In depth | Citizen Matters

Toxic pollution in Sutlej waters puts one crore lives at stake across three states

October 6, 2019 Raj Machhan

Indiscriminate dumping of industrial effluents and untreated municipal waste in the Sutlej river, and various other channels flowing into it, is causing unprecedented incidence of cancer and other health hazards in the three states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

How and why revival of Car Free Thursdays could help Hyderabad dispel its traffic nightmare

October 3, 2019 Prashanth Bachu

Traffic in Hyderabad is going from bad to worse, everyday, particularly in the Hitech City-Financial District area, where traffic speeds on a regular day often fall to 12-15 km/hour! Here’s an option that could help ease the situation effectively.

Many problems, one humble solution, yet Indian cities continue to ignore that

October 1, 2019 Dattatraya T Devare

Lessons learnt globally point to the many benefits of cycling — whether in terms of health, reduced congestion or even greater equality. Yet, whether in Kolkata, Bangalore or Pune, a sustained thrust to promote cycling in our cities is clearly missing.

Climate Strike comes to India — three things to keep in mind

September 28, 2019 Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya

Over the last one week, thousands of Indian students and youth across India, inspired by the Global Climate Strike organised by ‘Fridays for Future’, came together to demand immediate and appropriate action to mitigate local and global climate risks. What should be the way forward?

As Kolkata begins Durga Puja festivities on Mahalaya, environment gets a raw deal

September 28, 2019 Mou Chakraborty

2500 plus community pujas. Lakhs of revellers. The Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata are magical, but harsh and unforgiving on the environment. Unfortunately, thoughts and plans on greening the celebrations appear to be at a very immature stage still.

In Jalandhar, the makers of Dhoni’s bat are crying out for government help; here’s why

September 16, 2019 Raj Machhan

There was a time when Jalandhar contributed to almost 80 per cent of the sports goods manufactured in India. Thanks to slow modernisation, stiff Chinese competition and most recently, the GST, its leadership position is challenged not just globally, but even within the country.

Cities must know more about desertification and be a part of the solution: Sunita Narain, CSE

September 14, 2019 Kedar Koushik

As the 14th Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification was held in New Delhi, we spoke to Sunita Narain, Director-General of Centre for Science and Environment, to know what our cities can do to mitigate the looming environmental crisis.

Mitigating the curse of the car in Indian cities

September 2, 2019 Dattatraya T Devare

On one hand, there is a thirst for bigger and more expensive cars. On the other, there is the state’s inability to provide strong enough disincentives and efficient alternatives. Together these are destroying our cities and our communities slowly but steadily. What is the way out?

Amaravati capital city project: A sad tale of politics, finance and environmental neglect

August 30, 2019 Mayank Aggarwal

After World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank withdrew from the project, all construction in Amaravati has come to a halt. The new YSR Congress government has also announced its intention to probe into complaints of mismanagement in the project.

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.