CITIZEN JOURNALISM

For urban planners, visualising a city’s growth requires determining the extent and nature of urbanisation that the city has and is experiencing. While satellite imagery is often relied on for comprehending the built growth, this data does not provide insights on what is the ‘nature’ of the built form: i.e. residential, commercial, industrial, among others. Unscrambling the data on building plan sanctions can potentially bridge this gap in understanding. In urban areas, the built growth or construction of buildings is managed and monitored by local bodies through its Town Planning Department, the first of such management being sanctioning a building…

Bas saaru and massoppu. These curries made of mixed greens are staples in homes of Bengaluru residents. But these greens are not always bought in the market. They are also gathered from sidewalks, little strips of soil beside the road, from drains, and around lakes. The act of gathering such edible plant species, from private or public spaces in the city, is called urban foraging, and it is a common practice across the globe. Honagonne soppu (Alternanthera sessilis) foraged from lake beds in Bengaluru. Pic: Seema Mundoli Experts on local wild plants In Bengaluru, it is mainly middle-aged or older…

Chennai’s decentralised waste management system has been designed with the aim of reducing the quantum of waste that reached the landfills in Perungudi and Kodungaiyur. Dumping of unsegregated waste is a serious detriment to this goal. The mixed solid waste dumped in the dumpyards generates methane, which is one of the greenhouse gases. Methane is 25% more potent than CO2 in trapping heat in the atmosphere. With the looming effects of climate change, every stakeholder in the process must participate in managing their waste effectively. This includes the city’s many large apartment complexes and gated communities that have been deemed…

As metro network expands and ridership increases in Bengaluru, crowding at metro stations will be experienced more frequently. This raises concern with regard to safety issues, stressful rides, increased travel time, among other problems. I have been commuting from home to college and back by metro since 2017. Yeshwanthpur metro station, my starting point is always heavily crowded, especially on Mondays and festival days. The metro station gets crowded as many passengers alight at the nearby Yeshwantpur railway junction. The main reason for my running late on most days is the bottleneck caused by the crowds at the ticket/token counters.…

Commuting by public transport in Chennai brings with it concerns around safety. We come across news reports about the unruly behaviour of youth in MRTS trains and MTC buses. Issues ranging from harassment to scuffles break out on public transport and the average commuter finds themselves in the crosshairs. There have been calls to strengthen safety in public transport, especially in buses, bus stops and the MRTS trains and MRTS stations. Sadly, not much headway has been made in this regard even after many years. Safety in MRTS stations and trains in Chennai Over the last few months, we the…

It had been more than a decade since I had travelled by myself in an MTC bus. I was able to do so on my own with my wheelchair when low-floor buses were trialled in Chennai in February. As per a Madras high court direction, low-floor, accessible buses were taken on a trial along various routes in Chennai. The buses that run on Chennai streets at present are not accessible for any persons with disabilities. Almost all the buses are three feet in height, with a four-step approach. This meant that no person with disabilities was able to access the…

Bengaluru is a mess! Traffic is horrendous. Garbage is not picked up and lakes are polluted. Unplanned development is affecting the quality of life.  'I pay my taxes - why am I not getting services?!' But are you going to be voting on May 10th? No? Why not? 'C'mon, one vote does not matter!' This is a myth that needs to be busted especially in Bengaluru. In our city, the winning margins are very thin! Bengaluru's story of low turnout Over eight Bengaluru constituencies have a deplorable turnout of less than 50% last time, which is in the bottom third…

Fifteen-year-old Srihari from Perungudi started an initiative called Water on the Dot, a youtube video series to educate people on the over-consumption of water. His interest in the subject stemmed from his participation in a water-saving campaign in 2019. The campaign was organised by ReapBenefit, a platform looking to nurture civic problem-solving.  As part of the campaign, a group of youth in Chennai addressed the problem of water shortage by reducing the overconsumption of water in their homes and community. Their investigation revealed that the overconsumption of water while washing hands was due to high flow rates.  By fixing a…

Katta in collegian Marathi refers to a hangout. The Cycle Katta is a platform designed for freewheeling discussions on everything around cycling. It seeks to inspire people by getting phenomenal achievers speak of their feats. It tries to educate them about nuances on health, nutrition, technical aspects and also how public policy looks at their activity. It also aims to build a better network of informed cyclists.  It is a completely volunteer-driven initiative with once a quarter meetings, and depends entirely on the largesse of the society - which stands to benefit if cycling grows - for the physical space…

H Nagesh, the Congress candidate from Mahadevapura Constituency, shares why voters should choose him. Hanumappa Nagesh, 64, is the MLA of Mulbagal (Kolar district), winning his first election as an independent candidate in 2018. He says he has performed well in Mulbagal and would like to repeat that in Mahadevapura, where he is originally from. H Nagesh: Government official-turned-politician Nagesh supported the Congress-JD(S) coalition government and became Minister of Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Livelihood (September 2019 – February 2020).  In 2019, he withdrew his support to the coalition government, along with 16 other MLAs, which then fell. He switched support to…