Chennai, home to over 7 million, and capital of the most urbanised state in India, has in the past 4 decades struggled to meet the mobility needs of its residents. The city has seen a steady decline in patronage of public transport, walking and cycling while use of private vehicles has grown rapidly. For a city to be liveable, its transport network needs to be sustainable i.e low carbon, affordable, integrated (and seamless), accessible, and safe for all - be it children, women, or the elderly. Unfortunately, policies and city planning have given pride of place to the private vehicle, demoting and devaluing public transit, and non-motorised transit. In recent years there has been recognition that this needs to be inverted yet efforts to stem the tide have been in vain. 

Trans fatty acids or trans fat is a type of saturated fatty acid that can either occur naturally or can be manufactured during the process of hydrogenation of vegetable oil. Vegetable oils are hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated to turn them into solid fat at room temperature. This increases their shelf life, and enhances the taste and texture of processed food items. Hydrogenated vegetable fat is a cheap source of oil/fat for branded and local food manufacturing companies. Trans fats can be found in food products such as margarine, fried foods such as chips; chocolates, biscuits and all baked goods. Trans fats occur naturally in milk, cheese, and certain meats. Artificial trans fats are known to raise the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or the ‘bad’ cholesterol in the blood and increase the risk of coronary artery heart disease and stroke. Diets high in trans fats increase heart disease risk by 21 per cent and deaths by 28 per cent. Studies reveal that intake of Trans Fatty Acids (TFA) results in more than 500,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease, annually. In India, that number is pegged at about 60,000 deaths.