CITIZEN JOURNALISM

N Muthukumar is over 60 years of age and works out at the public gym in Thiruvanmiyur. The gym has a building with equipment for hard exercise indoors and mild workouts outdoors. There is an Anganwadi across and the intervening area is roofed.  Muthukumar is oscillating gently on the low pendulum outdoors. On one side he can feast his eyes on flowering plants and on the other, a set of colourful playthings meant for the Anganwadi kids. It is 7.30 am. He stops, breathes deeply, closes his eyes and says, "Forty years ago, this was just a mud pit that…

59% of the world’s population defecating in the open live in India. The sanitation situation is far worse in urban informal settlements. One such settlement is Shivaji Nagar, a neighbourhood located in the lowest-ranked ward of Mumbai. Communities in Shivaji Nagar have lived with toilet scarcity for decades. They face multiple challenges related to sanitation due to systemic marginalisation and strategic placement beside Asia’s largest landfill.  A study, taking stock of sanitation in Shivaji Nagar, was released recently by Apnalaya, a non-profit organisation working on issues of the urban poor. The NGO has been working in Shivaji Nagar for many decades.  Map showing functional and…

When I go for my daily run in the mornings I always carry a bottle of water in my hand. As I run around the periphery of Kaggadasapura Lake, my lungs heaving and me struggling on, I see several individuals joining me with similar bottles in hand.The bottles are intended for different purposes though: one to quench thirst and the other for open defecation. Unlike me, however, these individuals are not trying to attain the higher needs of life, such as running for fitness in the morning. They are here to fulfil the basic needs of a human being: answering…

Over the last few decades, the number of private motor vehicles on the roads of Chennai has increased significantly. The increase in the number of vehicles only contributed towards promoting severe air pollution, which had to be controlled. With this in mind, a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate for motor vehicles was made a mandatory requirement as per the Regional Transport Office (RTO) Rules. The PUC certificate is an indicator that the emissions from the vehicles are within the permissible limit. When the PUC certification rule was first introduced, several centres were opened across the city of Chennai. Over the years…

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has allocated crores of rupees to beautify wards, yet, participatory planning has been abandoned altogether. There is a greater need for involvement of citizens in actively monitoring the work being undertaken in their ward and demanding accountability from the municipality. Complaints of irregularities in the tendering process also alarm us, considering the lack of consultation with citizens during the planning or implementation stages. In an ideal world, all that would be expected of a citizen is that they would pay their taxes and enjoy the benefits and comforts authorities offer, in the form of good…

Rani has had debilitatingly painful periods ever since she started relying on injectable contraceptives. When she reached out to her doctor for help, she was told to be patient and that “this happens, it is quite normal.” But it does make it very difficult for her to manage her periods. Not only does she have to take care of household responsibilities, but she also has to go do her job as a door-to-door garbage collector in the hilly terrains of Shimla. But however painful or uncomfortable it gets, she knows she cannot afford to take menstrual leave. For door-to-door garbage collectors…

Chitlapakkam has evolved over the years from being a Town Panchayat sandwiched between Tambaram and Pallavaram Municipalities to now being a part of the Tambaram Corporation. Chitlapakkam has seen tremendous growth, with a population of 40,000 residents at present. Many residents still commute to the core city for work or study. One aspect that has been a pain point for residents has been the poor bus connectivity. After tremendous efforts, a mini-bus route that was discontinued has been brought back to service, with residents hoping for more such services in the coming years.  Mini-bus service in Chitlapakkam For more than…

Before the arrival of the Chennai Metro, the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) bus and Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train services were the primary drivers of public transport, largely defining the local transport landscape for people in Chennai's core area. The EMU services ran in three directions North Line, West Line and South Line and helped in residential development as people moved out of the core city, due to the availability of a comfortable reliable transportation system and reduced travel time. The suburban rail network was a boon to commuters from faraway, suburban localities such as Palavanthangal and Tambaram.  But with the passage…

A raft of proposals for the beautification of Mumbai was announced recently amid well-orchestrated publicity. The project which is estimated to cost Rs 1700 crore is slated to be completed by March 2023. Neighbouring Thane will be forking out Rs 100 crore for a similar beautification project. The "Mumbai Beautification Plan" includes beautification of road dividers, improvement of footpaths, installation of street furniture and street lights, the beautification of traffic islands, optimum usage of public spaces underneath bridges, maintenance of toilets and creation of wall paintings and murals. Even the most politically naïve citizen will refuse to believe that these…

India's cities are ranked amongst the world’s most congested cities. This has huge repercussions in terms of reduced productivity with commuters wasting precious hours of their lives stuck in traffic and fuel waste. This multi-part series examines the measures needed to sustain and improve urban mobility. For a detailed discussion on each measure, check the following guides: Part 1: Urban planning measures Part 2: Transportation planning measures  Part 3: Traffic control measures Also see: Action agenda for better mobility (this article) The article How to make Bengaluru traffic jams go away analyses these measures in the context of Bengaluru.  NITI…