CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Once a “city of lakes,” Thane’s population has roughly increased sevenfold since 1971. The city's estimated population has crossed 27 lakh, making it one of the most densely populated cities in the country. As its population surges, new construction rises at a feverish pace, and infrastructure projects are announced with clockwork regularity. By all outward appearances, Thane is a city on the move. But the question to ask is: Is it moving in a better direction? Sadly, it is not. I am a fourth-generation resident of this city. I grew up here and watched the city transform and lose something…

Summer in India has been merciless this year, with many states recording temperatures above 42 degrees Celsius and rising reports of fatalities. Despite these harsh conditions, urban support continues for development projects that clear trees, wetlands, mangroves, and forests near cities. A recent Article 14 report provides data on thousands of trees that will soon be sacrificed nationally for infrastructure projects. Those opposing such unscientific large-scale tree felling are often labelled 'tree-huggers', 'anti-development' and 'anti-nationals'. While capitalism accelerates environmental degradation and the world faces a growing climate crisis, societal divisions deepen.  Yet, we give trees too little credit: Beings necessary…

When Ranjan Gogoi, the former Chief Justice of India, retired from the Rajya Sabha two months ago, his performance in Parliament became a matter of debate. As per an analysis by Livelaw, Gogoi did not ask a question to the government even once during the six years of his tenure and participated in the debate on only one Bill.  More recently, when seven AAP MPs defected to BJP, another analysis by Indian Express revealed that one of these seven defecting MPs, Harbhajan Singh, a former cricketer, had only 26% attendance.  Why do we typically go around digging data on the…

The University of Kashmir campus in Naseem Bagh, Srinagar, is thick with early morning winter fog. Monumental chinar trees fade into a blanket of mist as a few students move quietly across the grounds, shoulders hunched and hands buried deep in their pockets. “We have to plan properly according to the cold before coming to the university,” says Aijaz, a PhD scholar. As daylight fades early, pathways empty quickly, and students retreat to hostels, rented rooms, or wherever warmth is available. Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, hosts many of the region’s universities and colleges, drawing students from…

Ten years back, Kamlaben Chavda was a stay-at-home mother of two children in the Gomtipur ward, at the far eastern end of Ahmedabad. Till one day, a neighbour and relative asked Kamlaben to accompany her to where she worked, the Saundarya Safai Utkarsh Mahila Sewa Sahakari Mandali Ltd. Today, thanks to that visit and the work she eventually found through Saundarya, Kamlaben says, “Now I have this experience where I can confidently go to any workplace and perform. And I can definitely say that I am standing where I am because of the support of my mandali (cooperative).”  Kamlaben is…

Urban biodiversity is often discussed in terms of tree cover, lakes, or flagship species, but far less attention is paid to pollinators—the insects and birds that quietly sustain urban ecosystems. In Bengaluru, a rapidly urbanising city with a strong culture of citizen science, large volumes of biodiversity data are now being generated by the public. But what does this data tell us about pollinators in the city? This article draws from a data jam hosted by OpenCity in Bengaluru that explored pollinator observations using publicly available, citizen-generated datasets. By analysing long-term observation records and spatial data on land use and…

80 kilometres south of Chennai stands the Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPS) — one of two big nuclear power plants in Tamil Nadu  — and its affiliate organizations. These organizations employ around 15,000 permanent employees, who mostly live with their families in the Kalpakkam and Anupuram townships, located approximately 5 kms from the nuclear plant. The distance is said to mitigate health risks from radiation. But they are not the only human resources of the plant. More than 4000 workers, hundreds of them migrants to the state, are employed on a contract basis every year in construction, housekeeping, catering, hygiene…

On December 20, 2025, families in Kogilu Layout, Yelahanka, awoke to the sound of bulldozers and their homes being razed. Vessels, bedding, school bags, medicines, and documents lay scattered around or broken. While official figures state that 167 structures were removed, residents and petitioners report higher numbers.  Beside the rubble, families assembled tarpaulin shelters. Residents say that for several days, makeshift solutions for water, toilets, and electricity were arranged and civil society groups provided temporary relief.  Residents and civil-society groups also allege that there was no written notice before the pre-dawn demolitions. In the aftermath, it is unclear where people slept…

When we discuss urban nature, we often forget about real natural habitats. In Bengaluru, widely called the Garden City, most talks about urban nature focus on landscaped parks, roadside trees, and manicured gardens; in other words, artificial ecosystems designed for looks and human comfort. As lay citizens, we usually notice only such nature as we see around our homes, workplaces or other areas we generally pass by. While these places do have some ecological value, they mostly support a few highly adaptable species. This has strong negative implications for native flora and fauna that depend on open scrublands, grasslands, rocky…

Imagine you’re out on a morning walk, phone in hand, when you spot a butterfly you’ve never seen before. You snap a photo, log it into a citizen science app, and voila! You’ve just contributed to crucial biodiversity monitoring. This isn’t just a hobby; it’s part of a global movement where ordinary people collect, record, and sometimes analyse data about plants, animals, and ecosystems. Citizen science stretches the reach of ecological research. Every observation adds to unique longitudinal datasets that reveal phenology — periodic events in the life cycle of a species — along with species distribution shifts and population…