EDITORS' PICK

The videos were all over the Internet and social media. Expectedly so, because you don't often see crocodiles swimming in flooded urban streets, sneaking up on strays. But that's precisely what happened shortly after news of ‘urban floods’ in Vadodara hit headlines in early August. The city witnessed scary flash floods following spells of intense rain, bringing back memories of what the city had witnessed in June 2005 and then again in the monsoon of 2014, the latter perhaps leading to the coinage of the phrase ‘urban floods’. Back in 2014, ecologists had spoken up to communicate their worries to…

Picture a Chennai where buses are the fastest and most regular means of transport for short distances. Where bus stops are seamlessly aligned and you won't ever have to run after a bus that has overshot its designated stop or has come to a halt a good few metres before the stop. You don't ever have to haggle with the conductor over small change, because you can purchase your ticket prior to boarding. Wouldn't you automatically opt for a bus in such a scenario, instead of stressing yourself out at the driver's wheel in the midst of crazy traffic? Well,…

Many apartment complexes and layouts in Bengaluru have large gardens with flowering plants and trees. A lot of yellowing or dry leaves fall to ground everyday in such gardens, and these are swept away regularly. Hedges are also routinely pruned to maintain aesthetic appeal. This generates significant amounts of garden waste. Many complexes dispose off garden waste to tractor operators, who pick it up, assuring it would be dumped in approved sites. Though these operators charge stiff prices, no one knows where they ultimately deposit the waste. I would like to highlight a better, responsible way of handling garden waste, based on…

Amit, working in an IT company, suddenly found that the perks he had been promised with his job offer had suddenly been withdrawn. When he enquired, he was told that the company’s HR policies had changed. While signing on the dotted line, Amit had not read his employment agreement carefully and failed to notice the clause which entitled the company to change its HR policies from time to time. There are zillions of employees like Amit, who do not read their employment contract carefully and affix their signature based only on the figures of remuneration in the document. However, it…

Every year, August 12th is celebrated as the International Day of the Youth. With the development narrative in our country centred on economic growth - and not on social welfare or political participation - the urban youth are busy trying to be financially independent. They are often disengaged from civic issues and the needs of the people around them. But is this always the case? Last month, I attended a sale of reused and recycled materials organised by the online community Second to None, which attempts to reduce waste in the city. But the highlight of my day was meeting…

“Tiddalick the frog awoke one morning with a great thirst and decided to drink. He drank all the water in the rivers, the creeks, the lakes and the billabongs and there was no water left for other animals. It was only a matter of time before all the animals died.” This aboriginal children’s story from Australia might sound funny and childish. But replace Tiddalick the frog with any of the major cities in the world, and you will get a glimpse of the bleak reality we live in, where we either scramble for a drop of water, or waste it…

To enhance awareness on road safety and emerge as an accident-free nation, Thozan, a city-based NGO, along with 108 ambulance services, conducted an awareness campaign across 73 parks in Chennai on Sunday, August 4th. The aim of this drive was to spread awareness among the public about road safety, the Good Samaritan law and first aid. This awareness drive was conducted to commemorate the 73rd year of India's independence. Answering questions in Lok Sabha on July 11 2019, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways placed on record India's dubious record on road safety. The Global Status Report on Road…

This February, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) published the Draft Bengaluru Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Policy. On inviting public suggestions and objections on the draft policy, BMRCL got just 32 responses. To put this number in perspective, Bengaluru’s total population is approximately 120 lakh, of which the working population is around 55 lakh (46 percent). Adding to this, the 5-19 age group which also needs to commute, would peg commuter numbers in the city at an estimated 77 lakhs (about 64 percent of the total population). But, only 28 lakh use public transportation. Obviously, the commuter numbers are…

In April 2019, the Madras High Court, acting on deoccupation orders issued by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), directed the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to demolish the structures put up by a restaurant chain on Old Mahabalipuram Road, on land that was classified as residential.  The Court struck down the reclassification and subsequent planning permission granted by the GCC as 'fraudulent'. This is a rare occurrence, not just in Chennai, but in most of our rapidly growing cities. As urban India grows, and larger numbers of people migrate to cities, commercial establishments of every hue and size begin to…

It literally took an international outcry to force the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to step in and try to find a solution to the rising mountain of waste that is East Delhi’s Ghazipur landfill. At a time when Swachh Bharat is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus and debates rage over climate change, the PMO has stepped in to seek help from experts to grapple with the challenge posed by the country’s tallest mountain of waste. On July 10th, it issued a 12-page Global Request for Proposal (RFP) for tackling this problem. An IIT Kanpur alumnus and  Principal Scientific Advisor to…