CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Scrambling between a COVID-positive mother and a COVID-positive father, I was getting exhausted. Given the deluge of cases and the shortage of beds in Delhi's hospitals, we had decided to home quarantine, but I was now wondering if it had been a good idea. My father's oxygen levels had started dropping. The doctor told me not to get anxious. Oxygen levels do fluctuate, but if we could get an oxygen concentrator at home it would relieve some of the tension. The oxygen situation in the hospitals was anyway uncertain, and with several friends and family members in other houses also…

For three-and-a-half-year-old Aadi (name changed) with cerebral palsy, a good book - Thottu Paru Poochi - was all it took to direct his boisterous energy into reading. Despite it being the first book he was ever introduced to, Aadi engaged with it immediately, and after a few readings, he was turning the pages independently on his screen reader and attempting to vocalize the sounds. Reading tends to have that effect - simultaneously teaching and entertaining, giving delight, enticing the reader to persist, to explore and experiment.  The birth of ARM For many like Aadi, accessible libraries are the only gateway…

When a family is under quarantine, it means no one goes out. Does this include the pets? Well, as there is no evidence of transmission from pets to humans, does that then invalidate the statement for pets? I have wondered for a long time what then should be the procedure? After all, pets are trained to do their business outside. They signal when they want to go outside… Staring at the door, howling, whining, barking, biting, nudging you to take them out;  sometimes by tearing things, scratching the door or under the door.  Apartment complexes have very stringent rules, especially…

In the short span of 10 days, around 600 citizens of Bengaluru sent an email to the Deputy Conservator of Forests (Bengaluru Urban), seeking an extension to send objections/suggestions to the double tracking of the Baiyappanahalli-Hosur railway line. The double tracking project that will pan out over 48 km around Bengaluru is part of the Government of Karnataka's special purpose vehicle Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Company (K-RIDE) developing a plan for the extension of the suburban railway network.The double tracking project seeks to cut 1034 trees between Baiyappanahalli and Hosur. The forest department issued a public notice calling for objections and…

Like every civic body, BBMP had its moment of truth in 2020 because of the pandemic. Revenues plummeted as commercial activity slumped during the lockdown. Public health and medical demands soared. Employees were shunted around for emergency tasks, throwing administrative controls into disarray.  Dividing lines between State and civic duties were blurred: BBMP became a government department delivering welfare services to migrants under a lockdown. State departmental heads monitored and supervised civic functions. Ad hoc staff was hastily added to run COVID contact and testing facilities.   Formal citizen involvement was undermined, social distancing hampered protests and courts became dormant. The government used the opportunity…

Yes, indeed! We need decisive action now, of deferring any and all non-essential activities (of little or no immediate economic repercussions) involving any kind of congregations in closed spaces, along with very strict blanket enforcement of COVID-appropriate protocol and behaviour in whatever socio-economic activities that may be permitted henceforth. Else, we are staring in the face at national distress with numbers already spinning out of control at over 2 lakh per day. Or even worse, a national disaster if we get more virulent strain(s) due to a much higher & longer second wave. In my earlier article published in The…

The recent TN Assembly Elections saw the lowest voter turnout in the state in the past three elections. Chennai’s overall voter turnout stood at 59.06%, with only four constituencies registering turnout higher than 60%.What could explain the low turnout is that many eligible voters chose to sit it out on polling day and also that the inaccuracies in the voter rolls contributed to the issue. There have been instances of unexplained deletion of names of voters who found themselves unable to exercise their franchise in the assembly elections. Names of entire families who voted as recently as the Lok Sabha…

On March 22nd, I opened the  Aarogya Setu app on my phone to book our appointment for the second or booster dose of the Covishield vaccine. My husband and I had had our first shot before noon on March 1st, when the union government rolled out the programme for senior citizens like us. We were told we could take the next shot after 28 days. A few days' delay would not matter, added the doctor at the vaccination centre. The earliest appointment I got (confirmed via SMS) at our preferred centre, Yashoda Multi Specialty Hospital, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad, where we had taken…

Over the last few years, the city of Bengaluru has been growing beyond its potential. As a city with educated and active citizens, civic activism has been a significant decider in how the city develops.  One of the citizen activism initiatives has been developing the existing railway network to boost the suburban rail project.  A few years ago, the Government of Karnataka (Karnataka Rail Infrastructure Company (K-RIDE)) started developing a plan for the extension of these railway networks. It recently announced that the 48-km Baiyappanahalli-Hosur railway line will be double tracked by 2022.  Public Notice issued by Department of Forest…

Bengaluru has a planning history spanning more than fifty years. The first step towards planning for development of Bengaluru City was initiated with the Outline Development Plan prepared by the Bangalore Development Committee in 1952.  The city’s planning got statutory backing in 1961 when the Karnataka Town And Country Planning (KTCP) Act, 1961 was enacted.  The history of planned development in Bengaluru is seen in the timeline below. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) is entrusted with the task of preparing a Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) as per the KTCP Act. Throughout Bengaluru city's planning history, thought to its future industrialisation,…