GENRE: Explainers

Bengaluru witnessed one of its worst floods in September this year. The city received more than 800mm rain, since June. Heavy rains led to flooding of many parts of the city in the east, southeast, and northeast, inundating neighbourhoods and houses and damaging vehicles. Tractors and boats were used to evacuate people from homes in flooded neighbourhoods. Bengaluru's IT corridor was among the worst affected. Large swathes of the city were flooded, normal life was disrupted, and the apathy of the authorities raised many questions.  In search of answers Several reasons have been cited for the flooding: from rapid and…

In 2019, Mehndi and Pooja, as part of their low waste journey from the हम Prithvi से, a social enterprise, visited a doctor practising near the Deonar dumping ground in Govandi. While it was known that the lives of people living around the dumping ground are poor, what they heard was quite heartbreaking. The doctor had been practising there for over a decade. He mentioned that he observed a rise in cases related to air pollution in the past few years. The reason is the rising quantity of dumped waste around and the toxic fumes from the hazardous waste especially after being…

The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) unearthed a major milk adulteration racket operating from Dharavi recently, on September 15th. The accused were found slitting the milk packets and removing the milk. They replaced it with water before sealing the cut part with candle flame. The FDA officials seized and destroyed about 807 litres of adulterated milk worth Rs 45, 852. The FDA launched criminal proceedings in a joint operation with the Shahu Nagar police station. A milk adulteration racket busted at Dharavi during a joint operation raid by the FDA and the Mumbai police. Pic courtesy: FDA In another instance,…

Good mobility relies on a number of measures – urban planning, transportation planning and traffic flow control. This section explores various measures related to urban planning. This multi-part series examines the measures needed to sustain and improve urban mobility. For a detailed discussion on each measure, check the following guides: Part 1: Urban planning measures (this article) Part 2: Transportation planning measures  Part 3: Traffic control measures Also see: An action agenda for better mobility The article How to make Bengaluru traffic jams go away analyses these measures in the context of Bengaluru. Half the battle is won when a…

Sri, a youngster, who comes from Trichy to Chennai for an interview for a BPO job, loses his original certificates after an incident of physical assault. In order to keep the job offer, he finds himself having to arrange for copies of his certificate in a matter of days. In a similar incident, Kamali, a young graduate visits Chennai from Kotagiri in search of a job. She misplaces her bag on the train and ends up losing her academic certificates. Do these stories sound familiar to you? These incidents are from the famous Tamil movies Managaram (2017) and Kadhal Kottai…

"Would this natural cleaner be as effective as the synthetic ones?" This is a question that dominates the minds of those who consider bio enzyme solutions for cleaning for the first time. The doubt, however, does not last long. More and more Chennaiites have begun cleaning with bio enzyme cleaners, which are organic solutions made from fruits and vegetables, and can be used to clean surfaces and wash clothes and dishes and also for personal use. "We have stopped using synthetic chemical solutions to clean now", says Kalpana Manivannan, an urban farmer who swears by natural cleaners for all household…

As a first-time apartment buyer in Bengaluru, in 2016, I heard of many instances of builders/developers simply walking away without creating/forming an "Owners' Association" and handing over the apartment's assets in a systematic way for various reasons, including The lack of bandwidth with the builder to create/form an ad hoc-committee of the Owners' Association and take them through the association formation and registration The extent of deviation from "sanctioned plan" to "as constructed" exceeding 5% (allowed deviation)The builder's desire to retain control of the property and sometimes even plans to add additional built-up area. Improper calculation of undivided share (UDS)…

Acquiring private land and property for major infrastructure projects like the Bengaluru metro has always been controversial. Especially the amount and manner of compensation to those whose land/property is acquired. Various laws and court verdicts have laid down norms for such acquisition. But the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) has drafted its own rules on this issue, as it speeds up work on Phase 2, or what it calls the Blue Line, a 57-km stretch that connects Central Silk Board to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) via KR Puram. Slated to be completed in 2024, this project linking the Outer Ring…

Translated by Sandhya Raju விளிம்பு நிலை மற்றும் பொருளாதாரத்தில் பின் தங்கியுள்ள மக்கள், சிக்கலான சட்ட அமைப்பில் சிக்கிக்கொள்ளும்  நிலையை வெகுவாக வெளிக்கொணர்ந்தது ஜெய்பீம் திரைப்படம். செங்கனி என்ற கதாபாத்திரத்திற்கு ஆதரவாக சந்துரு என்ற வழக்கறிஞர் பணியாற்றினார்.    ஆனால், நிஜ வாழ்க்கையில்  இவர்களின் நிலை என்ன?   அரசு அங்கீகாரம் பெற்ற தமிழ்நாடு மாநில சட்ட சேவைகள் ஆணையம் அல்லது மாவட்ட சட்ட சேவைகள் ஆணையத்தில் உதவி பெற ஒவ்வொரு நபருக்கும் அரசியலைப்புப் படி உரிமை உள்ளது.  “இலவச சட்ட உதவி என்பது அரசு அளிக்கும் தொண்டு அல்ல. இது அனைத்து மக்களுக்கான  அடிப்படை உரிமை,” என்கிறார் சென்னை உயர்நீதி மன்றத்தின் வழக்கறிஞர் எஸ் ஜோதிலக்ஷ்மி, 2019-20 ல் இலவச சட்ட உதவி வழக்கறிஞராக இவர் நியமிக்கப்பட்டார்.  அரசு வழங்கும் சேவை குறித்து பலரருக்கு விழிப்புணர்வு இல்லை, என இந்தக் கட்டுரைக்காக நாம் சந்தித்த வழக்கறிஞர்கள் கூறினர்.  அதன் நோக்க பயனை…

A little girl came to the Thuli store looking for a bottle-green top to wear at the annual day function of her school. She found exactly what she was looking for in a matter of minutes, and free of cost. More importantly, she was able to save preowned clothing which would otherwise have found its way to a landfill. Every year, the fashion industries of the world produce 53 million tonnes of fibres, and less than 1% of it goes back to use, with more than 70% of fibres dumped in a landfill or incinerated. "Apart from filling up landfills,…