Akshai Abraham

This week, we have added a new module to the site which allows users to search and download documents related to Chennai. We have painstakingly collected these documents over a period of 14 months from various sources including visits to various libraries and government offices, filing RTIs, and searches in the public domain. We are still in the process of cataloging our repository of documents and also digitizing various datasets from paper form to usable formats. We hope that at these documents will be of use to concerned citizens who wish to know more about the planning of their city.

We have also recently uploaded a layer on Solid Waste Management (Garbage Infrastructure) on our maps section as well as an online polling feature and registration to our mailing list on our blog section. Stay tuned and do keep checking in.

Some quick usage stats from Google Analytics:

Though this site has been live and attracting users for over 6 months, we revamped the site and launched on the 4^th of October. Since that date, we have had over 11,000 visits (in about 50 days). About 8850 of these are unique visits (new users) These 8000+ users have spent an average of approximately 5 minutes on the site and there have been over 53,600 page views! Considering the niche segment the site caters to (citizens concerned about one particular city in India), these are very heartening statistics.

 Picture 1: Around 80 per cent of the hits to the site came from new users.

In terms of sources of traffic, we have attracted quite a lot of international visitors (Picture 2) with hits from 65 countries. The USA, Singapore, UAE and UK top the list of international visits by country.

Picture 2

Within India (Picture 3), we have had the highest number of visits from Chennai (obviously) followed by Bangalore, Coimbatore, Mumbai, Thanjavur, Erode and Hyderabad.

Picture 3: A lot of hits from Chennai

I visited one of the Zonal offices today and while chatting up with the Health Inspector I came to know that health officers are patrolling in Chennai city to stop people from smoking in public.

If smokers are caught smoking in busy public areas of Chennai, or even with friends and family who are non smokers, a fine of Rs. 100 is slapped on them immediately. The Inspector told me that government officials are lenient about individuals smoking alone in not so busy areas.

What about the poor who do not have so much money in their pockets? These people are put in patrol vans, given a moral lecture about why they shouldn’t be doing it, and are then asked to go. However, they are dropped off at random locations so that it takes them a while to get back! What a punishment I say.

How can people be punished for a law that they aren’t even aware of? Ignorance of law is no excuse dear Chennaiites

Please refrain from smoking in public areas. While the law has existed for years, it looks like it is finally being enforced in Chennai.

- Somya Sethuraman

An NDTV article caught my attention…

Read more

Kudos to Sulabh International and its founder Bindeshwar Pathak for popularizing a low cost toilet model with provision for biogas plants to recycle and and reuse human excreta..

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The Transparent Chennai team happened to survey a few Sulabh toilets in Zone 4. In one of these toilets, we witnessed leakages and considerable structural damage, making it really inconvenient and uncomfortable for users, especially women and children. In another Sulabh facility, there was no water because of which it had zero users during the time of our visit. The caretaker was nowhere to be seen and locals told us that he was visiting the zonal office to register a complaint. Yet another toilet had been contracted to Sulabh but the Corporation had to intervene and take over since Sulabh couldn’t manage and maintain the facility.

While the design of these toilets did seem slightly better in terms of space and comfort, the real concern is the the maintenance of these toilets. Once constructed, one needs to ensure that the facility is maintained. There was also no way to figure out or verify if the waste was actually being recycled.

Posted by Somya Sethuraman

I came across this article in Times of India today:

Sewage system improvement at Rs 42 crore

CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) has prepared a blueprint to improve the sewage system in the city at the cost of Rs 42 crore. An announcement to this effect was made on Wednesday by CMWSSB managing director Rajesh Lakhoni during a high-level meeting… Read more here

What was particularly interesting about this article was a comment by Devi, a CPM councillor: “The sewer lines were laid decades ago and there is neither improvement nor modernisation, resulting in clogged sewers. Public health is at risk due to contamination of drinking water”

Transparent Chennai is conducting a survey, a pilot project, to asses the quality of public toilets in Chennai. In many of the toilets that we visited, users of toilets complained of clogged sewers as a frequent problem. Caretakers in some of the locations had locked up latrines and toilet compounds because of blocked underground drainage.

While this piece in ToI comes as a pleasant development, the question is : Will we succeed in utilizing these funds to create a sustainable solution? What do you feel? Please write to us.

- Somya Sethuraman

By Vaishnavi Narasimhan

Kuthambakkam is an agriculture-based village located in Poonamallee Union, 31 km West of Chennai. The village people are now fighting to protect 100 acres of grazing land in their panchayat from a proposed solid waste management plant for Ambattur, Maduravoyal, Valasaravakkam, Thiruverkadu, Poonamalle municipalities and Porur Town Panchayat. The proposed site also happens to be the catchment area for Chembarambakkam lake, which is a major drinking water source for Chennai’s residents. This means that our drinking water is at risk of being polluted in a couple of years, unless we raise our voices against this waste management plant.

Please read the following message from the Kuthambakkam youth and sign the petition to save Chennai’s drinking water!

Dear Friends,

As you all know, Kuthambakkam is evolving as a model village, as a realization of the Mahathma’s dream.. It has been a pioneer in the process of path-breaking development so far ! But, for the past two years, the village has been struggling to free itself from the clutches of the Government that is trying to make 100 acres of Kuthambakkam’s grazing land into a municipal solid waste treatment plant – the modern alias for a dumpyard.

Since the proposed area also happens to be the catchment area of Chembarambakkam lake – Chennai’s major drinking water source, experts have warned that the project may have terrible consequences on the lives of the Chennai people due to water contamination. Its time we rise up to the call of a village trying to save itself and the Chennai people… Kuthambakkam is no more fighting a lone battle – the whole of Chennai is joining in. For complete information in this regard, please visit https://sites.google.com/site/kuthambakkam

Its time to act now. You can do your bit by signing in the petition to TamilNadu Pollution Control Board – your sign will add value and strength to this campaign of truth.. Click here to sign the petition now. Pass it on to your friends and associates as well Thanks in advance.

Kuthambakkam Youth

After four months of living in Chennai, I have begun to see just how beautiful the city is. Maybe it has to do with the arrival of the monsoons and the weather being so much kinder than it usually is; or maybe it’s because I have been frequenting the beach more often and taking long walks at the IIT campus. I find that the city has a lot of natural beauty as well as several heritage buildings and vintage houses that make me want to stop and take a second look.

Speaking of vintage, I found this map of erstwhile Madras from 1893 while surfing the net one day. Being a history buff and a lover of all things old, I spent about 20 minutes studying this map. The first thing that struck me was the size of Mylapore tank. Also, notice the amount of greenery around Fort St. George.

Source: www.indiawaterportal.org

I have heard my great grandmother use the phrase ‘Madras Nalla Madras!’ all my life, and I now understand why. I surfed around a bit more and found some beautiful pictures of early 20^th century Madras (Courtesy: The Times of India Group).

The elegant and bustling Mount Road in 1900.

The pristine and serene Buckingham Canal in 1920 (Built in 1878).

And the awesome and regal Spencer’s Building in 1920.

Can you imagine living in a city like this – with wide roads flanked by trees and ample room for pedestrians, and clean water ways, ponds and lakes? All of us at Transparent Chennai simply love the city and dream of restoring its original charm and preserving its existing beauty. We believe that we can accomplish this with your help, and that’s what keeps us going!

What do you love about Chennai? What are your favorite places in the city? Please feel free to utilize our user driven layer to mark places that you find interesting, noteworthy or beautiful and write your comments about them. Do you have any interesting pictures or trivia to share about the city? Is there something interesting that you remember about old Madras and would like to share? Please comment on this post or email us – we might even put it up as a guest blog post!

Posted by :Vaishnavi Narasimhan