CITIZEN JOURNALISM

In recent times, one of the lasting representations of Kolkata in popular culture lies in an iconic scene from the film Piku, where Bhashkor Banerjee, played by Amitabh Bachchan, is seen riding a bicycle around familiar haunts, with an air of euphoria and freedom. Ironically, in spite of the humble bicycle being a symbol of nostalgia and heritage, Kolkata is also the only city in India to have widespread restrictions on cycling. Cycling used to be banned in 178 roads earlier. Presently, the bicycle ban is in place in 62 arterial roads of the city. Despite this, the city records…

If the outside of the Cubbon Park metro station is devoid of colour, step inside and the station is anything but colourless. On an outside wall of the station is an end-to-end monochrome mural depicting tree trunks and children climbing them. Step inside, to the concourse next to the tracks, and the eye cannot help but catch the large colourful mural that captures the essence of what lies under the sprawling Cubbon Park---a massive groundwater recharge system. The theme that defines the artwork spread across the entire metro station. “The idea is to make water practices in the city visible,…

Antibiotics left over in the strip after completing the 7-day course, capsules that cannot be consumed after the doctor decided that a different drug regimen was in order, vitamin supplements that are thankfully not required any longer. All of us have surely, at some point in our lives, found ourselves with medicines that we may not have a use for in the near future. On the other side, we have heard of people avoiding going to a doctor, fearing that they would not be able to afford the medicines that may be prescribed. "Discharge taken against advice" is a common…

Mallathahalli Lake has been in the news the past week, but for all the wrong reasons. There are plans set in motion to “develop” the lake, converting it into nothing short of an amusement park, with the main waterbody forming a sorry backdrop. Despite clear guidelines from the courts and the NGT on how to work around lakes, there are plans to build structures inside the lake. I live close to this lake and regularly go for walks by the lake. Life in and around the lake has always been in profusion, slowing me down on these walks. So it…

As a student of history, I was inquisitive about the evolution of the BEST bus services of Mumbai. My quest for truth eventually landed me at the BEST Bus Museum located at Anik Depot in Sion. Although it highlights the deep and enriching history of the evolution of the city’s transport system, I was disheartened by the dilapidated conditions of not only the museum, but also the cluttered and filthy workplace. Not much has changed since then. Instead of bringing in reforms to initiate a healthy working environment culture, there have been proposals to privatise the space. This is a…

What started as a casual attempt at cycling with my brother’s cycle that was lying idle at home has become one of the best decisions I’ve made in recent times. When I took up cycling in February of 2020, I did not anticipate how rewarding the experience would be. Since then, cycling has given me a way to channel my energy, boost my endorphins and helped me on my weight loss journey. Having experienced these benefits myself, I would like to look into what makes cycling a great initiative, while also addressing the challenges that stand in the way of…

Driving to my neighbourhood in the periphery of Bengaluru is like maneuvering a lunar module on the moonscape. Walking or biking is almost impossible. Every year, the gram panchayat ‘repairs’ the roads, thanks to years of advocacy from residents. And every monsoon, the road washes away. To my solution-oriented mind, the answer is really simple: study the problem - the history of the road and area; socio-cultural conditions of the neighbourhood, villages, and industries on the road; the number of cars/ buses/ people using the road; environment and climate-related aspects such as soil, drainage patterns, etc. Then, it is about…

The COVID-19 pandemic brought to the fore the gaps in emergency response coordinated by the government. Large amounts of emergency items from beds, oxygen tanks, concentrators, medicines, vaccines, masks and food needed to be bought and delivered. With shortage of labour and a lockdown, the supply of these critical needs posed a challenge to overcome. Shortage of labour, created by a combination of reverse migration and affliction of the disease, also contributed to the logistical challenge. At this point, civil society stepped in and relieved an overwhelmed government apparatus which is not built for such calamities.  The first lockdown saw…

How often do we concern ourselves with electricity issues? Well, a social media listening exercise reveals that there is a buzz around electricity topics in Chennai when consumers are faced with either interruptions in power supply or unusually high electricity bill.  In the last one month, citizens in Chennai took to social media about 1,634 times to write about their concerns around power cuts and an inflated electricity bill from the TNEB! Nearly 70% of the users posted about how their EB bills shocked them. 63.2K users shared and interacted with posts about inflated electricity bills.  Source: Author’s analysis via…

On 17 June 2021, landslides in Chembur and Vikhroli killed more than 30 people, injured many others and destroyed several houses. Hanslal lost his entire family in the Vikhroli landslide. He lived in a one-room house, paying Rs 3,000 as monthly rent - a price he could thankfully afford in the absence of work and social security during the pandemic. He worked as a carpenter and was out of work in the past few months. Hanslal is aware that both the Union and the State Governments have announced compensation, but he is not hopeful of receiving the money because he…