EDITORS' PICK

Fertile lands, adorned with lush paddy and coconut trees -- this is the picture that would flash before my eyes at the very thought of the Cauvery Delta districts in Tamil Nadu. But after I saw the impact of Cyclone Gaja’s wrath on these districts, the scene has changed completely. Uprooted trees and structures, damaged crops and inaccessible roads -- the aftermath of the cyclone has changed the geography of the delta, leaving thousands of citizens homeless. Cyclone Gaja swirled through Vedaranyam on November 16th, leaving the districts of Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Thanjavur, Pudukottai, Tiruchy and Dindigul in disarray. In a…

Translocation of trees has been hitting headlines these days a lot. The recent public statement by the Managing Director of Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) Ajay Seth that BMRCL will prioritise translocation, before deciding to fell any tree, is a ray of hope for citizens, at least along Metro alignments. Before going into the merits of translocation, compensatory planting and other issues, the question to ask is: does Bengaluru have enough trees for its size and population? No physical count of trees in the whole city has been done as yet, so we must look for other sources to…

"I was nine when the Naxalites killed my father. I love libraries. I want to be a doctor." These were three hard facts of her life that 15-year-old Sumanwati declared in an excited rush of words when we spoke to her. Piecing Sumanwati's confused sentences together builds up a narrative that reflects the lives of almost all students in Education City at Jawanga, Chattisgarh. Sumanwati was nine when she lost her father and was enrolled into Aastha Vidya Mandir, a school for children who have lost either or both parents to Naxalite attacks.  Over the years, she picked herself up, immersed herself…

Two years after the launch of the Accessible India campaign pressing for inclusion in public spaces by the Government of India, only  3% of the public spaces that were audited were found to be friendly for persons with disabilities (PwDs). Persons with disabilities face several difficulties with regard to lack of ramps, lack of restroom facilities, lack of signage and announcements to aid navigation and hostile design. Chennai was one of the 57 cities that participated in the audit, where facilities were found to be sorely lacking. While public buildings were the subject of the official audit, citizens have long…

In April 2017, two RTI activists sought to know building rules from the Pallavaram Municipality, after a Reliance Fresh outlet was opened in the ground floor of an apartment complex. Stating that the outlet is an illegality, the Public Information Officer (PIO) said the building rules imply the ground floor be dedicated for parking.  Soon after receiving this complaint, the activists started to receive threatening calls, naturally causing them to place suspicion on the PIO. At this point, they lodged a complaint with the Tamil Nadu State Information Commission (TNSIC), the independent body that is mandated to conduct an inquiry…

When we think of development prospects in our country, our minds immediately go to urban development projects and recent missions like Smart City Mission, JNNURM and the like. Cities are described as growth engines of a country’s economy. However, what the urban-centric approach of development fails to acknowledge is the role of rural areas in the sustainable development of our nation. Most urban development projects provide for infrastructural needs of the cities but do not address the underlying issue. The ever increasing population of our country, and the increasing urbanization rate accompanied by increasing migration trends from rural areas has…

The wheels of a bus belonging to Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) came off and the bus hit the ground with a thud. There were no casualties, but the passengers said they would have plunged into the Vrishabhavathi drain if the wheels had fallen off instead on the other side of the road. The incident took place in 2017 on a bus route from Kengeri to K.R.Market, where a wheel came off and the bus hit the front part of the ground. This isn't the only example - BMTC buses have been in the past known for lack of proper…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities Our earlier article in the series traced the long history of the battle between Whitefield residents and the Graphite India plant, the polluting operations of which had become a serious hazard in the area. Interestingly, the role of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) itself came under the scanner as the tussle with GIL continued. When the matter finally reached the top court, the KSPCB drew flak from the SC on the matter of GIL’s air pollution, especially in view of the overall pollution in Bangalore.…

The recent movie Sarkari Hiriya Prathamika Shale Kasaragod gives an excellent insight into what’s wrong with the government education system. The infrastructure is under stress, teachers are underpaid, and the quality of learning is dismal. With the Right to Education process in place, admission to private schools is being preferred, resulting in limited demand for state-sponsored education. India may be spending 3% of its gross domestic product on education, but the impact of this expenditure is rarely seen. Karnataka government, over the past decade, has implemented many schemes to improve its schools. Through these schemes, spending on school infrastructure and…

“Anna, can you do a video on how to become a Swiggy delivery boy?” A popular query posed to those who do YouTube explainer videos. Many have taken to responding to these requests. The videos garner considerable views and the comments section is rife with questions from eager job seekers about the various aspects of the job ranging from salary to working hours and perks. The roads of Chennai are a sea of orange, black and red these days, as the food delivery services Swiggy, Zomato and UberEats grow in size. Swiggy, the leading food delivery service became a unicorn,…