Articles by Harshitha Padmavinod

In parts one and two of this series, we looked at the condition of the 30 dhobi ghats in the city and why there isn't a single functioning water recycling plant to solve the issue of water scarcity. In this third and final part, we will look at how the rise of laundry brands are becoming a severe threat to traditional dhobi ghats and the dhobis' livelihood. With the majority of dhobi ghats relying heavily on manual washing and minimum use of technology, the emergence of laundry brands, which use and advertise technological tools to entice more customers, is posing…

“Earlier, we would wash clothes by the riverside. But later we dug up bore wells in all dhobi ghats, which have become our main source of water,” says Mahalingayya, president of Karnataka Rajya Madikatte Ghataka that oversees the functioning of dhobi ghats across Karnataka. In Bengaluru, each dhobi ghat has at least two borewells. However, water scarcity is still an issue. The solution is using recycled water. But the cost and maintenance of water treatment plants are of primary concern. Water usage in dhobi ghats Each dhobi ghat uses varying quantities of water on a daily basis. The average can…

Ashwath has continued his family's generational profession. He has been working at the Vyalikaval Dhobi Ghat for nearly 30 years, and his day begins as early as 5 am. He starts work by separating the clothes into two piles: one for manual washing and the other for machine washing. Four dry cleaners give Ashwath clothes to wash. "While towels and bedsheets can be washed in the machine, expensive clothes like sarees and dresses are given to us for washing. We do face a few health issues since we work a lot in water, but we are used to it," says…

Everyday, around 40 lakh passengers use the bus and about five lakh people travel by Namma Metro. Yet, there is some hesitancy, in Bengaluru, to choose buses and metro over cars and bikes. To understand why this is the case and how it can change, Citizen Matters, Bengaluru, organised a webinar 'Why not public transport?' The panellists included Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow, Integrated Transport and Road Safety, World Resources Institute (WRI) India; Shreya Satish Mokhashi, Assistant Urban Planner at Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT); Jayenkumar Desai, Head of Strategy and Transformation VMware Software India Pvt Ltd; and Lalithamba BV, a…

At the recently held BBMP – Work Orders, Budgets and Processes Datajam, a group of citizen volunteers analysed the data available in the public domain. Here are their observations and suggestions on BBMP’s expenditure and efforts in waste management. To:Dr. Harishkumar, Special Commissioner (SWM) Dear Sir, We are a group of citizen volunteers who would like to share our observations and suggestions on BBMP’s expenditure and efforts in waste management. Solid waste management constitutes 14.7% of the BBMP budget (1643.72 crores). As part of the Shubra Bengaluru Project, BBMP has identified 1,555 Garbage Vulnerable Points (GVPs) also called as ‘black…

“When I was looking through tweets of someone asking for suggestions on how to get to the airport for a midnight flight, I saw most comments suggesting they go early and wait at the airport. I found that ridiculous. Does one have to struggle so much for safety?” questions Bhuvana Rani. Today, Bhuvana is an advocate by day and a cab driver by night. She joined GoPink Cabs in 2016, and enjoys her job. “When people take our cabs, we see that their families are relieved since safety is ensured. Many solo passengers sleep peacefully throughout the ride and nothing…

With Siddharamaiah’s government scrapping the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and replacing it with his government’s own new education policy for Karnataka, there is not only ambiguity over what will happen to the students currently admitted as per the central NEP policy, but also lack of clarity over the very implementation of this NEP. Here we try to explain how the National Council of Higher Education (NCHE) had proposed to go ahead with the Four-year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP) under NEP and how Karnataka is responding to it.  What is FYUGP?  Under the University Grants Commission, Karnataka State Higher Education Council…

For the past few months, there has been contention over the redesign of Gandhi Bazaar. The conflict at hand revolves around the clashes between the preservation of heritage and the construction of a modern shopping hub. The primary issue is in the inability of traders/vendors and authorities to find a compromise or middle ground that satisfies both parties. There is a lack of communication and a lack of clarity regarding the existing plans for development. While traders/vendors have objected to their recommendations not being considered, the authorities say they have documented evidence of repeated meetings and workshops held with the…

Ganganna (name changed) has been working as a manual scavenger, cleaning toilets and drains for the past 25 years in Tumkur. He says that most villagers have almost stopped hiring manual scavengers, but in urban areas like Bengaluru, there is demand for people like him. Cleaning of STPs cause of death Bengaluru has a large number of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), mostly in apartments, and many lack mechanised maintenance. When STPs require manual intervention in repairing blocks and cleaning, it is workers like Ganganna who are called to get into the sewage pits. This has led to the institutionalisation of…

“Patience is required to work in the education field,” says Preeti Gehlot, who was appointed as Special Commissioner for Education on January 25th. “It’s not like building a road, but more like bringing behavioural change in students,” she says. Though Preeti is also in-charge of estate, horticulture, lakes and forest, she prefers to devote more attention to education. In an interview with Citizen Matters, Preeti talks about the education department’s plans and proposals as well as priorities and implementation of policies.  Excerpts from the interview: How are BBMP schools different from schools under the jurisdiction of the Karnataka Government?  BBMP…