Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under R.N.I 53640/91
Vol. XXXIV No. 6, July 1-15, 2024
A severe skill/requirement/attitude mismatch? The Govt. seems to be having an HR problem on its hands
-- by Sriram V.
Headlines of the last few weeks seem to indicate that there is a severe manpower issue as far as Tamil Nadu is concerned. On the one hand there is a shortage of people, skilled and otherwise. And on the other we seem to have wasted resources who could be more gainfully employed. We allude to the delay in execution of the Chennai Metrorail Project which has been attributed to lack of availability of labour and also to the hooch tragedy which has sadly claimed many lives. It may not be correct to see a pattern or link between two seemingly diverse events but we have at the same time a huge project held up due to lack of people and we also have an enormous tragedy because people went to seek bliss from a fatal temptation.
CMRL has recently admitted that it faced an enormous labour crisis due to the elections. While its second phase needed 25,000 people, it was managing with half that strength with much of the workforce having gone back to its places of origin to exercise its franchise. The statement also has it that while people are trickling back, the present numbers are nowhere near what is required. Though CMRL does not state this explicitly, it seems implied that much of the labour comes from outside Tamil Nadu. The question then arises as to what has happened within the State to its indigenous labour force.
Of course, we have seen a contraction in the past decade or so, when it comes to Tamil Nadu’s supply of people to what can be euphemistically termed support services. It began with Chennai and then gradually spread across the rest of the State – we have been increasingly relying on migrant labour. There are two schools of thought when it comes to explaining what has happened to the local workforce. There is the negative school of thought, often identical with the elitist which opines that those who ought to be working have stopped doing so, given the freebie culture that each political regime only increases. This, combined with Tamil Nadu’s drink problem – the State admittedly has one – they say has ruined
Study underlines need for city to tackle the Urban Heat Island Effect
-- by Varsha V.
A change in Chennai’s land-use pattern is driving the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, says a study Urbanisation Impacts on Heat Island Intensification: Cooling Strategies for Coastal Cities by the Center of Climate Change and Disaster Management at Anna University. Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) emerge when a city experiences temperatures much higher than its rural surroundings due to its relative inability to dissipate heat.
The reasons are multifold and arise largely from the impact of changed landscapes. Urban surfaces like concrete and tar absorb more heat than natural surfaces as they reflect lesser sunlight; they release the heat at night, causing a spike in temperature. The design of a city has its own impact, too – tall buildings are said to create an ‘urban canyon effect’ that blocks wind flow and traps heat near the surface. Of course, activities that generate heat and pollution
Heritage Watch: A Farewell to Kuralagam?
Last fortnight’s article on the proposed 21-storey building to be constructed at Broadway Bus Stand apparently ruffled a few feathers for we got a brusque message on social media that the structure will now be only eight floors which in our view is still bad enough. We hope that whatever is planned, and whatever be its height, will reflect the surrounding architecture.
It is in this context that we feature here Kuralagam, slated for demolition as part of the above construction. We draw attention to how its recessed entrance reflects that of the Law College building just opposite, though a century separates the two. And its height was planned
Lost Landmarks: The Stuffed Calf
This series of articles, on Lost Landmarks of Chennai has generally focused on monuments and places of interest that no longer exist. It has also looked back at these with a twinge of regret for what is lost. But not everything in the past was great and worthy of preservation. There were some aspects that went away for the good – indications of what can truly be spoken of as progress. Smallpox does not come to Chennai anymore. Polio is almost eradicated. There are no open drains. In that list of things whose departure is to be celebrated, I would also add the stuffed calf. At least
Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar – an inspiration to all
-- by S. Janaki
He was an icon, a colossus, an inspiration in the field of Bharatanatyam. Prof. C.V. Chandrasekhar was a multifaceted personality – a dancer, choreographer, musician, composer, academician, mentor, and a guru immersed in Bharatanatyam. He performed and taught for almost eight decades in India and across the globe. He was affectionately called CVC Sir and CVC Anna, but to me he’s always “Chandru Mama”.
His parents and my maternal great grandparents were very close family
