With the Lok Sabha elections right around the corner, Citizen Matters caught up with Prashanth Goutham of Arappor Iyakkam. In this freewheeling discussion with Meenakshi Ramesh, Prashanth details the roles and responsibilities of an MP and what voters must look for in deciding on the ideal candidate.
[Meenakshi Ramesh anchors the Chennai edition of Citizen Matters and is actively involved in many civic initiatives. She can be reached at meenakshi@citizenmatters.in]
Cities are the heart of the Indian growth story. Vibrant. Crowded. Diverse. Multidimensional. And yet, as we look around us, we find that they are ridden with problems and face multiple threats to their ecology, habitats and human lives. The crises in our cities make it hard to imagine an urban future that is truly inclusive, sustainable and marked by high liveability standards. But as the oft-cited quote from anthropologist Margaret Mead goes, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." That is perhaps the…
I have been following the K100 stormwater drain (SWD) project for some time and had loosely worked on it in the past. Once neglected, this stretch from Majestic to Bellandur Lake has gradually been transformed into a critical part of the neighbourhood’s civic infrastructure. As I have a theoretical understanding of what Bengaluru’s stormwater drains are intended to do and why they matter, a citizen audit of the K200 SWD held on January 31st felt like a chance to move beyond theory and see things up close. The proposed audit focused on a stretch of the K200 running from HSR…