CITIZEN JOURNALISM

The advent of technology and concomitant digitalisation has unleashed new business models and working arrangements in urban centres. The gig and platform economy are at the heart of this structural transformation of jobs, disrupting sectors like ride-hailing transport services, profession, education, home services and retail. I refer to this as ‘Digihenheimer’- a counter phenomenon to regular paid jobs. Definition of Gig Workers In the Niti Aayog (2022) report, gig workers are defined as those engaged in livelihoods outside the traditional employer-employee arrangement. They can be broadly classified into platform and non-platform-based workers. Platform workers are individuals whose work is based…

Madras Week celebrations have time again proven to be a way for those in Chennai to get to know the city better. One such opportunity was a Heritage Tree Walk organised by Nizhal and Green TN Mission, which helped me get acquainted with the greenery that the city boasts of.  With the city’s is rapidly declining green cover, it becomes even more vital to learn more about its trees and what needs to be done to protect them. The walk proved very illuminating on this count, with the heritage trees standing the test of time inspiring confidence for a greener…

Plenty of manuals and guidelines are available that list out various steps to be followed to ensure quality in road construction. The problem is the unwillingness to enforce these guidelines at the time of construction. Just to list some factors which affect the quality of road construction: Inadequate bitumen content in the mix Overheating of bitumen during mixing process Inadequate compaction during construction Stripping of bitumen from aggregates (Aggregates are raw materials that are produced from natural sources , including gravel, crushed stone, and sand. When used with a binding medium, like water, cement, and asphalt, they are used to…

The effects of climate change know no boundaries, transcending borders and impacting every individual, community and nation. India ranks third among the top 50 nations most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Closer to home, this summer, Tamil Nadu witnessed sweltering heat waves, with the vulnerable facing the brunt of it.  Blue collar workers like Gauthaman, a water can supplier to households in Chennai, expressed concern about the escalating summer heat impacting his health, especially as much of his day is spent on the go. Nirmala, a domestic worker in the city, who also sells flowers in the evenings,…

Pothole deaths are the most devastating accidents. Monsoon and a cut in utility maintenance worsen the condition of potholes. There are many causes for a cut in utility maintenance: new utility connections (such as water, sewage and power lines), pipe damage due to heavy traffic movement, old pipe replacements, BESCOM line damage, etc. If potholes are not constantly monitored and maintained, they can result in large craters, which can be fatal for motorists, especially two-wheelers. Read more: Bengaluru’s potholes cost lives and money, but here’s how you can hold BBMP accountable Why do potholes form? It is essential to understand…

People make a landscape their city and their home. Garden City, Victory City, Steel City and many such identities are rightfully linked with urban centres across the country. When there is a mention of the most rainfall, our mind immediately travels to our middle school textbook pages that introduced us to Cherrapunjee. Water is said to be an element of nature with a memory. Often, the best of our memories of nature also happen to be related to water. The first time the waves crashed at our feet, the first time we took a dip in that meandering river, the…

In its earlier avatar, Mumbai was known as ‘Heptanesia’, denoting a collective of seven islands, as named by Ptolemy in 150 AD. With the city being transformed from a cluster of islands into a unified mass in early 18th century, its enduring connection to the coastline beholds captivating marine biodiversity that lies right at our doorstep.  There exists a facet of Mumbai that remains shadowed within the towering buildings and lost between the burgeoning crowds. Often hailed as a ‘city that never sleeps’, it also holds a hidden truth: its shores too remain in a perpetual state of wakefulness.  The…

As designers at The Other Design Studio, we have collaborated with various NGOs, including Akshara Foundation, Pratham Books, Azad India Foundation, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies Foundation, and numerous others for almost two decades. Through this work, we have gained a profound understanding of the social system. Angeline Pradhan and Upesh Pradhan run The Other Design Studio, which does branding to illustration to animation and videos. They have covered everything and a little more as a design studio. In 2022, our design experience with Samaaj, Sarkaar, Bazaar, a collection of over a decade of articles, interviews, and speeches by Rohini Nilekani, inspired…

A few months ago, the usually bumpy 4th Main Road in Thiruvanmiyur became completely unnavigable. The road turned much worse than its usual state thanks to the Chennai Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s (CMWSSB) apparent quest to dig up most roads in the city. Metro water workers removed the entire central section of the road, leaving two narrow strips on either side, seemingly only for very thin men on bicycles to pass. Road cut work had left a missing strip at the center of the road in Thiruvanmiyur. Pic: Ramiah Ariya Of these, the left-hand strip had at least…

The Karnataka 2023-24 budget must be examined through the lens of the Congress party's welfare and policy promises. They gave several assurances towards making 'public works' more accessible, particularly in Bengaluru. Towards this end, a section titled 'Sector 4: Comprehensive Development of Bengaluru' was added to the budget document. In this article, I analyse to what extent these developmental initiatives align with the needs of the urban poor. I also highlight the missed opportunities and inadequate measures within the budget and how it fails to address the complexities of Bengaluru’s urban crisis. Read more: Hundreds of crores of SWM budget…