CITIZEN JOURNALISM

If all goes well, the bulk of Bangalore’s Public Transport commuters will be moving in trains over rail tracks rather than on roads by around 2032. Plans that have been pending for long are finally being implemented to expand Metro and add Suburban Rail to cover large parts of the city with a combined urban rail network totalling over 400 km. Bengaluru’s quest for rail-based solutions began close to 40 years ago in 1983 when a Commuter Rail system was first proposed. Since then, road traffic has grown by leaps and bounds as street-based transport has remained the only option,…

Do you know: If you are living in Embassy Golf Links on Inner Ring Road, you are living in an area that is 1300 years old. If you are living in Peenya 2nd stage, you are living in an area that is 1300 years old.If you are living in Indiranagar you are living in an area that is 800 years old.If you are living in Rajajinagar, you are living in an area that is 700 years. Surprised? But they are all facts. Srinivagilu, behind Embassy Golf Links, is mentioned in a 750 CE stone inscription; Juganahalli, in Rajajinagar 2nd block,…

A people’s protest to ‘Save Aarey’ was held on July 3rd at Picnic Point in Aarey Colony, following the Maharashtra government's decision to overturn the legal protection Aarey had earlier received. The newly-appointed Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took the decision to relocate the metro car shed project back to the forest in his first meeting since taking the oath. The move to reverse the decision of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government created a stir amongst environmentalists and citizen activists from all over Mumbai and protests were organised almost overnight after the decision was made. However, this project isn’t Aarey's…

Reports of massive fish kill events in lakes across Bengaluru come up worryingly often every year after the first monsoon showers. This year was no different. Ulsoor, Basavanapura, Muthanallur and Bhattarahalli are some of the lakes in which dead fish were found floating over the last few weeks. What is causing this morbid scene year after year in a city famed for its many water bodies? Pollution is one culprit. What are the other factors involved? How exactly do these interact and impact lake ecosystems? And what needs to be focused on to prevent such events? To understand the whole…

It has been eight years now since we started down this path without setting any goals to reach anywhere. It was our son Nihar’s choice to learn at home by making things and working on projects rather than only through books. He proposed that to us, when he entered Class 4, as he felt that he wasn't finding enough time to do the things he wanted to do. As parents, we valued his need to be free from systems and structures and to be motivated by his innate sense of wonder and curiosity. Today, he is 18 and a co-founder…

Do you live in an apartment with its own sewage treatment plant (STP)? Do you know how much of the treated water is reused and how much ends up clogging the city's stormwater drains? Despite laws in place in Bengaluru that mandate the setting up of decentralised plants and 'zero discharge', i.e. for all the treated water to be used up within the apartment fence, turns out reuse levels remain alarmingly low. The city now has over 3,000 decentralised STPs, which treat 615 million litres of sewage every day. Centralised STPs generate another 650 MLD of treated water. But the…

Not surprisingly, gardening is probably the most common hobby in Namma Bengaluru, which truly was a 'garden city' when I first came here in 1997. However, over the last two decades, we have all been witness to much of that garden space being taken over by concrete. But we Bengalureans still have that in our DNA, to grow plants wherever we live, whether on the 10th floor of an apartment, in a good old typical Bengaluru house in Jayanagar or in a housing community with individual houses. With my farming background, my decision to buy a house was based on…

Public transport in Mumbai has a reputation for providing long, arduous and uncomfortable commute, but some transport authorities in Mumbai have tried to change that. Without an iota of doubt, we can proclaim that multitasking is a common, inevitable feature of modern urban life. The pandemic has lent further credence to the fact. Instead of being alienated individuals going through the routine motion of daily travel, commuters are now looking to engage themselves to reduce distraction and enhance the enjoyability of their ride to and from the office.  Specifically, in current times, they would love to to utilise their travel…

If one were to compare the national economy to the human body, highways can be considered the arteries. Like clogged arteries which can be life-threatening, poor roads can derail economic growth. Planning and execution of highway projects have several other implications related to safeguarding the interest of the consumer, environmental impact, prudent contract management etc. One way to be aware of issues of impropriety and poor performance in local government bodies and departments is to track the audit reports from agencies like the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). This article is the sixth in the Series: Understanding Public…

Organ donation and body donation have been gaining momentum in India, particularly so in Tamil Nadu which has been a pioneer and leader in transplants. Despite the inroads made in the state, the awareness among the general public on organ donation needs to increase manifold in order to meet existing requirements. Currently, India as a whole requires around 2,00,000 kidneys, 50,000 hearts and 50,000 livers annually for those requiring transplants. The current annual availability, however, is a meagre 10,000 kidneys and 1,000 livers. This is very disheartening. With a population of more than 130 crores, the organ donation rate needs…