Balachandar G

India is a funny country. If a journalist folds his hands and greets PM Modi with a namaste, he is labelled Godi Media. But if a journalist admires Rahul Gandhi and makes a 15 minute video on his washroom, she is celebrated as Independent Media. If a journalist is granted an interview with PM Modi, he is accused of being Godi Media. But if a journalist interviews Sonia Gandhi and asks her questions on whether she knows cooking and her Saas Bahu relationship, he is hailed as an unbiased, independent journalist.

Chennai Nanganallur residents recall their interactions with LA mayor Nithya Raman when was a civic activist and urban planner and visited the neighbourhood. Before becoming the mayor of Los Angeles, Nithya Raman worked with civic activists in Chennai to address urban infrastructure and governance issues through community participation and data-driven initiatives. Recalling her work in the city, V Rama Rao, a civic activist from Lakshmi Nagar, Nanganallur, and part of Exnora said Raman founded and headed Transparent Chennai, a civic initiative established under the Centre for Development Finance (CDF) at the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR) in Chennai.He also shared photographs of his work with Raman with TOI.“In the late 2000s and early 2010s, Transparent Chennai focused on mapping civic infrastructure, empowering residents and creating data-driven solutions for urban governance,” he said.Rao said Raman and her team worked closely with local citizen groups, including civic activists, to identify and document neighbourhood-level issues. The collaboration involved organising community forums, mapping local traffic problems and collecting data on public transport, pedestrian safety and gaps in civic infrastructure.“The data collected was intended to be presented to the Chennai Traffic Police and municipal corporations to help develop actionable solutions,” he said. K Sankaran, ex president of Thillai Ganga Nagar residents welfare association and who was part of Exnora, said Nithya came to their neighbourhood in Nanganallur in 2010 to understand traffic woes.“She was an urban planner and activist back then, and was curious to understand traffic issues in the neighbourhood and interacted with the locals,” he said. “We didn’t know she would become a politician and mayor. But she had good inclination towards urban development and interacted with about 10 residents,” said 84-year-old Sankaran. My story in @timesofindia m.timesofindia.com/articlesh…