Articles by Pragathi Ravi

This year started off with the Bengaluru Metro rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) being in the news for its promise to make nearly 40 kilometres of metro lines operational in 2023. This included the extension of the purple line from Byappanahlli to Whitefield and reopening the Yellow line from R.V Road station to Bommasandra. However, in early January this year, there were tragic reports about an under-construction metro pillar in HBR Layout, along the KP Puram- Airport stretch, collapsing on a mother-son duo, who succumbed to their injuries. An inspection report, submitted by Professor J M Chandra Kishen of the civil…

The leather tanning industry employs 4.42 million workers in India and accounts for 13% of global leather production. However, the dark side of this industry is that leatherwork exposes its workers to several chemicals, most of which are carcinogenic or have substances that can cause cancer. Research reports the increase in risks for a number of cancers among tannery workers, highlighting their occupational exposure and the allied vulnerability. The tannery workers in Bengaluru are aware of the hazards. C Pasha, who collects skins or hides for the curing units, was quoted in an article saying "people in this work die…

Consumers in Bengaluru would have noticed discrepancies in their electricity bills last year, considering the tariffs went through three revisions in 2022 alone. In April 2022, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) revised the tariff for electricity consumers in the state by hiking the price by an additional 35 paisa for the fiscal year 2022-23. The report stated the hike in price was to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2159.48 crore.  Following this, in June, the Commission accepted electricity supplying companies’ (escoms) proposal to recover the “money spent on increased fuel costs,” resulting in Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited…

Every discussion among residents or at the policy level concerning mobility and commute infrastructure is often about the reduction of private, motorised vehicles on the road and the increase of public transport availability and accessibility. However, the government seems to have missed the point as it is committed to constructing flyovers and underpasses, and widening roads to prioritise cars, much to the chagrin of concerned citizens and mobility experts. In the latest scheme of things, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) decision to fell nearly 54 trees in front of Palace Grounds to widen Bellary road has drawn the ire of…

The revamped Church Street, which opened to the public in 2018, was built to be primarily pedestrian-friendly. The project also integrated all the networked services under the road – water, sewage, power, gas, and stormwater drains, ensuring minimum disruptions. (In)famous for being dotted with restaurants, bars, and pubs, Church Street is an attraction for tourists and residents, alike. The videos and reports on social media of how the street, and the adjacent Mahatma Gandhi (MG) road, were crowded on New Year's eve, vouch for its popularity. Five years later, even as Church Street is recognised for its design and aesthetics,…

The United Nations adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2015 to universally take a stand to end poverty and protect the planet. The UN set 2030 as the target year to achieve these goals, which India has accepted. NITI Aayog's inaugural SDG Urban Index and Dashboard for 2021–22 is aimed at driving SDG localisation in Indian cities, under the umbrella of Indo-German Development Cooperation. The policy think tank's monitoring tool at the Urban Local Body level localises the global goals. The dashboard's index framework consists of 56 ULBs and 77 indicators (from 15 SDGs). The data on these indicators…

While the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited is committed to expanding its network across the city, lack of affordable access to its stations remains a stumbling block for authorities and commuters alike. As per reports, BMRCL is in the process of extending the green line to Challaghatta and Madavarsa (BIEC) and land acquisition is underway for the pink line (part of Phase 2), which is proposed to run from Kalena Agrahara (formerly Gottigere) to Nagawara. The lack of last-mile connectivity in the city, coupled with erratic schedules and insufficient buses of BMTC, often compel commuters to resort to booking an…

As of December 2022, I complete five months at Citizen Matters. During this time, I have written articles across the verticals of civic, society, infrastructure, environment, and economy. I have profiled how community-based learning can accelerate the education of children from lower rungs of the socio-economic strata, if recently established Namma Clinics can bridge the last-mile gap in healthcare, and elaborated on what the government does with traffic fines that are collected. There were three stories, however, which received overwhelming responses from readers. Brookefield settlement floods One of my most challenging stories was when in my first month, I came across…

Amidst books and puzzles, children from grades 3 to 11 and 12, mill around Vismaya Kalike, a community learning centre in Anjanapura. They organise themselves into groups, with a volunteer in tow, depending on what they want to learn about for the day. Vismaya Kalike, an after-school support initiative, which stresses community-based learning, enables a democratic, inclusive and enriching learning space for them. Children come from all nearby areas, majority of them are from a settlement in Anjanapura. Organisations that promote community-based learning have emerged as an important link in ensuring that children, especially those on the socio-economic margins, receive…

With private schools making education unaffordable or inaccessible for many, public or government schools are becoming instrumental in laying the foundation for literacy, numeracy, and engagement for students. Despite this, there are still issues about their accessibility and reach. The question of safe access to schools, even within a kilometre's distance, needs to be addressed. "While we do have schools within a radius of one or two kilometres, the question is how many of them are government schools and accessible to the urban poor? Especially for parents from poorer backgrounds, who cannot take time off to drop their children off…