Children | Citizen Matters

Turning fridges to agricultural fields: Mangalore school kids’ unique urban farming experiment

January 5, 2020 Harsha Raj Gatty

The ‘thermally insulated’ compartments of unused, discarded refrigerators are being used as eco-friendly pots for growing a variety of vegetables on the ‘rooftop garden’ of Sayyed Madani Urdu Higher Primary School. The produce contributes significantly to mid day meals prepared in the school.

Delhi fire tragedy a grim reminder of the city’s 32000+ child labourers

December 12, 2019 Oommen C Kurian

Between 2011 and 2017, child workers under the age of 14 increased from a little over 2000 to 32,330 — 41% of them Dalit and 55% Muslim. Now with the recent fire at Anaj Mandi claiming several such young lives, will the Delhi government sit up and act on this mounting problem?

Safe and healthy food for children: Proposed FSSAI regulation puts the onus on schools

December 6, 2019 Surabhi Soral

Draft regulation, now being finalised, says schools must take concrete steps to ensure that only healthy food is served on campuses. No food categorised as HFSS (high in fats, sugar and salt) may be offered or sold within 50 m of a school campus.

Adoption jokes are not ok, and here’s why

August 27, 2019 Mahesh V

Urban online gifting options are plenty today. But when a range of products meant for siblings deliberately calls one out as the ‘adopted’ one and makes adoption the stuff of jokes, should we just play along and accept it as ‘normal’ humour?

Are Indian cities a new Lilliput in the making?

August 6, 2019 Revathi Siva Kumar

India has the largest number of ‘stunted’ children in the world according to the global Global Nutrition Report. And contrary to what many think, they are not only to be found in rural or remote areas. One in four children under five years have stunted growth in our cities, with even the capital Delhi showing alarming rates.

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?

Voting over in Chittoor; here’s what citizens expect elected MLAs and MPs to deliver

April 12, 2019 Dilli Babu

Andhra Pradesh voted to elect their MLAs and MPs on April 11th; meanwhile, residents of Chittoor city have put together a comprehensive manifesto that speaks about the welfare schemes they would expect their chosen leaders to implement.

City Buzz: NGT on Delhi noise pollution | Mumbai demolishes foot bridges | New stretch of Hyderabad metro…and more!

March 25, 2019 News Desk

How is Delhi planning to act against noise pollution? Which overbridges have been demolished by the Mumbai civic body in view of threats to safety of commuters? And how will the latest operationalised stretch of the Hyderabad Metro help the city?

How children are fighting eve-teasing and drug abuse in Mumbai’s Mankhurd

March 20, 2019 Nikhil Latagajanan

In a rehabilitation and resettlement colony in Mumbai’s M-east ward, one of the most underdeveloped suburbs of the city, children have come together to form the Bal Adhikar Sangharsh Sangathan and take charge of tackling social and civic issues in the community.

City Buzz: Cities gear up for elections | Mumbai foot over bridge collapse | PUBG ban in several cities…and more

March 16, 2019 News Desk

From Ahmedabad to Kolkata, and from Mumbai to Hyderabad, get a quick recap of the latest news and developments in our cities this week.

City Buzz: Panel for unauthorized Delhi colonies | Vaccination deaths in Hyderabad | Trivandrum airport privatisation…and more!

March 10, 2019 News Desk

A plan for transfer of ownership to residents of Delhi’s unauthorised colonies, reduction and waiver in property tax for small houses in Mumbai, and tragic deaths of two infants in Hyderabad in a case of medical negligence — this and more news from across cities.

City Buzz: Delhi blaze kills 17 | Hyderabad master plan deadline | Pune plans water supply revamp..and more!

February 16, 2019 News Desk

Yet another fire in the capital, what is behind it? What will be the focus areas in the new Hyderabad master plan? How is Pune planning to augment water supply in the face of rising population? Learn more about these and other urban developments this week.

“Politics will change for the better the day education becomes a poll issue”

February 6, 2019 Revathi Siva Kumar

Atishi Marlena, formerly advisor to the Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister in Delhi, is often credited with having created a revolution in the capital city’s government schools. In this exclusive interview, she talks of the journey and her future plans as a parliamentarian, if elected.

City Buzz: Swine Flu peaks in Delhi | Rains lash Hyderabad | Makeover for Mumbai beaches…and more

January 29, 2019 News Desk

What’s the new plan in Kolkata to further integrate its public transport systems? How’s Mumbai making its beaches cleaner and safer? What is Operation Cobra doing in Trivandrum? A quick wrap of some important developments from our cities.

For almost 15 million migrant children, education remains a luxury

January 17, 2019 Navya P K

In a land of 453 million internal migrants, a majority among whom seek work in cities, children’s education is the greatest casualty. Government schemes notwithstanding, most migrant children never end up joining school in host cities or eventually drop out.

Backbreaking education: Centre’s directives on schoolbags fall on deaf ears

January 8, 2019 Revathi Siva Kumar

Heavy schoolbags have serious health effects. Yet, in many cities, children carry almost half their body weight on their backs. The recent central government order to reduce schoolbag weight also looks unlikely to make much difference.

New-age therapists in the city, have you met one?

December 8, 2018 Garima Prasher

Did you know that observing fish movement for ten minutes could bring down your blood pressure? Or that any mild pain or discomfort in the body can actually be cured by looking into the eyes of your canine friend? Awareness is growing across cities as more and more people are recognising the potential of AAT or animal assisted therapy.

Beating violence with education: How Education City in Dantewada is showing the way

November 26, 2018 Revathi Siva Kumar

With 18 institutions and 5,500 students at all levels, Education City in violence-stricken Dantewada is a novel and successful experiment. It is the only ray of hope for the children of a state ravaged by Naxalism.

India declared polio-free in 2014; why, then, is the polio vaccine hitting headlines again?

October 8, 2018 Shree D N

A type of polio virus, supposedly eradicated globally, has been found in stool samples of children in UP; batches of oral polio vaccine manufactured by a company are also found contaminated. Is polio vaccination safe for your child? Is India’s polio-free status at risk? All you need to know about the polio scare making news right now.

With ‘upcycling labs,’ ‘safai banks’ and more, can environmental education save our planet?

September 18, 2018 Aditi Tandon

Right from pre-schools to online digital academies for adult practitioners, educators are coming up with many innovative programmes to promote sustainability and spread awareness about the environment. The question is whether these can really create impact in the long run.