DC flies faster, higher and stronger

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On our 7th anniversary we doff our hat to Chennai that aspires to turn a world-class metropolis in keeping with its status as the capital of a great state that is home to millions. While we bring out facets of the year gone by on pages 6 and 7, the glamorous Chennai Chronicle raises a very special toast to the capital and the state.

They say time flies and this may be no illusion, especially in an age of change. If the one constant in such exciting times has been the never-say-die spirit of the city, what is new is vision. As a consequence of a regime change last summer, a city that was aspiring to be great may have set its sights much higher.

A state that was in grave danger of being denounced as dynamo of corruption in the 2G scam has now recovered to be in a position to look on its future with a sense of optimism. An extra constitutional authority that used to come as baggage with the big Dravidian alternative has also been disbanded, which means the feeling that the time to act is now is firmly entrenched in the rulers.

People who were willing to be agents of change may have seen some improvements already in terms of civic services in urban areas even as ambitious plans of a monorail, dedicated bus lanes and high speed inter-city train travel have been spelt out to add to Metro Rail, work on which is already apace. Detailed planning for future expansion and timely execution of projects is a hallmark of the great cities of the world and Chennai is trying to get there.

When DC came to this conservative city seven years ago to awaken it with a wider perspective in terms of newspaper coverage of people and events, there was resistance to begin with. This newspaper is proud to have been a catalyst to a sea change in attitudes even as physical alterations began taking place with the big urban push having arrived in the suburbs as the Tamil Nadu capital expands at a speed that boggles imagination.

What has not changed at DC is any injustice meted out is taken up as a public cause by our reporters who continue to break the kind of stories that have stirred the government and society to act. We also continue to highlight civic deficiencies in the hope that we would have contributed our mite to our readers as well as citizens getting to lead a better life.

In this seven-year journey, our loyal readers have been the source of strength that has nourished us and replenished our spirit as an apolitical and egalitarian newspaper that has also been attractively redesigned. While thanking readers for being the wind beneath our wings we promise to keep to this path of unbiased coverage.