EDITORS' PICK

Pregnancy is a tumultuous time for any woman. The mixed bag of emotions can be daunting and exciting in equal measure. But with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the overriding emotion in mothers-to-be has been one of anxiety rather than happiness.  The world may have come to a screeching halt, as it is battles the COVID-19 pandemic. But even in epicentres, children are being born. Because life always finds a way. But there are many questions are making life difficult for new mothers and mothers-to-be: What are your chances of infection?How do you avoid getting infected?What can you do to…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. In Part 1 of the story, we saw how pollution of the Daya river and lack of a proper sewerage system is affecting Bhubaneswar.  Bhubaneswar’s other problem is drainage. The city used to have 10 natural drainage channels that carried rainwater coming from the uplands in Chandaka forest and other areas around the city. But in the last few decades, most natural drainage channels have been encroached by illegal constructions blocking water flow.  “We have asked the state government to give Rs…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. One of the earliest planned cities in the country, Odisha’s capital even today lacks a comprehensive sewerage system with treatment facilities. As a result, residents of 115 villages living along the lower end of Daya river are afflicted by several diseases, particularly cancer, as they are forced to use its water polluted by effluents and sewage generated by Bhubaneswar’s 11 lakh plus population. Daya river and adjoining plains: A view from Dhaulagiri. Pic: Rinaz Mohammed Umakanta Samantray, the MLA from…

Rahul K was waiting for a friend to pick him up from home that morning. He was heading for a job interview but did not seem to have the proverbial butterflies in his stomach. “I will attend, for whatever it is worth,” he said. The cynicism in his tone was unmissable….and way too much for a 21-year-old, I thought. Dressing up in formals and attending job interviews had become his daily routine ever since BBMP relaxed the nearly three-month-long lockdown, he said, speaking over a mobile phone that he shares with his mother. He has applied for dozens of jobs…

Rini Simon Khanna, whose presence and voice are part of most events of substance in the national capital, recently moderated the  United Nations Global Compact’s “Regional Perspectives on Leadership for a Global Crisis: Asia Pacific”. The same evening, she also moderated the launch of the Global Nutrition Report 2020. With one major difference from the past: the well-known former television anchor moderated both these events online. “Most events are already happening online,” said Rini. “Now, all work will be segregated into that which needs F2F (face to face) attendance or physical presence, and that which can be done through online platforms. These events…

Translated by Sandhya Raju சுமார் 25,000 பேருக்கு தொற்று உள்ள நிலையில், சென்னை நகரம் இன்னும் தொற்றின் பிடியிலிருந்து சற்றும் குறையவில்லை. அதிக நபர்களுக்கு தொற்று ஏற்பட்டுள்ள நிலையில், எங்கு பரிசோதனை செய்வது, சரியான மருத்துவமனையை தேர்ந்தேடுப்பது ஆகிய அடிப்படை விஷயங்கள் குறித்த புரிதல் இன்னும் பலருக்கு இல்லை. இதன் விளைவாக பரிசோதனை முடிவில் தொற்று உறுதியானால், அடிப்படை விஷயங்களை பற்றி சரியான புரிதல் இல்லாததால் அவருக்கும் அவர் குடும்பத்தாருக்கும் பயத்தை ஏற்படுத்துகிறது. “சென்னையில் கோவிட்-19 தொற்றால் ஏற்படும் மரணத்திற்கு பெரும்பாலும் சரியான நேரத்தில் சிகிச்சை அளிக்கப்படாததே காரணம். தொற்று அறிகுறியை அறிந்து தாமதிக்காமல் சிகிச்சை எடுத்துக்கொள்வது இந்த நேரத்தில் மிக அவசியம்" என்கிறார் ஸ்டான்லி மருத்துவமனையின் மருத்துவ கண்காணிப்பாளர் டாக்டர் கே. தனசேகரன். உங்களுக்கு தொற்று ஏற்பட நேரிட்டால், கிருமி மற்றும் நோய் குறித்து சரியான தகவலை அறிந்து கொள்ள வேண்டிய அவசியம் கருதி, உங்களுக்கு உதவும் வகையில்…

The 2018 drinking water crisis in Shimla, a horrifying time when the hill town did not get a drop of water for almost eight days, was a wake-up call both for citizens and urban planners on the need to conserve its water resources. Environmentalists had then stressed the need for putting in place an efficient water management system, not only for Shimla but for the entire hill region. “The 2018 water crisis was an opportunity that called for a response based on scientific inputs about the overall water scarcity problem in the Himalayan region and a way forward to avert…

Having spent the first two months of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown in politicking, to first grab and then stay in power, the Shivraj Singh Chauhan-led BJP government has now launched a 15-day state-wide “Kill Corona” programme from July 1st. The programme includes door to door surveys in urban slums and low-income households having high population density and poor municipal management as a majority of positive cases in both cities have been reported from these areas. As per data from the government's smart city portal, Indore has the second highest slum population (30%) in the state, followed by Jabalpur (46%)…

“Ab to dus rupaye wala customer bhi chalega, kam se kam chai aur pav to khane ko milenge is lockdown mein (Now, even a customer who can pay ten rupees will do. It can get me some chai and bread at least during this lockdown),” says Beauty Biswas, a sex worker at Kamathipura, Mumbai’s notorious red light district, located virtually at the centre of the city.  The coronavirus pandemic has severely affected the sustenance of these women in Kamathipura. The area is home to about 4500 -5000 sex workers, who have been rendered jobless and penniless since the lockdown was clamped.…

Even when the howling wind and torrential rain brought by Cyclone Amphan was causing havoc around her on May 20, Sabita Sardar was not afraid. “We are used to dealing with bad weather. I wasn’t feeling scared. In fact, those who live in concrete homes were more scared,” she said. For 40 years now, Sabita has been living on the streets of Gariahat, a popular market area in south Kolkata. That day, when the super cyclonic storm passed through West Bengal’s capital city, Sabita and a few other homeless women sat huddled together in her tricycle cart under the Gariahat…