CITIZEN JOURNALISM

“My grandfather is 88 years old. Like other senior citizens, he used to go for long walks, but now he can’t. Often, he doesn’t tell us how he feels because he doesn’t want to bother us. Going through this experience of wearing the empathy suit, which simulates challenges faced by older people, is very helpful. It's not that we don’t know about the issues, but experiencing them first hand provides a better understanding,” says Amod. He is referring to a wearable empathy suit being developed at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay that communicates the experiences of older citizens…

(In Part 1, data analysts explained how they arrived at a definition of water security. In Part 2, the analysts explained the methodology used in estimating the Cauvery index and the results have been obtained. In continuation, part 3 will explain the methodology used in estimating the remaining indices and its results) Groundwater index Borewell count: The OpenCity borewell dataset was used to map borewells into Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) wards and compute the number of borewells per ward. Assuming an average yield of 5,000 litres/day, water supply from borewells was normalised with ward population and the wards were…

(In Part 1 of the series, data analysts explained how they arrived at a definition of water security and created a location-specific index. In Part 2, the analysts will explain the methodology used in estimating the use of the Cauvery index and how the results have been obtained) The variables (below) were indexed and weighted with the Cauvery index, which was prioritised due to its significant impact on Bengaluru’s water security. Groundwater and land-use indices, being interdependent, received equal weights, followed by the governance index. Here is a summary table: Parent IndexVariableWeight AssignedCauveryCauvery supply to Ward1GroundwaterBorewell Water supply (litres/person/day)Ward area…

Bengaluru’s water crisis hit new lows in March 2024, which led to disruptions in water supply. There are areas in the city where water supply is irregular, expensive and unpredictable, bringing the daily lives of many communities to a standstill. It was this issue that made us, as a group, tackle the issue of water security at the Bengaluru Water Datajam held by Opencity.in in March. The notion of water security is a tricky problem to address. It depends on multiple factors like ecological security, risk management of the city, to name a few (Aboelnga et. al., 2019). Therefore, we…

On May 20, 2024, an Emirates airplane, descending to land at Mumbai’s Santacruz airport, collided with a flock of flamingos, causing significant damage to the aircraft and killing 39 flamingos. This incident underscores a critical and often overlooked aspect of aviation safety: the risk of bird strikes. News reports and investigations into the bird strike have revealed two primary causes: The high power lines running through the Thane creek flamingo sanctuary could have been responsible. These power lines, built at great heights, may have forced the flamingos to fly higher than usual, putting them in the path of the descending…

Part 1 of this series looked at the cost, risks and challenges of tunnel roads. Part 2 will focus on the alternatives to tunnel roads, and how they can be implemented.  Improve traffic flow: BMTC, Namma Metro and Suburban Rail Metro to Airport:  Namma Metro is extending its Blue Line to Kempegowda International Airport (KIAL) as part of Phase-2B. This metro line, connecting Kasturinagar to KIAL, is expected to be operational by June 2026. Once completed, it will significantly reduce traffic on the road to the airport. Namma Metro Blue Line to Kempegowda International Airport (KIAL). Graphic: Rajkumar Dugar Suburban…

In October 2023, Deputy Chief Minister/Bengaluru Development Minister, DK Shivakumar, had announced a 190 kilometre-tunnel road as a solution to ease Bengaluru traffic. In May 2024, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) announced its initial phase plan to construct an 18 kilometre-tunnel road connecting Hebbal and Central Silk Board. This road will include five entry and exit points for vehicles. A tunnel road is an underground passageway for vehicles to travel through. It provides a direct route through an obstacle, such as a mountain or body of water, which would be otherwise impractical or impossible to traverse through by vehicle.…

As one travels along the sandy stretch from Neelangarai to Uthandi parallel to the East Coast Road in the Chennai suburbs, beaches and fishing villages seem more expansive compared to their urban counterparts. They are less crowded, and as you proceed further down the stretch, the prevalence of commercial activities diminishes. Sand dunes, or large curved mounds formed by loose sand, appear. As you move away from the city, they get so big that you might not be able to see the adjoining villages that exist right behind them. Dunes existed in the city centre, till as far back as…

On a sunny evening, I walked from Ambika Appalam signal at Kasturbai Nagar in Adyar up to Indira Nagar in Chennai. Along the pavement, I repeatedly stumbled over dangerously lying cable wires. After almost getting my neck caught in one such cable, I started taking photographs of the cityscape. It was cluttered with multiple fibre optic cables belonging to competing cable companies, all ruining the city's aesthetic appeal. Exposed fibre optic cables, both overhead and on the ground are potential safety hazards for residents and a reflection of poor execution of work by cable companies. These are especially dangerous during…

In Mumbai, the city of dreams, rains bring relief from the intense heat, but also lead to sharp increase in mosquito prevalence. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai accounted for 40% of the 11,404 cases of malaria reported in Maharashtra. In October of last year, the number of malaria and dengue cases in the city stood at 944 and 979 respectively.  While the numbers are quite high, there has been a marked reduction from the figures in September that same year, when the malaria and dengue cases stood at 1313 and 1360 respectively.  In response to this, several efforts…