April, 2018 Citizen Matters

Whitewashed roofs or Whatsapp alerts: How is your city planning to beat the heat this summer?

April 30, 2018 Harsha Raj Gatty

IMD spells a gruelling summer ahead with temperatures 0.5°C to 1°C higher than the long term average. From Ahmedabad to Nagpur to Hyderabad, what are cities doing to minimise heat-related casualties?

What my trip to Lodhi Gardens taught me (Photos)

April 27, 2018 Daksha Hathi

The writer pays a visit to the famous Lodhi Gardens in Delhi and returns with lovely memories and a window to how public gardens should be maintained.

Three ways in which the new Motor Vehicles law could make our roads safer

April 25, 2018 Revathi Siva Kumar

The Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill 2016, if enacted into law, could have helped to reduce road accidents. But it remains a casualty itself of an indefinitely adjourned Parliament.

Fake health and cosmetic care advertisements you should be wary of

April 23, 2018 Daksha Hathi

No, a pill can’t make you grow taller. The ASCI has banned over a thousand such ads promoting risky medicines, potions, clinics, pills, lotions etc, all with dubious or impossible claims. As a consumer, you should be alert.

How a Mumbai township celebrated Earth Day (IN PHOTOS)

April 23, 2018 Arathi Manay Yajaman

Almost 300 people, age 3 upwards, lent their strokes to 3500 sq ft of wall area, to beautify the neighbourhood as part of the ‘Colour My Township’ initiative organised by a residents’ collective in Lokhandwala, Kandivali.

City Buzz: Cash crisis in ATMs, India’s best paying cities and new role for Delhi Metro

April 20, 2018 News Desk

What is making news in Indian cities — from Mumbai to Ahmedabad and Delhi to Hyderabad? A quick look at some of the most important and interesting headlines for urban India.

India’s new plastic management rules go soft on industry, betray environment

April 19, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

India generates around 25,940 tonnes of plastic waste every day, but the amended rules for its management provide no road map towards reduction. If anything, it only gives the FMCG industry cause for cheer, say environmentalists.

From Surat to Kathua or Unnao, the rape cycle will continue, unless…

April 17, 2018 Tara Krishnaswamy

No, the death penalty is not the answer. But an efficient and speedy system of justice — from reporting to conviction — is likely to be. Till we reach the point, we can only grieve and rage and feel guilty.

Can Kolkata’s floating market remain afloat for long?

April 17, 2018 Amrita Mukherjee

It’s clean and beautiful, and offers good choice. Visitors love the ambience too. Yet, sellers in the unique Floating Market in Kolkata are staring at an uncertain future. Why?

As accidents caused by minors rise, parents penalised to curb trend

April 12, 2018 Laasya Shekhar

Before you let your minor ward take your scooter or car out, know that you may be jailed. And once the amended Motor Vehicles Act is passed, this term could extend to three years.

City buzz: Why Delhi authorities came under fire from the SC, and more…

April 12, 2018 News Desk

Do you know why the Supreme Court slammed the Centre and Delhi civic authorities recently, saying that if they did not act now, they might have to move base like Tughlaq? Read more on this and other key headlines from India’s fast growing cities.

Counting our bird friends, in Bengaluru and beyond

April 6, 2018 Deepa Mohan

Notes and photos from continuing bird counts conducted in various parts of Karnataka, where a number of rare species have already been documented.

In Kolkata, filthy fountains spread dengue fear

April 6, 2018 Gurvinder Singh

Water fountains installed in the city for beautification, in the run up to the recently held FIFA U-17 tournament and the Book Fair, now lie abandoned. Mosquitoes breeding in the filthy, stagnant water pose a definite health risk.

How consumer law can help when your travel agent hijacks your holiday

April 4, 2018 Daksha Hathi

From relatively unknown operators to high profile firms, travel agents have been known to bungle or even cheat customers outright. These cases, from Mysore to Kolkata, will tell you what to look out for.

Want to make your city safer? Don’t be a passive bystander!

April 4, 2018 Revathi Siva Kumar

What do you do when you see an accident victim on the street, unconscious and bleeding? Or when the young girl opposite you in the bus is being evidently harassed? Can you, as a bystander, intervene and help?