In depth | Citizen Matters

Trendy vacations, urban comforts, lavish weddings: What is killing our Himalayan region

August 19, 2019 Rishabh Shrivastava

Ask Shimla, Mussoorie, Leh or any other Himalayan town and they will relate the woes arising from unplanned urbanisation, irresponsible tourism and an unsustainable model of growth followed by the state. A ‘green bonus’ or a separate ministry may not be enough to reverse the damage being done.

Do we really need an airport in Noida at the cost of 63 wetlands?

August 7, 2019 Kanchan Srivastava

Over 63 wetlands and habitats of Sarus cranes, peacocks and blackbucks will be affected by the construction of the Noida International Greenfield Airport, just 70 km away from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Ludhiana’s bridge of chaos makes life miserable for commuters

July 31, 2019 Raj Machhan

The old British built Jagraon bridge, that shared the traffic, has been closed since 2016, so that the new bridge sees pile up lasting for hours at peak times. Work on a new bridge, however, remains in limbo, as do many other infrastructure projects in the city.

Meet the guardian angel of Mumbai’s defence against climate change

July 30, 2019 Kartik Chandramouli/Mongabay

Seema Adgaonkar, one of the four Range Forest Officers at the Mumbai Mangrove Conservation Unit until recently, has been guarding the city’s vital mangroves that act as a natural barrier against sea level rise and coastal flooding.

12 years and 1100 crores behind it, Pune BRTS fails to solve commuter woes

July 25, 2019 Ekta Joshi

Flawed design, poor implementation, and the near absence of a centralized authority has left the bus rapid transit system in shambles, with infrequent buses, shabby and ailing infrastructure, and road mishaps on these corridors being the norm.

35 years on, govt looks away as Bhopal neighbourhood continues to drink chemical-laden water

July 20, 2019 Shuriah Niazi

Two generations have seen the light of day since the disastrous gas leak at Bhopal’s Union Carbide factory. Yet, children are still born with congenital defects and people battle chronic illness, as thousands of tons of chemical waste lie in the open, contaminating air and water. Is the state even bothered?

How one of Delhi’s tallest structures is contributing to climate change

July 17, 2019 Sri Krishna

Intense summers are not uncommon in Delhi, but when temperatures soared to 48 degrees this June, it was a record even by city standards. Could emissions from the East Delhi Ghazipur landfill have had a role to play?

Ill-planned, ill-executed PPP projects behind Uttarakhand’s crumbling health services

July 13, 2019 Rishabh Shrivastava

Health centres in villages have become mere referral points for private hospitals in the city, which themselves suffer from inadequate infrastructure and failing emergency services. Proposed PPP projects show a big gap between potential and actual results.

Traffic jam at 13000 feet: What summer tourism means for hill towns in Himachal!

July 10, 2019 Ashwani Sharma

Summer heat in the northern plains sees tourists flocking in huge numbers to Shimla, Kullu-Manali and the scenic Rohtang Pass. But just look at what it does to the ecology and the regular lives of citizens here.

Bhopal left with water for two weeks, thanks to neglect of iconic Upper Lake

July 3, 2019 Anup Dutta

Crores have been marked for wetland preservation and urban water supply; yet, shrinking lakes, ineffective sewage management and diminishing green cover have brought Bhopal to a situation where its natural water reserves may dry up within a matter of weeks.

Udta Himachal: Is Shimla set to be the new drug capital of the country?

June 26, 2019 Ashwani Sharma

50-60 percent of youth in Shimla are caught in a massive drug menace, as addicts, peddlers or both, says the owner of a rehab centre in the city. Other surveys yield similar findings. What has led to this and why is an effective crackdown missing?

2020 is around the corner, can we stop Delhi from running dry?

June 24, 2019 Akshita Nagpal

If a 2018 Niti Aayog report is to be believed, the capital is among 21 Indian cities that look poised to run out of groundwater by next year. Here’s what has brought Delhi to this ominous brink, and what needs to be done to avert Doomsday.