What Rubbish!
A walk in any of the residential localities in Chennai could well be likeparticipating in an obstacle race because you have to step over piles ofstinking garbage, plastic bags (and lots of them at that) flying in the morningbreeze as street corners turn into a rag picker's paradise. That's the bad news.The good news is that a survey has found that Chennai has got the top spot interms of efficiency in garbage clearance. 3,500 tonnes is generated everyday byits 56 lakh citizens of which 1800 tonnes end up at the Kodaingayur dumpyard and1400 tonnes at the Perungadi landfill.
The balance 300 tonnes is recycled . That's miniscule when you consider thate-garbage--oh, yes in these days of use and throw where do you think thatnon-functioning modem that your "computer engineer" took out of yourcomputer went?--that is slowly being added everyday, non-biodegradable waste canbe a nightmare. Muncipal commissioner Rakesh Lakhoni says the Chennaicorporation is negotiating with a Maharashtra entrepreneur, who has patentedturning plastic waste into fuel, as well as someone in Karnataka who has a planfor turning plastics into pellets to be mixed with bitumen for use in roadlaying. But that's still in the future.
Advertisement
The problem, at the moment, is that garbage is not segregated in Chennai.Mostly, homes don't recycle and in the few cases that they do, the 1500tricycles that pick up the garbage mix them up causing citizens to lose themotivation to recycle. However, from April segregation will be a must accordingto Mayor M Subramanian. "We plan to rope in film stars and school childrento popularize the concept of source segregation of garbage," he hasannounced. In addition fines will be imposed for littering, spitting orurinating in public places (Rs 50) dumping of construction debris and burninggarbage (Rs 500) and for keeping surroundings untidy (Rs 1000). So Chennai willbecome a "fine" city. Move over Singapore.
Kicking Butt?
The tea kadais (tea shops) that dot the pavements are a smoker's paradise. Yourarely see smokers hanging out outside their air-conditioned offices andlighting up. Restaurants are a no-no, even autorickshaw drivers dare not smokeon duty. But tea shops are where they all converge to gossip and indulgethemselves no matter what the WHO says.
Anbumani Ramadoss may have got Rajnikanth to give up his style statement infilms and nettled Shah Rukh Khan no end because the union minister of healthfeels SRK is terrible as a role model, but smokers will kick the habit only whenthey want to or when their wives want them to (I know many men who kicked thebutt because the missus said they smelt like ashtrays). The jury is still outwhether pictures of a cancerous lung or some other frightening future prospectwill make men and women quit the cancer stick.
Chennai, the directorate of health promises, will be smoke-free in two years. Ofthe 125 million USD that New York mayor Michael Bloomberg is spreading aroundthe world to fight smoking, Tamil Nadu is expected to get Rs 4-5 crores whichwill go towards spreading awareness about the "cancer stick". Expectto be fined if you are caught smoking in public places. Well, hiking excise dutydrastically over the years has helped many quit because, let's face it, a blowto the wallet immediately beats all the fears drummed up about the scary thingsthat might befall you in the future. So fining is probably the best way to go.
Chak De Illavazhagi
Even as the Dhonis, Tendulkars, Yuvraj Singhs and other cricketers are raking inbig time moolah, spare a thought for players like Illavazhagi who won the WorldCarrom championship at the Palais Des Festivals, Cannes, France early lastmonth. Illavazhagi, who won her maiden national championship recently, beatcompatriot P Nirmala in straight sets at Cannes.
Advertisement
Illavazhagi, the daughter of a fish cart puller living in the Slum ClearanceBoard tenement in Vyasarpadi, broke down when a reception was held to honour herafter years of being ignored although she had won the Commonwealth championshipsearlier and is also the reigning SAARC champ. "I never imagined that peoplewill wait for me at the airport," Illavazhagi says. She also points outthat she almost did not go to Cannes because she had to pay 520 euros ( morethan Rs 30,000). She packed her carrom board only after state sports and youthwelfare secretary Christodas Gandhi intervened to help her.
Illavazhagi bought her own board with help from her PT teacher. "I stilluse the same board for practice," she says. While cricketers seem to betalking only in crores, the one lakh rupees cheque she received from MPKanimozhi on behalf of an NGO, Tamil Maiyam, will go a long way in boosting herto win the Olympic gold.
Many sportsmen--not the pampered cricketers--have echoed what she says. "Ata time when cricketers are earning crores of rupees, we are asking only for ameager amount that will at least take us to the venue." For the moment allthat the 24-year-old wants is a job with the Petroleum Sports Promotion Boardand sponsorship to participate in tournaments. Here's a thought--maybecricketers should earmark some of their big bucks with a matching grant from therichie rich BCCI so other sportspersons can grow. It's not too much to ask, isit?
For Women Only
Even as Hilary Clinton is back in the race knocking on the doors of history tocatapult herself into the White House--some 40 years after bra-burning feministstook to the street--Chennai has its own bit of glory that the sisterhood willcelebrate. It's playing host this week to the first global women's film festivalto celebrate the spirit of International Women's Day on March 8.
While hotels and pubs will fall over themselves to fawn on women--as ifoffering incentives to make women drink is liberating - the InKo Centre hasbrought 82 films from 16 countries, all directed by women, for this week-longfestival that ends on March 8. And they are not only art house films or oneswith a women-only ensemble cast but women's issues have been focused on. Chennai-baseddirectors Sharada Ramanathan (Shringaram), Revathy (Mitr and PhirMilenge), Suhasini Maniratnam (Indira) and Janaki Vishwanathan (KanavuMeipada Vendum) are among those whose films are being screened
