Articles by Harshitha Padmavinod

Through the month of June, we had a sort of extended celebration of World Environment Day (June 5th) by highlighting organisations and collectives that are actively trying to make a change. In case you missed their stories on our social media channels, here's another hat tip to these changemakers, who are fighting to protect natural spaces and ensuring environmental justice in our increasingly chaotic, expanding cities. Nizhal, Chennai We start off in Chennai with Nizhal. Nizhal, which means shade in Tamil, is a non-profit organisation that promotes urban greening with a focus on indigenous tree species and biodiversity regeneration. The…

Table of contentsBangalore North: Shobha Karandlaje, BJPElection resultsAbout Bangalore North constituencyShobha Karandlaje's political experience Positions heldEducationCriminal recordAssets and liabilitiesChallenges in the constituencyKey promisesBangalore South: Tejasvi Surya, BJPAbout Bangalore South constituencyElection resultsTejasvi Surya's political experiencePositions held:EducationCriminal recordMPLAD detailsAssets and liabilitiesChallenges in the constituencyKey promisesBangalore Central: PC Mohan, BJPAbout Bangalore Central constituencyElection resultsPC Mohan's political experience Positions held:EducationCriminal recordMPLADS detailsAssets and liabilitiesChallenges in constituencyKey promisesBangalore Rural: Dr CN Manjunath, BJPElection resultsAbout Bangalore Rural constituencyDr. CN Manjunath's political experience EducationCriminal recordAssets and liabilitiesChallenges in the constituencyKey promisesAlso read The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a victory in all four Parliamentary Constituencies in Bengaluru in the 2024…

(Part 1 of this series summarised the increase in power demand due to soaring temperatures. Part 2 is a round up of power outages across the country and possible solutions to the problem) Cities in the dark across India  High demand for power in the Kalwa circuit of Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Co. Ltd. (Mahatransco), primarily due to the scorching heat, led to overloading and a disruption of electricity supply for up to two hours in April. The regions affected included Naupada, Pachpakhadi, Vikas Complex, Majiwada, Talao Pali, Colorchem, Temghar, Kalwa etc. in Thane as well as Vashi and Mahape…

India has seen the worst of summer this year, with temperatures breaking records in many parts of the country. Among various other impacts, high temperatures have also caused a surge in power demand in cities. This has not only created issues in terms of frequent power outages, but has also increased carbon emissions as the demands are met.  Read more: Scorched cities: Documenting the intense Indian summer of 2024  India’s power consumption increased by over 8% to 127.79 billion units (BU) in February 2024. The highest supply in a day rose to 222 gigawatts (GW) in the same month. The Ministry…

Table of contentsAbout the constituencyMap of the Constituency Find your polling boothIncumbent MP: Harsh Vardhan, BJPOnline PresenceCriminal CasesPositions HeldPerformance in ParliamentMPLAD fundsCandidates contesting in 2024Key Candidates in the newsIssues of the constituencyAlso read About the constituency  Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency is one of the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in the Indian National Capital Territory of Delhi. This constituency came into existence in 1956. It is the smallest constituency of Lok Sabha in terms of area. Since the delimitation of parliamentary constituencies in 2008, it is made up of ten assembly constituencies, which are Adarsh Nagar, Shalimar Bagh, Shakur Basti, Tri…

With India witnessing one of the most scorching summers, water crisis is looming across many cities in the country. India's main reservoirs have hit their lowest March levels in five years, according to government data, indicating a strain on drinking water and power availability this summer. As per Central Water Commission (CWC) data, the 150 reservoirs monitored by the central government, which supply water for drinking and irrigation and are the country's key source of hydroelectricity, were filled to just 40% of capacity in March 2024.  India's hydro generation in the last 10 months from last April is down by…

Summer in India has been abnormally hot this year and will continue to be so till June 2024, warns the India Meteorological Department (IMD). As reported by The Wire, in a virtual press conference on April 1st, IMD director general Mrutyunjay Mohapatra said that in the months from April till June, most of India will witness temperatures above normal. IMD's caution comes at a time when the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation also recently warned that 2024 will likely face worse summers after global heat records across the world.  “During the 2024 hot weather season [April to June (AMJ)], above-normal maximum…

Mansoor Ali Khan, from Indian National Congress (INC), is all set to contest for Bangalore Central Parliamentary Constituency this Lok Sabha Elections. In an interview with Citizen Matters, Mansoor spoke about his plans for his constituency if he gets elected as MP and the key issues he would like to address. Mansoor Ali Khan: Political family, educational entrepreneur Mansoor Ali Khan is the son of K. Rahman Khan, who is a veteran politician belonging to the Indian National Congress (INC) and a former Union Minister of Minority Affairs and Ex-Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha. Mansoor was one of the two…

Table of contentsConstituency mapAt a glanceFind your polling booth:Candidates contesting in the Lok Sabha 2024 electionsKey candidates in the newsShobha KarandlajeRajeev GowdaPast election resultsConstituency key issuesAlso read: Bangalore North is a Parliamentary Constituency that includes eight Legislative Assembly segments. The segments include: K. R. Puram, Byatarayanapura, Yeshwanthapura, Dasarahalli, Mahalakshmi Layout, Malleshwaram, Hebbal and Pulakeshinagar. All the Legislative Assembly segments are a part of Bangalore Urban district.  Bangalore North held its first elections in 1951. The Constituency has had several names over the years. In 1957 and 1962, it was known as Bangalore City. In 1967 and 1971, it formed a…

Table of contentsConstituency mapAt a glanceFind your polling booth: Key candidates contesting in the Lok Sabha 2024 electionsCandidates in the newsTejasvi Surya (BJP)Sowmya Reddy (INC)Arun Prasad A (BSP)Past election resultsKey issuesAlso read: Bangalore South is one of the 28 Parliamentary constituencies in Karnataka and among the four in the city. Currently, this constituency comprises eight Legislative Assembly segments: Govindraj Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Chickpet, Basavanagudi, Padmanabhanagar, BTM Layout, Jayanagar and Bommanahalli. All eight Legislative Assembly segments fall under Bangalore Urban District.  Bangalore South became a constituency in 1977, post the Emergency and after the reorganisation of constituencies across the country. The seat…