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Translated by Madhusudhan Rao ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ರಸ್ತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿನ ಕಸದ ರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಅಸಹ್ಯಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವವರೇ. ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿ ತ್ಯಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನು ವಿಲೇವಾರಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ನಂತರ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿಯ ನಿಟ್ಟುಸಿರು ಬಿಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಕಸ ಎಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ? ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಕಸದ ದುಃಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಸರಿಪಡಿಸಲು ಒಂದು ಧಿಡೀರ್ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಸೂಚಿಸಿದೆ - ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ಒಟ್ಟು 2100 ಟನ್ ತ್ಯಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುವ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಐದು ಕಸದಿಂದ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ ತಯಾರಿಸುವ (“ವೇಸ್ಟ್-ಟು-ಎನರ್ಜಿ” ಅಥವಾ ಡಬ್ಲ್ಯೂಟಿಈ / WtE) ಘಟಕಗಳು. ಅನೇಕರು ಅಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು - ವಾಹ್, ಕಸದಿಂದ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್! ಎಂಥ ಅದ್ಭುತ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆ! ಒಂದೇ ಏಟಿಗೆ ಎರಡು ಹಕ್ಕಿ ಹೊಡೆದ ಹಾಗೆ! ಆದರೆ ಇದು ಖಂಡಿತ ತಪ್ಪು. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಐದು ಕಾರಣಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿವೆ: ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ಪತ್ತಿಯಾಗುವ ತ್ಯಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಡಬ್ಲ್ಯುಟಿಈ ಘಟಕಗಳು ಸೂಕ್ತವಲ್ಲ “ಆದ್ರೆ ಸ್ವೀಡನ್, ಸಿಂಗಪುರ್ ಮತ್ತು ಜಪಾನ್ ಗಳಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಡಬ್ಲ್ಯುಟಿಈ ಘಟಕಗಳನ್ನು ವಾಟ್ಸಾಪ್ಪ್ ವಿಡಿಯೋನಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ನೋಡಿದೀನಿ - ಈ ದೇಶಗಳಂತೆಯೇ ಆಧುನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನವನ್ನು ನಾವೂ ಏಕೆ…

Shortlisted for the National Smart Cities Mission in 2017, Dehradun, capital of Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, inaugurated its most ambitious smart city project on December 25th, 2019. The Doon Integrated Control & Command Centre (DICCC), built at a cost of Rs. 294.41 crore, will be the nerve centre coordinating all the smart city projects and work towards unification and ease of delivery of civic and urban services. Dr Ashish Kumar Srivastava (IAS), Chief Executive Officer of the smart city mission in the city, is piloting the different smart city projects that include schemes like Smart Water ATMs (Rs 1.98 cr),…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities The Sexual Harassment (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 was passed by Parliament to address gender specific discrimination in the workplace. The law codified the  Supreme Court’s guidelines in the Vishaka v. Union of India case, but has been marred by implementation and compliance challenges. Sexual harassment of women continues in the workplace, remains under-reported and when reported, is not immune from failed dispute resolution processes managed by the employers.. The reasons for the law struggling to deliver redressal to its intended beneficiaries are many.  But what…

Last November, the cybercrime police station (CCPS) in Bengaluru, the only one in the city at the time, had to suspend operations because of an unusual problem. The number of FIRs (First Information Reports) registered in 2019 were on the verge of crossing 10,000. The software used by the police allowed for registration of FIRs with only four-digit serial numbers, and hence the software could not register any more cases.  Due to this, the station had to be shut on November 23, and was reopened only on December 10 after the software was upgraded to allow entry of five-digit FIR…

Even as it celebrates the centenary of its creation, Shimla’s iconic natural ice skating Rink is not just losing its old world charm, but changing weather patterns is affecting the once popular events that the Rink hosted. After last week’s heavy snowfall, ice skating sessions had to be stopped.  Even last year, just a little over 40 sessions could be held. Scheduled competitions had to be cancelled due to uncertain weather. Listen to Peter Ta Tung 56, a veteran ice skater, as he recalls activities at the Rink in the 60s and 70s. Tinged with nostalgia and a touch of…

Kolkata proposes to introduce biomining for the first time in the city to tackle its Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management challenge and Mollar Bheri in the eastern part of the city will pave the way.  A portion of land in this shallow flat-bottom waste water-fed fishery, located within the East Kolkata Wetlands, was being used by Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) as a dumping ground. It was alleged that the Bidhan Nagar Municipal Corporation, the Nabadiganta Industrial Township Authority (NDITA) and New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) -- all in the greater Kolkata region -- had been disposing of waste in…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities “I walked on the side where the shops were, because they were well lit and there were people around” “I stood near the gate while waiting for my ride, just a bit inside, even though I did not belong to that college” “I never walk next to that tall compound wall” “I am always in a big group when I visit that park.  Too many bushes that make me feel as though someone is hiding there!” These are familiar statements, familiar sentiments that will resonate with every…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities In any criminal act in which a woman is the target, the police is almost always in the best position to offer help, safety and reassurance to the aggrieved, besides investigating the crime and bringing the assailant to book. Clearly, this calls for a certain level of competence and professionalism, and a degree of empathy, patience and sensitivity towards women. Such qualities on the part of law-enforcers would be the criminal justice system’s most significant contribution towards empowering women and upholding their equal status.  Sadly however,…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities With inputs from Shuriah Niazi, Sri Krishna, J Jahanvi and Raj Machhan The beginning of the year saw an important step taken towards implementation of the Disha Act passed by the Andhra Pradesh legislature in mid-December. On January 3rd, two women officers were appointed to ensure effective implementation of the new law, which provides for tougher punishment and faster delivery of justice in cases involving crimes against women and children. This was when the country was still in shock over the brutal gang rape and murder…

Huge unsold housing inventory across 35 cities in the country is one of the key reasons for the Great Indian Economic slowdown, according to former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramaniam. In a working paper titled "India's great slowdown- What happened? What's the way out?", Arvind Subramaniam estimates that this vacant real estate inventory has locked up funds worth Rs 13 lakh crores, resulting in huge unpaid loans to banks. "While developers could in principle tempt buyers by reducing prices, they couldn't do that in practice because lower prices would have destroyed the (notional) value of the collateral that they pledged…