Gurvinder Singh | | Citizen Matters

How released female prisoners in Kolkata are trying to build a new life

January 14, 2020 Gurvinder Singh

Shunned by families, often deeply scarred and traumatised by experiences in prison and ostracised by society at large, women convicts can rarely expect a normal life in the city after release. These cases from Kolkata, facilitated by state and NGOs, however raise hope.

Eight months after launch, Kolkata’s ‘pink taxis’ hardly in the pink of health

November 30, 2019 Gurvinder Singh

The pink taxis launched in Kolkata in February 2019 meant to provide a safe commute option for women. They also promised to open up a new world for the 10 women drivers chosen to drive the fleet. Today, not only are they not making enough money, their days are filled with challenges on the roads and off.

Yeh dil maange more: Kolkata, New Town love their e-buses, but more needed for impact

August 22, 2019 Gurvinder Singh

40 electric buses planned for 11 routes in Kolkata were pressed into service earlier this year, while the satellite town of New Town has been successfully running 3 e-buses for more than one year. How have they been faring and what’s in the offing?

Kolkata’s ignored groundwater crisis could lead to much more than just water shortage

June 18, 2019 Gurvinder Singh

Increasing contamination due to deepening of the water table, serious health hazards and even instability in built structures in the city — indiscriminate extraction of groundwater could spell more doom for the city than it seems to be aware of.

Waste mounds in open landfills grow higher as Kolkata brazenly ignores SWM rules

June 6, 2019 Gurvinder Singh

In Kolkata’s Dhapa and other neighbouring municipalities, open landfills lie filled to the brim with unsegregated waste. Biomedical waste disposal too does not uniformly conform to the rules formulated. A lax administration merely looks on and introduces token measures in select pockets.

Alarming spike in cancer incidence, yet Kolkata does little to control pollution

May 15, 2019 Gurvinder Singh

From flawed solid waste management to vehicular emissions, Kolkata’s abysmal quality of air has many causes. When will the government wake up?

Contesting elections without pamphlets: Kolkata candidate explains why

May 13, 2019 Gurvinder Singh

Kolkata based entrepreneur Niraj Agarwal is contesting the large urban constituency of Kolkata South with a single agenda: To make people more aware of the need for policies to effectively tackle pollution and climate change. True to his mission, he wants to get as close as possible to a ‘zero-emissions’ campaign trail.

In Kolkata, filthy fountains spread dengue fear

April 6, 2018 Gurvinder Singh

Water fountains installed in the city for beautification, in the run up to the recently held FIFA U-17 tournament and the Book Fair, now lie abandoned. Mosquitoes breeding in the filthy, stagnant water pose a definite health risk.