EDITORS' PICK

Rising temperatures have engulfed the country. On April 28th, Mumbai recorded the highest daily temperature at 37 degrees Celsius, creating unbearable circumstances for those uniquely vulnerable to the heat, particularly informal workers. The lack of a comprehensive Heat Action Plan (HAP) in the city is increasing the effects of the heatwave on the health of those directly exposed to the sun for long hours. To be able to conduct their businesses, street vendors in Mumbai adapt to these conditions and find unique ways to cope with the heat. Citizen Matters spoke to different vendors to understand their methods. Deepak and…

Heat waves are not unusual at this time of the year in north and central India. Delhi faces heat wave conditions during April-June every year. What is unusual this year is that the first round of heat wave conditions hit Delhi and neighbouring states in end March and early April. And is likely to hit a peak in May. Climate experts have been increasingly warning of unusual weather events, including extreme heat, across the globe. And the dire projections all seem to be coming true. “In the Himalayas too, temperatures rose by a few degrees,” said Dr Mrutyunjay Mohapatra, director…

‘Dirt, debris, highly acidic black water and the pungent smell,’ is the description of Otteri Nullah given by the residents living along the canal. Otteri Nullah is one of the 32 naturally formed canals in Chennai. Due to neglect over years, the canal has gone from being a vital part of the local waterway system that drains flood waters into the Buckingham Canal to a dumping ground for debris and waste.  Memories of the 2015 floods haunt many citizens of Chennai to the day. However, for residents living along the stretch of the 10.2 km-long Otteri Nullah, similar instances of…

Stressed out with having to chase that perfect 100% in her 12th class board exams in a few days “to get into the best colleges of Delhi,” Mrinalini, a student of a private school in Ghaziabad, would like nothing better than to give this “chase” a miss. Which she now can, following the recent announcement by the University Grants Commission (UGC) that the performance in the newly introduced Common University Entrance Test (CUET), not the board exam, will decide the college in which she gets admission. Especially after seven Delhi University colleges had reportedly set 100% marks in the 12th board…

Any initiative for last-mile connectivity has to be safe, reliable and cost-effective. One of the most promising ideas to come up in recent months that satisfies these requirements is electric-autos (E-autos). Last-mile connectivity has always been an issue that all public transport entities, especially metro and bus systems, have to deal with. Bengaluru metro, for instance, with its extension to Kengeri and Anjanapura, now has a total of 51 metro stations which require last mile connectivity. An issue that will only become more widespread as the metro expands to other areas.  Bengaluru Metro Transport Corporation (BMTC), which handles the city’s…

The Chennai floods in 2015 caused damage worth Rs 8481 crore and claimed many lives. In 2021, floods ravaged the city once again, but the effects weren’t quite as bad as 2015. While estimates of the economic damage haven’t been cited; the city was at a standstill. Power had been cut, infrastructure damaged, and the collective sanity of the residents was at a low. These were dark times. Oddly, only two years before, in 2019, Chennai faced an acute water shortage because of a monsoon that failed to spill any rain. This chain of events illustrates a water paradox arising…

There are over 200 cities in the world that have a metro system. London's Metro is the oldest, operating since 1863. Shanghai Metro’s network with nearly 750km is the world's largest today. It also has the highest annual ridership of 2.83 billion trips (in 2020). India’s growth post-liberalisation ushered in faster economic progress. Metropolitan cities being the biggest job creators began attracting migrants and have grown fast. Higher incomes have led to unsustainable levels of motorization because most cities have narrow streets. Bus movement has become slow in heavy traffic and hence is losing efficiency, particularly over long commute distances.…

According to an environment status report (ESR) released by the BMC for the year 2020-2021, 72.6% of the waste generated by residents is organic. A major chunk of this organic waste is taken to dumping grounds, which has caused recurring fires due to the high levels of methane gas it produces. Despite the BMC’s diktat to segregate wet waste at source, the implementation of it in buildings remains poor. Lack of incentives is considered to be the primary cause behind lack of focus on sustainable waste management. Not all share the apathy, though. The “Zero Garbage Project” at Surabhi Housing…

On the occasion of Gudi Padwa on April 2nd, two new Mumbai metro lines - Line 2A and 7 - made their debut. They interconnect at Dahisar and parallelly extend into the suburbs: to DN Nagar in Andheri West and Andheri East respectively. The two yellow and red lines were first proposed and approved in 2015. Construction started in 2016 with a deadline of 2019, and yet, only Phase 1 of the lines is operational today, cutting the journey short to Dahanukarwadi, Kandivali on Line 2A and Aarey, Goregaon on Line 7. The remainder will launch as Phase 2 in…

Tree leaves, bamboo, lotus leaves, palm leaves, rice straw, gourds, hemp twine, coconut shells and shells of shellfish are some of the natural materials that were used for packaging in the olden days. It was common at the turn of the century, for all items purchased, whether cooked or prepared, to be wrapped using indigenous materials, so as to preserve their freshness, prevent pollution, protect them from damage and store leftovers. Our parents and grandparents frequented small local kirana stores with steel dabbas to get flour and spices. Fast-forward to the present scenario, finding stores where you're able to purchase…