City: Pune

Children and adults pedalling to school, work and play — this was a common sight on Pune's streets not so long ago. Once known for its vibrant cycling culture, the city still has many groups and communities that promote non-motorised transport. However, with the rise of motorised vehicles, cycling has not only taken a back seat, but has also become unsafe and inconvenient due to poor infrastructure. This is despite Pune having dedicated cycle tracks and lanes. The decline in cycling infrastructure is reiterated by a recent audit, which found that only 11% of cycle tracks in Pune fell in…

The Pune Riverfront Development Project, which aims to beautify the banks of the Mula-Mutha River through concretisation, has been one of the most debated topics in the city. Many citizens have raised concerns about its environmental impact. While the project promises promenades, gardens, and flood control measures, several people believe it comes at the cost of destroying the natural ecosystem that has existed for centuries. Among them is Swapnil Thakur, a Pune-based musician popularly known as the 'One-Man Symphony,' who is using his music to protest against the project. Once a corporate employee, Swapnil’s life took a drastic turn after…

Maharashtra, one of India’s most urbanised States, faces a transportation crisis that has snowballed into a public health, environmental, and economic challenge. With over half its population residing in urban areas, Maharashtra is home to 28 municipal corporations — the highest in the country. Cities like Mumbai and Pune are struggling with the relentless surge in vehicle ownership, which has led to traffic congestion, alarming pollution levels, and a steep rise in road crashes.  Despite these pressing concerns, many cities have pursued an approach focused on expanding road infrastructure, relying on flyovers and highways to absorb traffic overflow. However, experts…

Recently, when I drove through Varale-Ambethan Road in Pune, I saw a worrying sight near the Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial area. Piles of garbage lined the roadside, set ablaze in the afternoon sun. The burning garbage consisted of a hazardous mix of chemicals, metals, and food waste. The air, filled with the pungent smell of burning refuse, was a cocktail of impurities. During my visit, the acrid smoke lingered for at least two hours, permeating the air and infiltrating the air conditioning vents of industries and vehicles passing by. It was difficult to breathe easily while travelling through that road.  The garbage…

Pune, with its vibrant culture, historical significance, and dynamic population, is a city of contrasts. On one hand, the city has stood as a beacon of progress and innovation amidst the picturesque landscapes of Maharashtra. On the other, just like many bustling metropolises across the globe today, it faces the daunting challenge of balancing rapid urbanisation with sustainable development, particularly when it comes to mobility. Pune boasted a rich legacy of promoting eco-friendly modes of transportation and was once celebrated as the "cycling city" of India. Since as early as 1966, visionary plans for cycling infrastructure were already on the…

“One of our neighbours suddenly saw notices, announcing the Pune Municipal Corporation’s proposal to widen six-metre roads to nine metres and inviting objections within a stipulated time frame, pasted randomly in the lanes of the Anand Park locality,” says Dr Dhananjay Rau, president of Anand Park Residents Association (APRA), a housing society in Aundh. “It took us completely by surprise. Thankfully, we still had time, so we submitted our objections to the PMC.” The six internal lanes of Anand Park are dead-ends and do not connect to the main road. So why widen the roads, the residents ask. Uncertain utility apart,…

Raging through 2020 and continuing in the new year as well, the COVID-19 pandemic brought into sharp focus the state of health infrastructure in the country. The scramble for hospital beds across cities, oxygen scarcity and medicine shortage, the helplessness of patients suffering from other chronic or terminal illnesses highlighted the wide gaps in our public healthcare system. But apart from that, another issue that came into sharp public focus, after years of neglect, is the plight of senior citizens in our urban settlements. Unable to step out of the house as they came under the vulnerable category, and often…

A chartered accountant by profession, Snehal Gokhale takes pleasure in what used to be a hobby – watering her plants, watching the flowers bloom and the butterflies flitting from one flower to the other. “I took up gardening to nurture an eco-system where all creatures big and small had a place of their own,” says Snehal, who has a garden in her ground floor Paud Road flat. “And we take pleasure in eating what we grow and watching the birds and butterflies and insects in a symbiotic relationship with each other”. The nature of urban gardening is being transformed, perhaps…

When 25-year-old Vivek Gurav, working in an IT company in Pune, came across a video of Swedish native Erik Ahlström on YouTube, it struck him that this might provide a way of reducing plastic waste and be a way to bring youth to become volunteers of change. “I come from a small village near Kolhapur and I used to swim in the river flowing near my village,” recalls Vivek. In Pune, it saddened him to see the city’s water bodies covered in garbage and plastic waste. “While a student of MIT institute of Computer Engineering in Alandi, Pune, I was…

The cloudy skies in recent weeks had Vijaykumar Lokhande scurrying to his fields in Mhada taluka in Solapur district. A page layout artist in the city at normal times, he also does farming to supplement his earnings. “I grow pulses and millets like jowar in my five acres of land,” says Vijaykumar. “This year, I am growing tur dal and the excess rainfall helped tur. I have a job in Pune, so I decided to plant tur dal, which doesn’t require my daily presence”. Pune city gets its vegetables, pulses and milk supply from Mulshi, Solapur, Satara, Baramati, Kolhapur etc.…