Chennai discussions II

[Arul Murugan]

Is this Hiranandhini or anyother uprise near to Muttukadu boating point?



DKN

[ChennaiChap]

Yes, that looks like Hiranandani upscale. That's a nice pic!

[Fusionist]

thats a beautiful landscape photo. Wish it is available in better quality.

[ceeznic pirate]

Prosperity and Its Risk to Culture

On Anna Salai, a central artery that runs through this city, there is a store called the American Book Center. The owner, V. Krishnan, is 70 years old. He has been selling books since he was 8 — first as a hawker in the former Burmese capital, Rangoon, where his father worked as a goldsmith, and then in Chennai, where he moved in the 1960s and opened two stores.

On a cloudy Saturday morning, Mr. Krishnan talked about the evolution of the book business over the last few decades.

Read more ...The NewYork Times

[robertashok]

Originally Posted by ceeznic pirate

Prosperity and Its Risk to Culture

On Anna Salai, a central artery that runs through this city, there is a store called the American Book Center. The owner, V. Krishnan, is 70 years old. He has been selling books since he was 8 — first as a hawker in the former Burmese capital, Rangoon, where his father worked as a goldsmith, and then in Chennai, where he moved in the 1960s and opened two stores.

On a cloudy Saturday morning, Mr. Krishnan talked about the evolution of the book business over the last few decades.

Read more ...The NewYork Times

Talking about culture and various other aspects of life. Perhaps almost all tamilians know about thirukural provides the guidelines of life. but none of them could understand it fully because of the high end pure tamil scriptures.

I came across one blog, where a gentleman has translated it in simple English, hope everybody does gets benefited and lead a good life.

http://thirukkuralmadeeasy.blogspot....blog-post.html
atleast i have been following it mostly 90% of it.

[coolmukund]

Originally Posted by ChennaiChap

Yes, that looks like Hiranandani upscale. That's a nice pic!

i dont think so....upscale is on proper OMR. This is on or near ECR. and i think this is TVH Ouronya Bay

[Chennai_m]

no it is without a doubt hiranandhani. ouranya bay buildings are oval shaped with circular edges. this is built in the Greek architectural style and is very distinct. i think hiranandani is also visible from parts of ECR. i don't know where this pic was taken but it is clearly a pic of hiranandani upscale in siruseri/navalur.

[georgenadar]

image hosted on flickr

Chennai

image hosted on flickr

Santhome Church

image hosted on flickr

Chennai Street

image hosted on flickr

Chennai Railway Station - Photo vdrpijl

image hosted on flickr

Chennai Railway Station - Photo vdrpijl

image hosted on flickr

Chennai Central - Photo vdrpijl

[kannan infratech]

Near Muttukadu Lake on OMR side is the TVH project. Mantri's project is also at Kazhipattur side on OMR side.

Hiranandhani and Opaline are also visible from ECR near Mayajaal. Not near Muttukkadu.

[Reegan]

image hosted on flickr

Shree santhinath temple-t.nagar
image hosted on flickr

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

Besant Nagar Chennai

image hosted on flickr

Pedestrian Overbridge -- Panaroma

[Indian Sun]

The last pic is mine. Reegan, please give photographer credits to all pics that you post.

[Kewl Batty]

Yea Reegan, better post source and the name of the author when u post pics which are not yours. for courtesy.

[slakhs]

Any reason why this is gradually becoming a photo thread when we have a separate one for Chennai Views?

[chennaidesi]

Yes please post images in chennai images thread

[georgenadar]

An Expatriate in the Rent House at Akkarai. Photo: M. Karunakaran

Beach houses on a 12-km stretch from Neelankarai to Uthandi is a magnet for foreigners living and working in Chennai

Ackmanns. Bergens. Gagnons. Akiyamas. Powells. The seaside avenues off a 12-km stretch on East Coast Road are lined with houses sporting nameplates such as these.

Attracted by the idea of living in spacious bungalows by the beach, a clutch of foreigners have flocked to this stretch between Neelankarai and Uthandi.

There are living spaces that seem to have been created specifically for expatriates. “Renting for Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 2.5 lakh a month, these independent houses are set on big expanses of land and offer a wide variety of luxuries. All of them have generators with 24-hour power back-up, swimming pools, quarters for servants and security men, well-designed gardens and security cameras,” says Sohail Sarooshi of Ganapathy Estates.

A pool and unlimited power back-up rank high for these expatriates. In 2008, the Lacys combed the area and found the house they wanted in Akkarai. Except for a pool, it had everything they were looking for. “The owner built one for us,” says Helen Lacy. “As almost all expatriates are from colder regions, they need pools and non-stop air-conditioning to cope with the Chennai climate. And, those from Western countries rely greatly on frozen food and require constant refrigeration”

Mermaid Swimming Pools has tapped into the huge demand for pools y setting up an outlet at Akkarai. Owners who have to quickly ready their beach houses for expatriate-tenants go in for movable swimming pools offered by the company. “One third of the clients on this stretch are owners re-designing their houses for expatriates,” says proprietor Sekar James.

A dip in the beach is much desired, but only a few expatriates muster the courage to walk to the beach. Swedes Asa Holm and Marcus Karlsson, residents of Neelankarai, were appalled at the condition of the beach near their house and struck off the “walk to the beach” from their daily activity list.

Despite the unclean beaches, these foreigners prefer to live on the coast. Because it provides the illusion of being at home. Many come from sparsely populated regions of the world. As more than two storeys are not allowed on the coast, most beachside areas, especially the Neelankarai-Uthandi stretch, offer more quietude. “Only nine million people live in Sweden,” says Karlsson. “We wanted a quiet area.”

The Lacys don't see many commonalities between the sandy beaches here and the cliffy ones in Britain, but they find Akkarai almost as quiet as their native town, Dumfries. For Fraser Lacy, this quiet comes with a price. His house is a good distance away from his workplace in Sriperumbudur. However, “Connectivity has improved by leaps and bounds since we moved in two years ago. So, commuting over a long distance is not much of a problem,” says Helen. A majority of the expatriates living here occupy key positions in FI units set up in suburbs such as Oragadam, Maramalainagar and Sriperumbudur.

Expatriares with young children prefer this stretch because of the ease of access to the Amercian School. As the OMR is seldom plagued by traffic snarls, driving children to school is generally a hassle-free experience.

Another significant reason for expatriates gravitating towards the Uthandi-Neelankarai stretch is the sense of communtity they expect to find there. “My friends live in the nearby avenues,” says Helen. Slowly, spaces for expatriates to hang out at are opening up. Kipling Cafe in Akkarai is an example. Sarah Keogh finds it the ideal place to hang out with her family. “Seventy per cent of our clientele are expatriates,” says Gomathi Subramanian of Kipling Cafe.

While many expatriates are at home living on this stretch, they are not looking at buying property.

“It is too expensive,” says Sarah Laws, who lives in a house in Paniyur built on a lavish scale. “I'm stunned by the prices. They are becoming comparable to prices in England.” Ironically, demand from expatriates for houses in the area is part of the reason for prohibitive prices.

“Prices depend on a property's distance from the sea. In Neelankarai, a 2400 sq.ft piece of land ranges from Rs. 70 lakh to Rs. 1.2 crore. In Panaiyur, it is Rs. 50 lakh. In Uthandi, it ranges from Rs. 35 lakh to Rs. 50 lakh,” says Sohail. “The lifting of constraints on construction along the coast is going to push up prices. Now, if a property is located on a road that was developed before the CRZ regulations came into force, construction can be carried on it. Extension of the city limits up to Uthandi is another factor pushing up prices.”

[MyNation]

One often hears of commuters taking a train or bus to a terminal closest to their place of work, study or residence, only to find they have to trek the last two km because auto drivers would accept nothing less than Rs 50 for a five-minute ride. Talking about hiring autos to ply by the meter is, of course, out of question — no resident in Chennai is likely to recall the last time he paid an auto driver the fare as per the minimum charge of Rs 14 for the first two km and Rs 6 for every additional km.
Presently, pre-paid autorickshaw systems do function on the premises of Chennai Central railway station and the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus in Koyambedu. While the autos at Chennai-Central ply to over 140 destinations, those at Koyambedu have a list of about 300 destinations. The minimum fare is Rs 21 for the first two km and Rs 9 is charged for every additional km of travel. Passengers also pay Rs 2 extra as service charge at the counter.
Though transport minister K N Nehru had announced two years ago that the government would introduce similar systems in Egmore, T Nagar, Tambaram, Adyar, Tiruvanmiyur and Chennai Airport, the plans remain only on paper.
The system was nearly ready to be launched in Egmore last year but officials said administrative issues linked to parking caused a delay. The railways sought user charges to allow their space to be used for parking autos. In other places, a section of drivers themselves sought to block the move since the system would not allow them to shake down passengers for more. Clearly, government agencies have been unable to resolve differences among stakeholders and overcome vested interests, leaving the commuter to his own devices.
“In a pre-paid system, though the charges are 50% more than the meter fare, at least there is no scope for drivers to demand exorbitant sums or bargain with us. The government should have set up the system in Tambaram, Egmore and T Nagar for commuters making their way back home,” says Magalingam, a resident of Purasawakkam working in Mahindra City.
“We can still do it in T Nagar provided we have space to park the autorickshaws near the bus terminus. We have a proposal that the system be introduced adjacent to Panagal Park but we are not sure it will have adequate passenger patronage,’’ said a transport official.

Source : Epaper TOI

[Subra]

http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chenna...on/164385.html

CHENNAI: While the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) Limited’s astonishing speed in acquiring vast tracts of land for industrial purposes seems to be missing when it comes to reply an RTI query.

More than two weeks have passed by now after the mandatory 30 days time for sending a reply to RTI query and the delay shows that SIPCOT give scant regard to RTI queries, T V Sivaraman, a resident of Choolaimedu and who filed the application told Express.

In February 23, Sivaraman had filed a RTI petition with SIPCOT seeking details about the country specific industrial estates and the area set apart for each country and their location in particular village in and around Sriperumbudur.

“I have asked for simple details, but the delay in providing them force me to think that they (SIPCOT) have some ulterior motives after acquiring vast stretch of lands from the people living there for decades, rued Sivaraman.

In his RTI plea, Sivaraman asked questions like how many acres of land are proposed to be taken for the country specific industrial estates, how many countries are in the queue and the nature of industry they have proposed there.

Like the residents of several villages like Vallam, Vadakakal and Buthanur, which were now fallen in the SIPCOT’s acquisition radar in Sriperumbudur, we strongly suspect that the non-transparent activities of the acquiring agency undoubtedly turning locals’ cultivable lands to foreign companies in throwaway prices, lamented Sivaraman.

Since the reply he sought from SIPCOT has not reached yet, Sivaraman plans to send a reminder to the agency and if it also falls on deaf ear, he vowed to go to State Information Commission.

[ChennaiIndian]

Originally Posted by georgenadar

]

Beach houses on a 12-km stretch from Neelankarai to Uthandi is a magnet for foreigners living and working in Chennai

Ackmanns. Bergens. Gagnons. Akiyamas. Powells. The seaside avenues off a 12-km stretch on East Coast Road are lined with houses sporting nameplates such as these.

...

It is good that expats have created their own way to living to cope with their alienation from their homelands. Perhaps, they don't have an option other than living like that, to carry on with their businesses in Chennai.

[Arasu]

Can someone summarise what is the change of law regarding construction in the coastal zone and is it applicable to places upto Uthandi?

[ranga]

Originally Posted by MyNation

One often hears of commuters taking a train or bus to a terminal closest to their place of work, study or residence, only to find they have to trek the last two km because auto drivers would accept nothing less than Rs 50 for a five-minute ride. Talking about hiring autos to ply by the meter is, of course, out of question — no resident in Chennai is likely to recall the last time he paid an auto driver the fare as per the minimum charge of Rs 14 for the first two km and Rs 6 for every additional km.
Presently, pre-paid autorickshaw systems do function on the premises of Chennai Central railway station and the Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus in Koyambedu. While the autos at Chennai-Central ply to over 140 destinations, those at Koyambedu have a list of about 300 destinations. The minimum fare is Rs 21 for the first two km and Rs 9 is charged for every additional km of travel. Passengers also pay Rs 2 extra as service charge at the counter.
Though transport minister K N Nehru had announced two years ago that the government would introduce similar systems in Egmore, T Nagar, Tambaram, Adyar, Tiruvanmiyur and Chennai Airport, the plans remain only on paper.
The system was nearly ready to be launched in Egmore last year but officials said administrative issues linked to parking caused a delay. The railways sought user charges to allow their space to be used for parking autos. In other places, a section of drivers themselves sought to block the move since the system would not allow them to shake down passengers for more. Clearly, government agencies have been unable to resolve differences among stakeholders and overcome vested interests, leaving the commuter to his own devices.
“In a pre-paid system, though the charges are 50% more than the meter fare, at least there is no scope for drivers to demand exorbitant sums or bargain with us. The government should have set up the system in Tambaram, Egmore and T Nagar for commuters making their way back home,” says Magalingam, a resident of Purasawakkam working in Mahindra City.
“We can still do it in T Nagar provided we have space to park the autorickshaws near the bus terminus. We have a proposal that the system be introduced adjacent to Panagal Park but we are not sure it will have adequate passenger patronage,’’ said a transport official.

Source : Epaper TOI

Why fix the meters to the autos when they don't use it.Either the impotent Tamilnadu police is unable to rein in the autokarans or may be having vested interest.I once had a big fight at the central station when the auto fellow refused to turn on the meter and therefore i turned it on myself much to his consternation.i never budged despite other autokarans came to his support and the so called traffic policemen were watching helplessly.What sort of govt is there in TN when they can't fix this basic problem?