What are the main problems of Chennai today?

To come to India and only revel in the cultural exuberance of Rajasthan, Gujarat or head up North to participate in the tranquil atmosphere might seem like a brilliant idea.

And to be honest, it is. But unless and until one makes time for a little sojourn for at least, a day or two to three for, say a place like Chennai- a hotbed of culinary delicacies, mythological significance, culturally relevant places in the journey of India, it cannot be said that one’s covered India sufficiently. But like all places, this vivacious urban-space down South too has its share of problems.

While there’s so much to see at Chennai, whether it is the famous Sai Baba temple, a barrage of other religiously important spiritual centres and massively popular destinations such as the Marina beach, there are problems that lay beyond the veil of uplifting aspects of Chennai.

So did you ever think about the main problems of Chennai?

Let’s explore some of the main problems of Chennai that the city is currently grappling with and would be well-advised to conquer at the earliest:

A massively growing population

Well, truth be told, at present, Chennai’s struggling to accommodate the current populace it has. Back in 2001, the population of the charming southern city was a mere 44 lakh people. Today, the population has expanded massively to a humungous 4.9 million people. This means it is currently the sixth-largest in terms of all Indian cities.

Back in 2011, it underwent a massive expansion of space owing to the new development and hence, new settlements as seen on the outskirts of the city also partly due to a constant surge in population and its need to settle down. Now, there’s an urgent need to balance the space and the residents.

Chennai Metro

While the metro rail shouldn’t really be listed on a list of problems as such for anyone, truth certainly is that for the second time in less than a fortnight has the metro rail encountered a major signal problem in Chennai.

Interestingly, at a time where the population of India is only interacting with the skies, there cannot be a better solution to counter the burgeoning urban chaos other than (rising forms of urban transport forms such as) the Metro.

For Chennai, metro should ideally be a solution and not a problem. After all, the work on Chennai metro began as early as in the initial stages of 2008 onward and has taken its fair share of time to make the city experience a phenomenon that’s aiding mass mobility.

But where leading newspapers like The Hindu are concerned, the following was reported in lines with the metro that makes it one of the main problems of Chennai:

Hundreds of commuters suffered as services of the Chennai Metro Rail came to a grinding halt on Saturday night due to problems in the signalling system.

Around 8.30 p.m., problems cropped up in the signalling system and trains were running slowly and with a delay of nearly 20 minutes, sources said. An hour later, services were completely stopped due to this issue, the sources added.

A rising state of accidents

The math regarding this one is relatively simple. The more the population of a city: the more the need for mass movements. The more the mass movements: the more the chaos in transportation. The more the responsibilities and with them, timelines, deadlines and whatnot: the more the increased spate of urgency to travel.

The more the urgency in travelling: the more the chaos and panic.

And finally, the more the panic in travelling: the greater the risk of accidents.

Where accidents in India are concerned, then, in the present moment, the scenario is pretty much similar in a Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and elsewhere. Isn’t it?

But let’s delve deep into what’s truly impacting this city. Maybe, one’s not aware that popular internet platform Prop Story recently shared the most mind-boggling fact.

Of all the cities in the world with the highest number of accidents, Chennai topped the list according to the ‘Global Report on Urban Health’ published by the UN. Globally, road accidents cause the most number of deaths. And to that end, Chennai’s got to get its act together.

Pollution

Yet another Indian city that’s suffering from yet another common problem that’s truly engulfed the country today.

While it is understandable that India’s truly grappling with a population explosion of sorts that can no longer be justified, what’s not acceptable is that the rate at which pollution is growing is only going to cause a mayhem further.

And probably true to the nonchalance of the nation that no longer cares about what it is doing to its own image globally one’s got to say that pollution is one of the main problems of Chennai that it seems to have no clue about solving.

The city is ranked 5th in the Carbon Emissions emitted among 54 South Asian countries.