Articles by Arjun Rajan

Manifestos of the various parties do talk about different plans to improve cities. Here is a quick summary of the key points related to urban issues. The Indian National Congress(INC) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] in their manifestos have promised proper implementation of the 74th Constitutional Amendment and thereby the devolution of powers to local elected bodies. The INC plans on introducing mayoral reforms where the Mayor will be empowered and have a term of five years. Both parties plan on developing an Urban Policy. The CPI(M) plans to move away from the concept of ‘Smart cities’…

Ahmedabad East constituency was created as part of the delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituency Order(2008). Along with Ahmedabad West, this constituency was carved out from the erstwhile Ahmedabad constituency, which has been a BJP stronghold since 1989. The first two elections from the Ahmedabad East constituency have seen BJP candidates comes to power. Actor turned politician Paresh Rawal was elected from the constituency in 2014, but has decided not to contest in the upcoming elections. The constituency is spread across the districts of Gandhi Nagar and Ahmedabad and comprises of seven assembly constituencies: Dehgam, Gandhinagar South, Vatva, Nikol, Naroda,…

Ahmedabad West constituency was created as part of the delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly Constituency Order(2008)and is reserved for candidates belonging to the Scheduled Castes. This constituency, along with Ahmedabad East, was formed out of the erstwhile Ahmedabad constituency, which has been a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stronghold since 1989. The constituency has seen two parliamentary elections since its formation, both of which was won by the BJP candidate Kirit P Solanki. The constituency comprises of seven assembly constituencies- Ellisbridge, Amraiwadi, Dariapur, Jhamalpur Khadia, Maninagar, Danilimda, Asarwa. As per the Election commission of India (ECI) website the constituency has a…

Dr Kirit P Solanki is with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and has been a member of Parliament since 2009. He  represented the Ahmedabad West Constituency in the 16th Lok Sabha and is known for introducing several private member's bills during his tenure. In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Dr Solanki defeated Vaghela Ka (of INC party) by a margin of 49264 votes. The constituency with 1534400 voters saw a turnout of 62.87% and he received 63.97% of the polled votes. The MP will be contesting for a third time from the same seat when Ahmedabad goes to polls on…

Paresh Rawal is a first time MP from the Ahmedabad East Constituency. An acclaimed actor who has essayed many iconic roles in both mainstream and parallel Hindi cinema, the 63-year old Rawal is known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has said in more than one interview that it was the inspiration from the PM that led him to join politics. In 2014, he was reportedly considered for two Gujarat seats -- Ahmedabad East and Vadodara -- where Modi himself was also being named as a possible contender. Finally, Modi stood for Vadodara, while Rawal got Ahmedabad…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities If you were to go walking in Nagavarpalya area in the city, and take the inner by-lanes ahead of Gopalan Mall, you would come upon a sprawling settlement, home primarily to migrant workers from Northern Karnataka. They stay in small makeshift structures that are covered with blue tarpaulin sheets. Such settlements are present in several parts of the city, and they are usually devoid of basic facilities of sanitation, adequate supply of water, electricity etc. "If the migrant workers are staying with their families, they usually cook inside…

"Fire safety plan should be made part of the city plan," emphasised Dr. A Ravindra, former Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka, while delivering the Beyond Carlton Memorial Lecture ' Our cities on Fire'. The lecture which was held on the 23rd of February at the Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services Headquarters, marked nine years since fire broke out at Carlton towers on Old Airport Road, claiming nine lives. The event saw the launch of the Campaign -  Fire Risk Assessments for Apartments. The campaign is a collaboration between Beyond Carlton, Bengaluru Apartments Federation (BAF), Citizen Matters, Jain University and When…

There is a spot on the lake land where one gets a 180 degree view of the sprawling 445 acre Varthur lake. The lake is filled with water and emits a strong foul odour. The southern end of the lake is filled with snowy froth. A wire mesh is erected along a section of the road near the lake to prevent the froth from entering the road. "Till the 90s, several migratory birds from Russia, Ukraine, China used to visit Varthur Lake, which acted as food source for them before they headed to the Southern Hemisphere. Once the sewage started…

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had on January 21st released new tenders for Solid Waste Management( SWM) in Bengaluru city. However, the tender faced criticism from different quarters including several BBMP Corporators, Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and BBMP Contractors. As a result a committee was been constituted to study the tender and recommend changes, and the committee has now decided to go ahead with no changes in the tender. What does the new tender say ?  The new tender calls for proposals in all 198 BBMP wards for daily "Primary door-to-door collection and transportation of segregated wet waste,…

Tall fences meet the eyes before one steps into the Sarakki lake premises. Most of the lake is currently dry. One can see the tractors busy removing silt from the lake bed. Walking around the lake can be unpleasant, as there are no walking paths currently and the surface is uneven. Garbage is sprawled across a certain section of the lake, and remnants of burnt garbage is present. Green patches of wetlands in the lake area stand out in the otherwise dry lake. "Birds have already started to come back to the Sarakki lake," says Professor K S Bhat, with a…