EDITORS' PICK

The orders were verbal, with no paper trail. Curiously, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation was the last to implement it. In one fell swoop, four BJP-controlled municipal corporations directed their executive wings to launch a drive to remove Ahmedabad's street vendors selling eggs and other non-vegetarian eatables at roadside stalls. One reason given for these verbal orders was that the sight of non-veg food displayed in the stalls hurts the religious sentiments of the Hindus. The drive to remove all such street vendors from the streets began from Rajkot on November 9th. Vadodara was next, followed immediately by Bhavnagar and Junagadh.…

The recent spell of rains in Chennai saw large-scale inundation across the city. Visuals of residents wading in knee-deep water dominated the news. Many residents saw water enter their homes and found their belongings destroyed. Anguish and anger poured out on social media posts of those who went through this harrowing experience. And all along came questions about the city's many stormwater drains and why they failed to serve the purpose. Are the questions being asked of the stormwater drain project in the city legitimate? Could design flaws in the stormwater drains be a contributing factor to wide-spread water stagnation? What…

With torrential rains lashing Chennai since early November, which left several areas in the city such as T Nagar, Velachery and parts of North Chennai like Pulianthope inundated, the recurring and infamous phenomenon of unregulated and illegal construction in the city is back under the spotlight. Several reports and experts have pointed out yet again that along with faulty drains and blocked canals, rampant encroachments and illegal construction, especially along the banks of the Adyar and Cooum rivers and the Ennore-Kosasthalaiyar basin, have prevented water seepage, thus causing severe inundation. According to a recent report in The New Indian Express,…

This year, the incessant rains has brought the joy of seeing all dams across the state full. Yet it has also been a matter of concern as several low-rise multi dwelling buildings in Bengaluru have collapsed, with residents having had a narrow escape. These recent events of families losing their homes along with their entire life’s hard-earned savings from furniture to food grains has shocked us all. Yet, the question remains. Why do houses collapse this way? While the rain has played its part, there is also another aspect: many buildings do not adhere to the construction standards and regulations.…

Located south of Mumbai is Panje, one of four neighbouring villages, Panje, Funde, Dongri and Bokadvira spanning 289 hectares of wetland. Every winter, 1,50,000 migratory birds of over 50 species return to roost here. Of them, the Indian skimmer was recently upgraded from vulnerable to endangered. To some, however, this land is prime location to acquire for constructions, due to its close proximity to all forms of transport, including the upcoming Navi Mumbai airport. In 2019, Reliance Industries (RIL) sub-leased 4000 acres, including Panje, from the Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone (NMSEZ) to develop the area into a "Global Economic…

Civic or community engagement is a continuous process, which requires relentless efforts. Members from Community Welfare Brigade W70Z6 and Perambur Neighborhood Development Forum have been actively engaging with the local administration and enforcement agencies on issues of public interest. While we have managed to address several issues, others are yet to be resolved. For example, what would a workable, efficient traffic plan for Perambur High Road entail? Community issues are complex and it’s important to make the problem-solving process inclusive so that decision-makers have a better understanding of their community’s needs and aspirations before setting a course of action. A traffic…

The redevelopment of historic neighbourhoods, more often than not, are perceived as a threat to culture. This notion is not unfounded, as conservation is a complicated process involving lived experiences and infrastructure that, to many, is home; built through decades of a community’s history and its people. Is it, then, possible to evolve a community through development while preserving its culture entirely? Mumbai's Bhendi Bazaar is an interesting case to study in this regard. Old Bhendi Bazaar. Photo: SBUT Present day Bhendi Bazaar. Photo: SBUT Efforts to rehabilitate South Mumbai’s 150-year-old Bhendi Bazaar is home to more than 20,000 people and 3200…

Chennai, the capital city of Tamil Nadu, is one of the fastest-growing metropolitans in the country. The growing population and city expansion has stressed the existing infrastructure of Chennai, especially the transport systems. The transport sector needs to be planned to cater to the existing needs and meet the future demands of the growing population by taking into account changing travel patterns. Multiple studies have been conducted to devise a cohesive transportation plan for Chennai such as the Integrated Transport Plan 1977, Madras Area Transport Study 1986, Madras Route Rationalisation Study 1986, Traffic and Transportation Study for MMA 1986, Comprehensive…

At Citizen Matters, we review the promises made in the respective electoral manifestos by all four leading electoral parties, namely, the Shiv Sena (SS), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ahead of the BMC elections in February 2022.  We review whether these promises made by them have been delivered, and where Mumbai currently stands on these issues. To kick start the series, we look at the promises made on the issue of providing clean and safe water supply.   Water requirement in Mumbai  Mumbai currently provides 188 litres per capita per…

It did not last long. 10 days after the reopening of schools in Delhi for Classes 1 to 5, they had to be closed again because of severe air pollution in the national capital region. According to the latest, schools will remain closed till November 21st, but if they do reopen after that, the experiences and observations reported here from early November may well continue to present the true scenario among schools, teachers and students. Sagar and Sonali were overjoyed when they learnt that they would be going back to their school in Ghazipur from November 1st. Their mother Kriti…