EDITORS' PICK

Manasi Dighe (name changed) rises before the sun, changes into a sari, plaits her thinning hair, and sets out. At the crack of dawn, her eyes begin searching the road, hoping to find plastic, metal or glass items which, at ₹20 a kilo, could earn her ₹100 in a day. Manasi covers 20 to 30 kilometres daily, when barely a kilometre from her Bhim Nagar hut in Mankhurd, an eastern suburb of Mumbai, is Asia’s largest dumping ground—the Deonar landfill. Mumbai’s 12.4 million citizens send 9000 metric tonnes of waste to this 134-hectare dumping ground every day. If one corner…

Manasi Dighe (name changed) rises before the sun, changes into a sari, plaits her thinning hair, and sets out. At the crack of dawn, her eyes begin searching the road, hoping to find plastic, metal or glass items which, at ₹20 a kilo, could earn her ₹100 in a day. Manasi covers 20 to 30 kilometres daily, when barely a kilometre from her Bhim Nagar hut in Mankhurd, an eastern suburb of Mumbai, is Asia’s largest dumping ground—the Deonar landfill. Mumbai’s 12.4 million citizens send 9000 metric tonnes of waste to this 134-hectare dumping ground every day. If one corner…

This election season, Factly.in has put together a series of videos that seeks to deconstruct various aspects of the massive democratic exercise to make every citizen aware of its history, processes, rules and other relevant information. Political parties are key players in the democratic process and yet they were never mentioned in the Constitution when it was drafted. Why do we need political parties at all? Do they do anything to reduce chaos in the existing electoral system? How do these political parties form government? What is the difference between regional and national parties? What role do regional parties play in forming…

As the campaigning ended on Easter Sunday for all 20 Lok Sabha seats in Kerala, the big question is whether the BJP will be able to get its first ever MP from the state. Intermittent summer showers did nothing to cool the campaigning fervour of the three main contestants - the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) working to keep its 12 seats intact, the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) hoping to not lose any of its current eight seats, and the newly-energised BJP which is hoping to cash in on the sentiments raised over Supreme Court’s Sabarimala temple verdict. The…

Hop, skip, jump or dance—follow any of these strategies and you may be able to navigate across Bengaluru’s footpaths! The Constitution of India guarantees its citizens the right to move freely throughout the territory of India. However, in cities like ours, enjoying that right seems to require a motor vehicle! As a pedestrian, you may be knocked down as soon as you start your journey. The National Urban Transport Policy, formulated in 2014, calls for “universal accessibility” and transport services for all including children, the aged and disabled. It goes on to say, “Walking is a zero-emission mode of transport…

Once upon a time, Kudi Kunta lake, one of the oldest lakes in Serilingampally mandal, hidden among the bylanes of Masjid Banda, Kondapur in Hyderabad, was a drinking water source for thousands of residents living around it. But as has happened in many cities, this fresh water source has largely disappeared due to decades of neglect and waste dumping. Spread across 8.04 acres (as per the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) survey of 2014, the freshwater lake (Lake ID 3742) used to be an aquatic habitat and occasional home to migratory birds. Not any more. Dumping of toxic wastes, garbage…

The Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (CEO-KA), had published on his website the latest electoral rolls – the version that was effective for this Lok Sabha election. Though the mother roll for this election was published last October, an addition/deletion drive was undertaken afterwards. The rolls with these modifications were published twice - once on 16th January, and the final rolls on 26th March. But the final rolls appeared on the CEO-KA website on 10th April only, leaving little time to respond for those who went missing from the rolls. Additions CEO-KA had advertised widely inviting the citizens to register as…

As a socialist politician of Socialist Secular Sovereign Democratic Republic of India, it hurts me deeply that I was excluded from the democratic process of exercising my fundamental constitutional right to vote in spite of repeated representations to election officials in New Delhi and Hyderabad. What happened Around mid 2018, reports were pouring in from various parts of Telangana state that voters did not find their names in electoral rolls. On 24th September 2018 I was shocked to find that my voter ID too was not present in the electoral rolls. I wrote same day to Election Commission of India…

Dakshina Kannada parliamentary constituency comprises eight assembly constituencies - Belthangady, Moodabidri, Mangalore City North (previously Surathkal), Mangalore City South (previously Mangalore), Mangalore (previously Ullal), Bantval, Puttur and Sulia. This constituency has historically been a BJP stronghold. According to the website of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, as of 16th January, the constituency had 16,97,417 voters – 8,33,719 male, 8,63,599 female and 99 others. [flexiblemap src="http://data.opencity.in/Data/Karnataka-Parliament-Constituency-Dakshina-Kannada-Map-V-1.kml" width="100%" height="400px" ] Note – Map for representation purpose | Source – http://datameet.org The constituency has been a sensitive one, vulnerable to violence and rowdyism, and parts of it -- especially Mangalore city commissionerate…

Indian Mythology is peppered with great stories. And my favourite right now, with the elections around the corner, is the legend of Mohini - Bhasmasura. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the it, let me give you the abridged version - Lord Shiva who is pleased with the penance of Bhasmasura, the great demon, gives him a boon that he can burn anything and anybody by just placing his hand upon its head. Upon receiving the ‘gift’, Bhasmasura tries to place his hand on Lord Shiva’s head to burn him. To me, nothing else succinctly sums up my…