A series of articles examining the impact and lessons of 2020 and looking ahead to the journey in 2021
We have come to the end of probably the most tumultuous year in the collective history of our cities, a year that has changed almost everything as we knew it once.
In healthcare, education and markets, in formal and informal spheres of work, in our festivities as well as the humdrum existence of regular life, COVID has left an impression that cannot be obliterated ever. Much as we want this pandemic to end, neither can we completely erase its impact, nor should we forget the lessons that this period holds for the future.
As we look forward to new beginnings, we look at how different domains have been transformed by the 2020 experience and the new realities we may expect in our cities and our lives.
In other news this week: Trends in senior living market in cities; vision problems predicted for urban kids and the rise of dengue in Bengaluru.
Mumbai billboard collapse throws light on sorry state of civic safety At least 16 died and 74 were injured when a 100-foot-tall illegal billboard collapsed in the eastern suburb of Ghatkopar in Mumbai, during a thunderstorm on May 14th. It fell on some houses and a petrol station, disrupting life in the region. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) allows a maximum hoarding size of 40×40 feet, but this billboard was 120×120 feet. Last week itself, BMC had recommended action against Bhavesh Prabhudas Bhinde, 51, director of Ego Media Pvt Ltd, which owned the contract for the hoarding on a 10-year lease.…
Ensuring access to good roads, education and fighting pollution are major focus areas of Chennai's Ward 179 Councillor Kayalvizhi
A nurse-turned-politician, J Kayalvizhi, Councillor of Ward 179 in Chennai, studied nursing at Christian Medical College in Vellore. Until 2006, she worked with an MNC in Saudi Arabia. Since her return in 2006, she decided to take up social service to help people in need, especially in the field of education and health. Her husband, Jayakumar, has been in politics for many years now and holds the position of divisional secretary of Ward 179 in DMK. When Ward 179 in Chennai was reserved for women, Kayalvizhi's husband encouraged her to contest in the polls to channel her interest in social…