Articles by Raj Machhan

Once a clear water stream and the centre of Ludhiana’s social life, the Buddha Nullah’s pollution has affected the groundwater table, contaminated drinking water sources and more.

Municipal Commissioner K K Yadav talks about the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the strategies adopted by the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation to tackle the same.

In a video interview with Citizen Matters, Chandigarh’s Social Development Officer Vivek Trivedi talks about the steps that his department has taken to ensure supply of essentials to citizens during the COVID lockdown.

A group of 21 Kashmiri traders who came to Chandigarh in winter, as they have been doing for decades, are now stuck there because of the lockdown, and have found unconditional support from the local population.

Every year, Punjab employs around 10 lakh migrant labourers to carry out the market operations during Rabi harvest. These labourers generally come in late March and stay on till June to complete the transplantation of paddy.

In cities and towns across the state, individuals exposed to the virus and eventually found to be infected refused to go into quarantine, and came in contact with hundreds, reveals the contact tracing exercise.

The main grouse appears to be around the location of the new zone; those allowed to operate in original sites, or relocated to sites near market areas, appear satisfied with the new regulation even if they have seen marginal decline in business.

Chandigarh ranks first among Union Territories and third among the states in the CCS Progress Report on Implementing the Street Vendors Act 2014. Here’s what it has done to regularise street vending in the city, and what that means for the city corporation.

Despite attempts, the Chandigarh administration has been unable to popularise cycles as a preferred mode of transport among people. Neighbouring Panchkula on the other hand has clocked 76000 rides in just two months since November. What did it do right?

Countless manufacturing units in the once-thriving textile sector lie idle today, and 80% of the two lakh people directly and indirectly employed by the industry have returned home. The Kashmir clampdown may not be the only reason, but is making matters worse for sure.

Compared to other industrial hubs in Punjab, Mohali has better infrastructure and enjoys the advantage of proximity to Chandigarh. But despite the edge, manufacturing units in the city have failed to survive. Here’s why.

Indiscriminate dumping of industrial effluents and untreated municipal waste in the Sutlej river, and various other channels flowing into it, is causing unprecedented incidence of cancer and other health hazards in the three states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.