CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Heat, dust and pollution are characterising Bengaluru these days, as opposed to the calm cool heavenly weather that made it a “garden City.The city is slowly losing its green cover and is turning brown with concrete buildings and heat islands. There are efforts from NGOs and citizens to plant trees. But what should the government look at, explores Shashank Athreya of Vidhi Centre for Legal policy. Among the biggest challenges cities face, securing the city’s environment is one of the most important. The definition of “environment” in an urban context is broader than its traditional meaning since it includes the…

Lokpal and Lokayukta Acts were introduced by the Congress in 2013 and received the President’s nod to become law in 2014. The Act made it mandatory for states to set up a Lokayukta within one year of constitution of the Lokpal at the centre. However, Tamil Nadu (TN) and Jammu & Kashmir, are the only states which have not even constituted the Lokayukta yet through the passage of the Lokayukta Act, way past the one-year deadline. In 2015 the High Court pulled up the TN state government in response to a PIL for not setting up the Lokayukta. At that…

“I have cleared my house of all the plastic bags. I cannot afford to pay Rs 5,000 as fine.” “Madam, they are saying that they will come to check our houses to see if we have plastic. Do you think they will come?” “Everyone on the road is carrying cloth bags today. Who wants to pay fine? ” “Vegetable vendors are telling us to go home and bring a bag. None of them have plastic bags.” “Will it be alright to carry this water bottle? I won’t be caught and fined, right?” The Maharashtra Plastic and Thermocol Products (Manufacture, Usage,…

“I have cleared my house of all the plastic bags. I cannot afford to pay Rs 5,000 as fine.” “Madam, they are saying that they will come to check our houses to see if we have plastic. Do you think they will come?” “Everyone on the road is carrying cloth bags today. Who wants to pay fine? ” “Vegetable vendors are telling us to go home and bring a bag. None of them have plastic bags.” “Will it be alright to carry this water bottle? I won’t be caught and fined, right?” The Maharashtra Plastic and Thermocol Products (Manufacture, Usage,…

Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan was carried out on June 10, 2018, Sunday morning from 9 am to 11 am in RBI Layout JP Nagar 7th phase, Bengaluru. Around 50 residents participated in the drive, to cover almost 30 roads, and collected more than 25 sacks of paper, plastics, liquor bottles, etc. thrown in the roads, drainage etc. This drive cannot make the city clean immediately, but it will wake up sleeping people. It will bring change in the mindset of people who throw garbage everywhere. The programme organised by RBI Layout Resident Welfare Association was supported by BBMP staff of JP…

Nemilichery lake, which once was a lifeline to the farmers in Pallavaram, is slowly being destroyed. With unabated encroachment and illegal dumping of unsegregated waste, the lake is dry and its bed is completely covered with plastic. In order to save the lake for the next generation, volunteers from various organisations and business entities took up the cleaning work on 10 June. “More than 250 volunteers from Federation of Civic and Welfare Associations of Pallavaram, environmental organisation Pasumai Iyakkam and Parvathy Hospital took part in the clean up,” said V Santhanam, a noted civic activist. Years of exploitation by the…

A stretch of the old, dilapidated compound wall of the Corporation School in Thiruveedhi Amman Koil Street of RA Puram grabbed the attention of a residents welfare association recently. To give a new lease of colour to the wall, Thiruveedhi Amman Koil Street Resident Welfare Association (TAKSRA), in association with an organisation called Karam Korpom-SAPS (Stop Abusing Public Spaces) started work two days before World Environment Day. SAPS focuses on preventing the abuse of public spaces by transforming them into beautiful art corners. K L Balasubramanian and M K Ramkumar, active members of TAKSRA, led a group of about 30 volunteers to…

Kaala is not a political film. It is a propaganda film. Pa Ranjith's films have always carried political messages and social commentary, but none before has been carrier for propaganda. This is it. The director has never less tried to make a movie, and never more to weave a plot around his messages. His messages shine through as clear as day, and that is unmitigated victory for the film he chose to make. Present day Tamil Nadu has been a civilisation in decline despite the state's abundance of educated workforce, high per capita incomes, commendable public health outcomes, and decentralised…

What is a Master Plan? Many of us complain that Chennai has grown ‘unplanned’. Technically that is not true. Chennai has been having various ‘plans’ guiding the expansion of the city since 1957. The First Master Plan for Chennai was published in 1975. Both the transport terminal and  wholesale market from Central Business District were shifted to the current CMBT and Koyambedu Market as a strategy to decongest the Central Business District then. So the master plan matters. The Second Master Plan was published in 2008 - this plan is a guiding document till 2026, another 8 years from now.…

World Environment Day is here, with the theme Beat Plastic Pollution for 2018. Why do we need to beat plastic pollution? What is plastic pollution? Why is it harmful? What do you know about plastic? Test your knowledge by answering this quiz! You have to say either Yes, or No. You'll score 1 mark for each right answer. 16-20 - Excellent 10-16 - Average 5-10 - Poor <5 - Fail Loading...