter guide, choosing an MP, polling booth info, news, analysis and data... watch this space as we update this continuously over the various phases of voting in the Lok Sabha elections 2024 Constituencies & Candidates Get to know your constituency, and who your candidates are. Phase 1: April 19th Chennai North Chennai Central Chennai South Phase 2: April 26th Bangalore North Bangalore Central Bangalore South Phase 5: May 20th Mumbai North Mumbai South Mumbai North East Mumbai North West Mumbai North Central Mumbai South Central Candidate Interviews & Profiles Have suggested a health survey to…

As India gets ready to vote to decide who will represent the country in Parliament, Citizen Matters is speaking to elected representatives from Chennai, ahead of the Lok Sabha 2024 elections. As part of this series, we did an email interview with T Sumathy alias Thamizhachi Thangapandian, incumbent MP from Chennai South constituency. Thamizhachi has been given the ticket by her party DMK to contest from the same constituency in the 2024 polls. Chennai South and Thamizhachi Thangapandian Chennai South constituency comprises of Mylapore, Saidapet, Virugambakkam, Velachery, Sholinganallur and Thyagaraya Nagar. A poet, writer, educationist and theatre person, Thamizhachi is the daughter…

TapTap wristbands for metro passengers Passengers on the Metro 1 line, which runs from Ghatkopar to Versova, will have a new ticketing option in the near future. Mumbai Metro One Pvt Ltd (MMOPL) has introduced a QR-coded wristband dubbed TapTap.  Passengers will be able to tap their wristbands at the automated fare collection gate (AFC). With an inaugural price of Rs 200, these wearable metro tickets are available at all customer care windows on the metro line. According to MMOPL, the TapTap wristbands are made of a silicone based material that is non-allergenic. They are water-proof and operate without a battery.…

Kannappar Thidal residents of Chennai Central constituency to boycott Lok Sabha elections In line with the villagers of Ennore and Parandur, residents of Kannappar Thidal in Chennai's Central constituency have also decided to boycott the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Around 62 families, who were living on the streets near the Ripon building, were evicted in 2002 by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) as their presence was found to be an obstacle to the then-ongoing sporting events and developmental work in the nearby Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. These families were provided with a temporary shelter with a promise of alternative housing in…

Highest temperature in eight years The city's maximum temperature this month, so far, has been 37.6 degrees Celsius on April 2nd, which is the highest in the past eight years and third highest in the last 15 years. A Prasad, senior scientist from India Meteorological Department (IMD), says that the El Nino effect shows a decreased index of 1.1 from last year's 1.5. Though the city shows a steady rise in temperatures, the IMD predicts some rainfall in the second week of April, along with some pre-monsoon showers on April 12th and April 13th, with 61.7 mm. The IMD predicts…

The two-time Lok Sabha MP representing Mumbai South Central constituency, Rahul Ramesh Shewale from Shiv Sena has quite a long history in politics. He was a corporator of BMC and was nominated the Chairman of the BMC Standing Committee, four times from 2010 - 2014, before running for parliament. He was elected as MP in the 16th (2009) and 17th (2014) Lok Sabha elections from Mumbai South Central, one of the biggest constituencies in Mumbai, comprising areas such as Chembur, Anuksathi Nagar, Wadala, Sion Koliwada, and Dharavi. Recently, the bid for redevelopment project of Dharavi, one of the largest informal settlements in Asia…

The annual DLN Rao Foundation Seminar, titled Road to Environmental Justice, will be held on April 13, 2024, Saturday, from 3 30 pm to 5 30pm at the NGO Hall, Cubbon Park. Citizen Matters is proud to be the media partner for this event. The seminar will host Supreme Court Justice, Abhay S Oka and Karnataka High Court Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav. Justice Abhay Oka will deliver the Keynote address. He is well known to citizens in Bengaluru from his tenure at the Karnataka HIgh Court. He pronounced landmark judgements and orders to protect the city’s lakes from encroachments, reiterated…

How do you check if your name is on the electoral rolls? How do you locate your polling booth? Who are the candidates in your constituency? Can you still vote if you don't have a voter ID card? Follow the Citizen Matters voters guide for quick answers to these questions and more. Election of the 18th Lok Sabha will be conducted in seven phases in all starting April 19 and ending on June 1 2024. Counting of votes is scheduled on June 4. In this mammoth and most challenging exercise in the world’s most populous democracy, it is crucial for every…

Cleanup Marshals are back in Mumbai “The Cleanup Marshal” scheme has been reintroduced by the BMC from 2nd April after a gap of two years. The scheme has been launched on a pilot basis in the A Ward. The marshals are now equipped with a mobile app via which they can issue penalty receipts to people caught littering. When launched earlier, there were complaints that the marshals were not issuing receipts and were carrying out extortion of tourists: the reason why the scheme was discontinued by the BMC in 2011. This system does away with physical receipts. Penalties can also…

Olive Ridley turtles released at Besant Nagar beach in Chennai The cute little creatures making their way through the sand and into the sea along the Chennai coast is a beautiful sight to watch for beach goers. Forest Department officials released around 10,000 newborn Olive Ridley turtles into the sea at the Besant Nagar beach on Monday. The Tamil Nadu coast is an important nesting site for these turtles. According to the Forest Department, nesting of the Olive Ridley turtles had been adversely affected following the Cyclone Michaung, which lashed the Chennai coast in December last year. But this year,…