Articles by Navya P K

Waste collectors and processors report a massive surge in packaging waste, especially plastic packaging, from e-commerce transactions since 2017. In our last article on the topic, a waste worker from Bengaluru put this at 10-15% of all the dry waste they receive. Under Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) regulations, brand owners are supposed to be responsible for the life cycle of all the plastic they introduce into the market. Let us say an e-commerce company delivers a packet of potato chips to a consumer, after wrapping it in a compostable plastic bag. Then the chips brand would be responsible for its…

Anjana S, a Bengaluru-based software engineer, estimates that e-commerce companies deliver at her doorstep at least 15 times a month. “I place orders with companies like Flipkart 2-5 times a month. And grocery orders with quick delivery companies, like Zepto, 3-4 times a week,” she says. Which leaves her with considerable packaging material, often plastic, that she has to dispose of. Like many Bengalureans, Anjana works out of home and rarely frequents retail shops these days. The discounts offered by e-commerce companies are more attractive as well. “Some platforms also waive the delivery fee if I buy a monthly pass,”…

On October 1st, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) launched the process of issuing e-khata on the e-AASTHI website and published the application procedure. The BBMP states that 21 lakh out of 22 lakh properties with khata in Bengaluru have their draft e-khatas listed on the site. Property owners can view their draft e-khata and apply for the final version by uploading additional information. However, many Bengalureans are confused about the process or are unable to access their property listings on the website. Here is a simplified guide on e-khata, how to apply, BBMP’s approval process and some common challenges.…

Chanda Pravin Katkari, who lives in Panvel on the outskirts of Mumbai, applied for a free LPG connection under the PM Ujjwala Yojana one-and-half years ago, but has yet to get a response. She still uses the traditional chulha, most of the time. Chanda and her sister-in-law share the cost and occasionally use their mother-in-law’s Ujjwala LPG cylinder though. “The cylinder lasts only one-and-half months if the three of us, living in separate households, use it regularly. Since we can’t afford this, we use it sparingly so that it lasts us about three months,” she says. Chanda’s experience outlines the…

In 2021, some street vendors informed Mohit Valecha, Delhi in-charge of the National Hawker Federation (NHF), that officers of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) were giving out loan application forms to shopkeepers at Saraswati camp, RK Puram, under the PM SVANidhi scheme. “By the time we reached there, the officers had distributed applications to around 12 of the 20 shopkeepers there. These were junior officers. When we questioned them, they said they did so to meet their targets, and left soon,” says Mohit, who is also All India Youth President of NHF. “I don’t know if the shopkeepers eventually…

On February 1st, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the final (Interim) budget from the current government that will seek an electoral mandate in a few weeks from now. The minister’s speech had only two major announcements on urban public transport: one, that e-buses would be encouraged, and two, that Metro Rail and NaMo Bharat trains would be further supported in large cities. This followed the same pattern of allocation for transport that the union government has made over the five years of its current term. Indian cities have been grappling to contain heavy traffic and emissions from the large…

Part 1 of the series explained Bescom's responsibilities in terms of preventing accidents, and what citizens can do if they see a safety hazard.  Part 2 looks at what you can do if you suffer injury/property damage.  What happens in case of an accident? After any electrical accident, its cause is investigated by a separate department - the Department of Electrical Inspectorate under the Energy ministry. This department submits a report to the government, with a copy to Bescom. Additionally, Bescom has a committee, comprising a retired judge and a retired engineer, that visits the accident site, gathers information from…

Last October, 23-year-old Soundharya and her nine-month-old daughter lost their lives to electrocution by a Bescom live wire in Hope Farm, Whitefield. In August, a Christ University student was burned by a live wire from an electric pole that fell when a vehicle accidentally pulled on an OFC illegally put up on the pole. What are Bescom's responsibilities in terms of preventing accidents? And what can you, as a citizen, do if you see a safety hazard, or if you suffer injury/property damage? Here is a guide. According to data Bescom shared with this reporter, 134 people died in Bescom-related…

Kochu Shankar, a resident of Banjara Layout in Horamavu, has not had to buy water from private tankers this year, unlike the majority of households in the layout. The rainwater harvesting (RWH) system at his home routes rainwater from the rooftop to the borewell, recharging it and ensuring a year-round water supply for the two-member family. Most residents in the layout have been buying water from private tankers over the past few months. Horamavu, part of the 110 villages added to Bengaluru city corporation limits in 2008, is not getting Kaveri water supply yet. Besides, with extensive digging of new…

At 51 years, N C Bhatra, a migrant labourer in Chennai, finds the 20-hour train journey to his hometown in Puri, Odisha, arduous and costly. So much so that he has limited his trips home to see his wife and two children to just one or two times a year. Bhatra had migrated from Puri to Chennai in 1996. Reserving a ticket in the sleeper coach was much easier then, he says. But over the past five years, he has never been able to book tickets directly as they get sold out much faster.  “To get a ticket nowadays, I…