EDITORS' PICK

63-year-old Ghulam Mohammad Akhoon leaves his home in Zoonimar, Srinagar everyday at around 8 in the morning to sell vegetables in different parts of the city, so that he can feed his family of seven members comprised of his aged mother, his wife, three daughters and a teenage son. He is the only earning member of his family, apart from his elder daughter who makes a meagre amount sewing clothes. The chief breadwinner himself makes around 200 to 300 rupees a day from the sale of vegetables. He is always in a state of confusion over whether to move out…

Jerome and Applejack, the therapy horses at the Paws and Hooves Project from Wag-ville in Bangalore, enjoy working with special needs individuals. One of Applejack’s favourite students is Anil, a six-year-old child diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. When Anil first came to us about a month ago, he had severe spasticity in his arms and legs – Anil could neither walk nor sit independently. Today, he sits on Applejack with a specially designed saddle that has a seat-belts to enable him to sit upright. The movement on the horse, combined with physiotherapy exercises done while seated on the horse have enabled…

In February, the Manipur State Power Distribution Company Limited – MSPDCL announced a whopping number of total vacancies within the company --- 622 for various posts across departments. The jobs advertised included those for Computer Operator, Junior Technical Assistant and other vacancies. Other than two positions which required a Bachelor’s degree, the vacancies were mostly for undergraduates and specified no requirement for technical or higher education. Given the open call and the large number of vacancies, the response was overwhelming. Unemployed youths – men and women thronged the MSPDCL office located in the state capital Imphal. The large number of applicants swelled to…

Are incinerators and waste to energy plants the solution to the city's mounting landfills? How are tenders for solid waste management issued by the Corporation? Can informal waste workers be integrated into the waste ecosystem? These were some of the pressing concerns at the centre of deliberations at a public meeting for solid waste management and the way forward, organised by city-based think tank Citizen, consumer and civic Action Group (CAG). Harsh realities on ground Speakers at the meeting highlighted the invisible ground realities of waste management that the general public are oblivious to. M Radhakrishnan of social service organization…

To begin with, that's how India's map looks like right now, if we mark the parliamentary constituencies with women Members of Parliament (MPs) in green. The chart visualised by Lokdhaba, an initiative of Trivedi Centre for Political Data at Ashoka University, shows that women's representation has been scattered across the nation, for the 16th Lok Sabha. The debate on having more and more women at the helm of political affairs has been a long one. The Women's Reservation Bill promised by various political parties has remained unimplemented due to lack of political consensus. As we head towards yet another Lok…

You see them every morning, all across the city. Pourakarmikas, pushing their rickety handcarts, sweeping the streets and collecting the garbage that residents, shops and others have just left by the roadside for them to clear. Bangalore actually needs many more of these unrecognised and overworked workers, who provide a truly essential service, keeping the city clean. But have you ever wondered what does their work mean to them? Is it a choice or a compulsion? Pourakarmikas toil in working conditions that are far from perfect, as numerous reports and studies have shown. Hired by contractors selected by the city…

The scenic Pallikaranai Main Road with patches of greenery and occasional glimpses of migratory birds in winter would have been a treat for the passer by, but for the unbearable stench. The smell of rotten biodegradable waste and  noxious fumes from burning of plastic waste assail your senses every time you hit the road. A few metres from the marshland, a Chennai Corporation maintained earth mover dumps the mixed waste on to it. The wetlands of Pallikaranai were brought under the reserved region by the state government 10 years ago and are now under the jurisdiction of the forest department.…

“If these machines had been brought in before, my children’s papa would not have left them. Now they are not of any use to me, but they will at least be useful for other women. Their men will not die in the sewers. No one should have to suffer the way I do.” So saying, a visibly distressed Rani Kumari became silent. When I first met Rani late last year, she was sitting on the steps at a conference venue in Delhi, where she had come for an event organised by the Safai Karamchari Andolan, a nationwide movement to eradicate…

There is a spot on the lake land where one gets a 180 degree view of the sprawling 445 acre Varthur lake. The lake is filled with water and emits a strong foul odour. The southern end of the lake is filled with snowy froth. A wire mesh is erected along a section of the road near the lake to prevent the froth from entering the road. "Till the 90s, several migratory birds from Russia, Ukraine, China used to visit Varthur Lake, which acted as food source for them before they headed to the Southern Hemisphere. Once the sewage started…

As Chennai stares at an impending water crisis due to the failure of monsoons and the decline in ground water and reservoir levels, the city's residents must brace themselves for a tough summer. Currently, Metro Water is able to meet only half of the city's daily demand of 850 MLD, and that too on alternate days. Residents have already begun to feel the pinch, particularly in the western and southern parts of the city. In this situation, Chennaiites need to adopt innovative methods to conserve and reuse water. Though the city had embraced rainwater harvesting in the mid 2000s, monsoon…