Just as the ebb and flow of the Pulicat Lake sustains the fishing community residing in the surrounding villages, the destiny of the people employed in different traditional livelihoods here is intertwined with the fate of the water body. The people in the 250 villages depend on the rich lagoon ecosystem of the lake, which supports a web of different professions connected to fishing in one way or another. Apart from fisherfolk, who go into the sea to catch fish, there are people who unearth earthworms to sell as baits for fish to the fishers and women who make and…
Read moreCity: Chennai
As the evening sun creates an orange hue over the shimmering waters of Pulicat Lake, the fishermen get ready to launch their wooden kattumarams (catamarans) for the boat race. The participants, sitting in the middle of their boats and rowing furiously, plunge ahead amidst the cheering of villagers, who have dropped by to witness the event. At least for a day, the fishing community and others, whose livelihoods depend on the marine ecosystem of the lake and sea, forget their troubles and have a good time. The boat race is a sort of affirmation by the village community around the…
Read moreFood Safety Department collects food samples in Chennai To curb the use of food colouring agents that have harmful chemicals in them, the Food Safety Department in Chennai has been conducting inspections in various food stalls and eateries around the city. In the last two days, the department has taken samples of food that may contain non-permitted food colour, from 200 eateries and sent them for analysis. Almost a month ago, the sale of cotton candy in the city was banned after food safety officials found the presence of Rhodamine-B, an industrial-grade dye in the candies. According to officials, their…
Read moreOn March 3rd, Primary Health Centres (PHC) in Chennai conducted the annual Pulse Polio Immunization campaign for children between the age group of 0-5 years. To ensure no child is missed, the Urban Health Nurses (UHN) made door-to-door visits on March 4 to administer polio drops. While the initiative garnered praise from all quarters, the tireless efforts of health nurses who walked kilometres under the scorching sun, went unnoticed. On March 4, at 2.30 pm, Meenambakkam and Nungambakkam weather stations in Chennai recorded the maximum temperature of 32.2 degrees C and 31.4 degrees C. However, as the humidity levels were…
Read moreAt 16, when Jency* got married to a man her family chose for her, she dreamt of a blissful life. Her husband, a carpenter, toiled to make ends meet, while she was a homemaker. Life was tough but they were content. "During weekends, he would take us to the beach and once in a while we went to the movies. Eating Delhi appalam and walking along the seashore at Marina Beach with my husband and my two kids is one of my favourite happy memories," she says. That was Jency's life in the past. The sole breadwinner of her family,…
Read moreThe Kilambakkam bus terminus has been marred by controversies ever since it opened to the public. Why was the terminus opened in such a hurry? Why did the CMDA award the contract for Operation and Maintenance to a single concessionaire? What is going to come up at the location of Koyambedu bus stand? Chennai residents are looking for answers to all these questions. To get a clear picture about the operations of the new terminus and put all controversies to rest, we spoke with CMDA Member Secretary, Anshul Mishra. Here is what the CMDA has to say about the issues.…
Read moreVoter awareness campaign begins in Chennai There are 39.01 lakh voters in Chennai. However, there is an urban apathy during elections in Parliamentary constituencies in the city, leading to low voter turnout. In a bid to increase electoral participation, especially among first-time voters, the government is planning to conduct various awareness programmes. As part of it, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Satyabrata flagged off three vehicles in Ripon Buildings to create awareness in the city’s three Parliamentary constituencies. The vehicles will carry electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter-verified paper audit trails (VVPATs). Similarly, 'Pedal for Vote Cyclothon' was also flagged off…
Read moreThe recent spurt of States announcing free public bus travel for women has led to much commentary on women freeloading off the hardworking men; of women roaming the streets with no purpose; of greater financial burden on transport undertakings who are already in the red; and of course, a general sense of this being unfair — why do only women get to travel free? To analyse these claims and assess the benefits and drawbacks of the fare-free bus scheme for women, Citizen consumer and civic Action Group (CAG) surveyed 3,000 women across six cities in Tamil Nadu, two years after…
Read moreIt was a balmy day in a crowded antenatal clinic in the small town of Haliyal in Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. The medical officer indicated to me that he was doing a great service to humanity by killing unborn girls. He would go to villages nearby, on a designated day once a month, to hold mobile clinics and conduct sex determination tests on pregnant women. If the results showed the unborn child was a girl, more often than not, the expectant mother — at her husband's family's behest — would come back to the clinic for an illegal abortion.…
Read moreWith the operation of southbound buses shifted from Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus (CMBT) in Koyambedu to Kalaignar Centenary Bus Terminus (KCBT) in Kilambakkam, there is not much clarity about the bus services among commuters. Kavin, who lives in Arumbakkam, was one among those affected by the confusion over transition of the bus stand from Koyambedu to Kilambakkam. He booked a ticket to Dindigul in an Omni bus in January-end and chose the pick-up point as Vadapalani. The bus should have picked him up at the designated stop at 9 pm. At 8 pm, he got a call from the travel…
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