Darshan Desai Citizen Matters

How good governance can transform a city: The tale of Surat

January 25, 2021 Darshan Desai

Visitors to today’s swanky Surat would find it difficult to imagine what the city was like when plague struck in 1994.

From 630 to 122: Where did Ahmedabad’s lakes disappear?

October 19, 2020 Darshan Desai

A study of land-use patterns, through Landsat images from 1974 to 2017, has revealed that water bodies in Ahmedabad have been shrinking at a decadal rate of 1.57 square km.

New areas included within Ahmedabad city limits, but who gains?

September 8, 2020 Darshan Desai and Neha Amin

The question is especially pertinent given that the AMC is unable to provide basic infrastructure even within its present jurisdiction and faces a big loss of income due to COVID.

Tests not 100% reliable, Gujarat tells court; reluctant to ramp up testing

July 25, 2020 Darshan Desai

The Ahmedabad Medical Association has warned that the the virus could cause irreversible damage unless aggressive sampling and testing is started immediately. COVID has now spread to 32 of the state’s 33 districts — barring the small tribal district of Dangs.

Ahmedabad: Managing data, not the virus

June 5, 2020 Darshan Desai

The state’s alleged attempts to control COVID data was evident in its own admission in court: The likelihood of fear psychosis cannot be ruled out if COVID-19 testing is allowed in all asymptomatic cases.

Surat fire a shrill alarm, but has the city really woken up?

June 21, 2019 Darshan Desai

More than 5,000 unauthorised constructions have been demolished in the crackdown following the horrific fire in a Surat coaching centre in May, but in a city that has routinely legalised illegal buildings and never looked inside to check compliance with fire guidelines, is the present knee-jerk reaction really enough?