May | 2020 | Citizen Matters

Despite MSME package, Jaipur’s buzzing bazaars lie silent, textile sector steeped in gloom

May 31, 2020 Kavita Kanan Chandra

Barely 30-40 per cent of the MSME units in industrial clusters in and around the pink city are functional, and working to less than half their capacity. Lack of any monetary relief is their main grievance.

No baaraat, hence no band or baaja: In Kolkata, ban on social gatherings cripples many livelihoods

May 29, 2020 Gurvinder Singh

Wedding photographers, musicians with small bands, local caterers and many others, who depend on events and social gatherings for their earnings, talk of the sufferings that COVID-19 has brought upon them.

Bus-turned-wifi spot; Parking lots-turned-testing centres: How COVID-hit cities are using transport infrastructure

May 29, 2020 Ruchi Agarwal

Around the world, cities are adapting and reusing transport infrastructure to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. What can we learn from them?

Pandemic epiphany: Why unpaid domestic work shouldn’t be the woman’s burden only

May 27, 2020 Viswanathan Sridhar

The pandemic has led many men to recognise the unpaid labour that women undertake to run a household. Here’s a take on why the unequal distribution of work must end.

Vizag gas leak caused by a lax state that never acted against errant industries

May 26, 2020 Manish Kumar

There are several laws on paper to ensure compliance with safety standards, but an apathetic state has rarely cracked down on violators. The result: rampant industrial mishaps.

Op-ed: Now is the time to think of effective civic technology linking the citizen and state

May 26, 2020 Aditi Ramesh

As the world shifts increasingly online in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, civic technology can serve as a mechanism to distribute welfare, amplify citizen voices, and strengthen citizen-state relations.

Tourism and local industries at a standstill, will infrastructure revive Himachal’s urban economy?

May 25, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

Himachal Pradesh has seen nearly 80 per cent loss of livelihoods, both rural and urban. The government is now pinning hopes on opening up construction and other infrastructure projects.

City Buzz: Cyclone Amphan batters Kolkata | Drive-through COVID testing in Chandigarh | Mobile mortuaries in Mumbai… and more

May 25, 2020 News Desk

Even as the country continued to witness alarming spikes in COVID-19 cases, a devastating cyclone hit east India. News highlights of last week from the cities

Lal Dora: The invisible red thread limiting the lives of Delhi’s ‘urban villagers’

May 23, 2020 Paras Tyagi and Antara Vats

Villages like Budhela, Munirka, Mehrauli and others have all been absorbed into the urban limits of Delhi. But what does it mean for the natives and migrants residing here?

Why talking and training play an important role in keeping your child safe

May 22, 2020 Swati Amar

Safety training is important not just for children themselves, but also parents, communities, those looking after children with special needs, professionals who interact closely with children.

Ahmedabad artists keep hope and creativity alive in the time of COVID-19

May 22, 2020 Binita Parikh

For many artists, the COVID-19 lockdown offers the opportunity to explore different aspects of creativity and even new art forms, especially as they learn to use the digital platform better.

Strict laws on paper, but here’s what we really need to keep our children safe

May 21, 2020 Swati Amar

In the first of a three-part series exploring solutions to the menace of child abuse, a former official of the ICCW tells us why laws alone are never enough.

Toys, some joy and a little hope in times of COVID-19

May 20, 2020 Kedar Nagarajan

In M East ward in Mumbai, children in poor and informal settlements are being engaged in creative learning activities to distract them from the stress of COVID-19.

No jobs, farming season over: How long before migrants returning to Patna set out again?

May 20, 2020 Amit Bhelari

Faced with miserable conditions at district quarantine centres and no prospect of jobs, the 1.5 lakh plus labourers who have returned to Bihar could well be left with just one option — go back to where they returned from.

How residents of a low-income Mumbai settlement ensured food for their migrant neighbours

May 19, 2020 Malay Kotal

A single man’s drive and an empathetic community led to this community kitchen in Mumbai’s Pisavali, which has provided hundreds of food packets to migrant families.