A series of articles examining the impact and lessons of 2020 and looking ahead to the journey in 2021
It's almost like a relief to be able to say goodbye to 2020, but how different will 2021 be?
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.
Years after the deluge of 26th July 2005, Mumbai continues to flood every monsoon and expert committee reports on flood mitigation lie ignored.
A day before the 19th anniversary of the 26th July deluge, Mumbai recorded the second wettest July ever. Needless to say, the city also witnessed multiple incidents of waterlogging, flooding and disruption in train services and traffic snarls. Some of the explanations for the floods included record heavy rains, climate change, inadequate desilting of drains. There were protests on the ground and outrage on social media. Incidentally, floods — its causes and solutions in Mumbai — have been studied since 2005, when the biggest and most damaging flood struck Mumbai and claimed 1094 lives after the city witnessed 944.2 mm…
The EVP Township Landowners' Association is working to develop their 18-year-old township with support from the Tharapakkam Panchayat
For years, long-time residents of Chennai, who bought plots in a suburban township in Tharapakkam, had to endure many hardships before they could rightfully claim their land. However, they did not give up. And now, there is a glimmer of hope as the persistence of the landowners has borne fruit. The local panchayat has also agreed to extend support, so that they can build their dream homes. In 2006, EVP Housing Pvt Ltd released colour advertisements in newspapers and distributed flyers offering plots for sale in Tharapakkam. These plots would form a township known as the EVP Township, situated five…