CITIZEN JOURNALISM

With the onset of COVID-19, Indian cities have been working towards finding a solution for transporting citizens. Worries about maintaining social distancing has led more people to take up cycling and walking as their preferred modes of transport. Interest in cycling has picked up sharply since the COVID-19 lockdowns, with sales of cycles having risen across the country. For this trend to continue beyond the pandemic, the government needs to invest in infrastructure that favours walkers and cyclists in city spaces which are typically jam-packed with motor vehicles.  Bengaluru, which has over 1.39 lakh cyclists, has a thriving cycling culture that…

Anyone without a hobby would have perished during lockdown! Hobbies are a diversion from our routine life, and help to unburden our minds from various problems. They result in networking, get us in touch with like-minded communities of people with whom we can discuss our common interests, and help one another in improvement. Our hobby is amateur Radio, commonly called ham radio. Ham Radio Club, IIT Bombay (Photo: Ham Radio Club, IIT Bombay) Ham Radio Club, IIT Bombay was founded in 2017. "We bring people, communication and electronics together."  Ham radio is a form of two-way wireless communication that uses the…

​​Recently, my Gandhi Nagar area WhatsApp group was abuzz with messages. The topic of discussion was the recently-announced Mega Streets Project.  The Mega Streets Project is an effort to transform arterial and sub-arterial streets to “ensure greater mobility, livability and utility.” These aims are set to be achieved through widening of footpaths, cycle-sharing systems, improving last-mile connectivity. Six streets have been chosen for the project, based on factors such as high intensity of visitors, potential for transformation and streets along transport corridors. Mixed reactions The news that our street had been one of the chosen ones was not universally well-received.…

Bengaluru has more than 50 lakh two-wheelers on its roads. Let that number sink in. These two-wheelers make up ~70% of all motorised vehicles in the city.  This staggering number of two-wheelers is often attributed to Bengaluru's inadequate and inaccessible public transportation system, whose modal share stands at a meagre 48% in comparison to 80% for Mumbai.  In a 2019 survey conducted by Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC), 24% of respondents who don’t use public transport cited lack of first-mile and last-mile (FM-LM) connectivity as the major hindrance. Given the need for better connectivity to public transportation and the ubiquity…

When most of us think of “critical infrastructure” or “essential services”, public spaces don’t really feature in that list. Post-COVID this notion has been challenged globally, prompting multiple sectors and disciplines to collaborate and leapfrog urban policies and technology. When the Government of India announced its first 21-day lockdown in March, cities and corporations were forced to think outside the box to accommodate essential functions and social distancing norms.  It took a pandemic to roll-out the ambitious bicycle and pedestrian friendly streets programme, and the recent nationwide Streets for People challenge, initiated as part of the Smart Cities Mission in…

The current coronavirus pandemic in India has brought the issue of mental health to the fore. According to a 2020 paper, Covid-19 has fuelled ‘infodemia’ and has created ‘coronaphobia’, which results in anxiety, fear, depression, increased substance-dependence, and PTSD. Yet another research paper points out that there are a rising number of patients with COVID-19 who have been reported with mild (anosmia and ageusia) to severe (encephalopathy) neurological manifestations too. Some of the most vulnerable categories include older people, health care providers, caregivers, and psychiatric patients who need special attention. According to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences…

In my 3rd floor apartment water gushed out of the bathroom floor drain, much like what happens on the roads on one of those manic Mumbai monsoon days. There surely was a blockage in the drain pipe somewhere, resulting in back flow. “Get the drain plunger,” shouted my wife, but little did we realise that a drain plunger would be an insignificant piece of equipment in the scheme of things. Quickly, my adrenaline-laden blood recalled an evening walk conversation with my friend who lived on the 19th floor. He had had a similar experience just the other day, and when…

In my lifetime, I’ve transitioned from an Indian-type squat-pour-flush toilet to a more spacious western-style commode toilet with the luxuries of a mirror and wash-basin.  This transition is one of the more eloquent symbols of my upward mobility.  It was in the privacy of the toilet that I have felt the most free and uninhibited.  It is the place where my deepest angsts have found their release in helpless tears and the place where I’ve imagined my wild aspirations coming true. It is where I’ve thought of the comeback line to the school bully and where I’ve pretended to be…

Traditionally, Bengaluru’s lakes stay dry for a couple of months, and fill up during the monsoons. This made it easier for potters, brick makers and farmers to collect silt from lakes. But due to climate change, rapid urbanisation and unplanned development, more lakes have been drying up for longer periods of time. An article by Times of India states that “According to BBMP, about 50% of the lakes have water less than half of their holding capacity. Some of them have gone dry and in others, the water level is fast depleting”. Sowl Kere, Kannamangala lake, Arakere, Sarakki, and Yelahanka…

Any athlete who is used to training in a stadium environment would panic at the prospect of being stopped from running. So you can well imagine what has happened to the hundreds of amateur and professional athletes, budding children and veterans included, who used to train at the different stadiums across Mumbai, over the last 6 months. It’s been 6 months since stadiums were shut due to the corona virus outbreak, and with the daily rise in cases, there doesn’t seem to be any hope in sight for them. At age 64, I’m not the conventional athlete. Before lockdown, my…