EDITORS' PICK

As is with the case with any poll-bound state, political parties in Karnataka are ramping up their election propaganda. With the elections just a little more than a month away, the challenge for  candidates is to stand out from the crowd and be recognisable. It is of little surprise that buntings and hoardings have sprung up dime a dozen around the city with names and pictures of political leaders. However, most of these are illegal and are propped up on road dividers, footpaths and trees, which pose a problem for road users besides being eyesores. Since flex banners are also…

I am a mother, daughter, wife, sister, friend, animal-lover, community advocate, and victim of having a sweet tooth. I clearly do not mention these roles in any particular order of priority since “victim of a sweet tooth” is at the end. All my roles are incredibly important to me because each one feeds a part of my being. But, reflecting on it, I realized that seven of them can be described as being a part of the broadest one in there: community advocate. Being a mother, daughter, wife, sister, friend, dog-lover, and victim of having a sweet tooth all lead…

On Sunday, March 11th, a wave of 50,000 red-flag-waving farmers washed over Mumbai, the nation’s commercial hub. The 200-km march over six days not only highlighted the schizophrenic divide between urban India and rural Bharat, but also seemed to ring a wake-up call of sorts across the nation. Mumbai was tense as the scene was set for a communication flashpoint between both groups. The farmers under the All India Kisan Sangharsh Committee (AIKS), however, had already won the hearts of the ordinary Mumbaikar. They thoughtfully walked at night to spare exam-writing schoolchildren. Mumbai residents responded with flowers, food and footwear, as…

At the inaugural session of Mandram, Dr Balaji Sampath spoke about the need to help our children understand science through experiments using simple objects of daily use. He said everyone is born a scientist, everyone has  natural curiosity about how things work, but sadly this curiosity and scientific temperament is stifled and subsequently lost in the current education system. Watch the full video of his talk below. அன்றாட வாழ்வில் அறிவியல் பற்றி மிக சுவாரஸ்யமாக விளக்கினார் பாலாஜி சம்பத். இவர் ஆஹாகுரு என்ற தளத்தின் மூலமாக நடுநிலை மற்றும் முதுநிலை பள்ளி மாணவர்களுக்கு எளிய முறையில் அறிவியல் மற்றும் கணித பாடங்களுக்கு பயிற்சி அளிக்கிறார். குழந்தைகளுக்கு அறிவியலை எப்படி அறிமுகப்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்று அன்றாடம் உபயோகப்படுத்தும் பொருட்களை கொண்டு…

A decade old civic battle being fought by residents of Chitlapakkam has reached a positive conclusion. In what could bring relief to many citizens suffering shoddy and hastily laid roads in cities, the Madras High Court on March 9th directed the Chitlapakkam Town Panchayat to mandate milling in the road relaying procedure. The direction would be applicable to the entire state of Tamil Nadu, including the Greater Chennai Corporation. Paving the way The court ruling came in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Madras High Court last week by R Balachandar, a cab driver from Chitlapakkam. The litigant…

Pictures of the smoke-ridden Indian capital city with its choking pollution levels and roads chock-a-block with vehicles are the stuff of front page news every other day, but now Delhi's new parking policy approved by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal is expected to jointly address both the congestion and the pollution to some extent. The Parking Management Area Plan (PMAP), which came into effect in the last week of February, proposes a number of variable charges for residential and commercial areas; these charges are envisioned to impact the demand for parking space in Delhi, and in turn influence the usage of personal vehicles. However,…

The devastating floods of 2015 were a big jolt for Chennai. Since then there have been many conscious efforts in the city to start a dialogue around conservation of the extremely precious, and threatened, natural resource — water. Numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), activists and even ordinary citizens have started working towards raising awareness about waterbodies, reclaiming and rejuvenating them. To discuss the problems surrounding water, OpenAct (a forum to discuss solutions for problems surrounding social entrepreneurship, environment and sustainability) along with Goethe Institut in Chennai on 27 February 2018 hosted the confab as part of the…

At a time when many families still advise their women to maintain a low profile and adjust to situations, here are a few who chose to walk the path less trodden. Living the theme of International Women’s Day 2018 --#Pressforprogress -- are hundreds of women in Chennai, who have been working silently towards transforming society. Today is as good a time as any other to acknowledge and celebrate such women, who have broken the shackles of gender stereotypes. Citizen Matters turns the spotlight on six such women from various strata of society -- from a tough police official to a…

Activists and citizens in Bengaluru are incensed that the government just dissolved the Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) without even a discussion in the assembly, on March 1, 2018. The Legislative Assembly quietly passed the Tank Development Act when the members were not even present in full strength. It came as a surprise, nay shock, that the lakes needed to be handed over to the Minor Irrigation Department (MID), rather than the environment ministry, which it is intended for. The act is expected to come into effect in the next three months. A KLCDA official says that he…

A day before Valentine’s, news broke that the Government of Karnataka had quietly tabled an amendment to Karnataka Tree Preservation Act of 1976. Under the proposed amendment, 50 trees were added to the list of 27 existing species that would no longer require permission to be chopped down. Many of these trees were favourites with Bengalureans - Gulmohars , Flame of the forest, Yellow Bells, African Tulips and even the humble Ashoka tree which lined many of the pavements in the city. Most of them were flowering species who’d bloom to their full glory in summer, adding to the beauty…