GENRE: Explainers

Since schools have reopened, children, who are more at risk from air pollution, have been facing high levels of exposure. Air Quality Index (AQI), measured by monitors across the city, show that air quality is often poor. For example, on June 5th, the AQI at BTM Layout was 159, which falls in the 'unhealthy' category. At this air quality, children and the elderly, as well as people with lung and heart diseases, may have discomfort breathing. Anti-pollution masks can help reduce exposure to pollutants and minimise health impacts. Here is an overview of different types of anti-pollutant masks, and tips…

The process of getting things done at government offices is often so complex, tedious and time consuming that citizens are loath to even go there. It is perhaps for the same reason that the Tamil Nadu government launched online service centres, called eSevai centres, meant to offer ease of service to the user. What's best is that these centres are plenty and easily accessible, present in the remotest of villages and even in urban centres. In Chennai, as elsewhere, these centres can help you with several services that involve government departments and parastatals such as Revenue, TANGEDCO, TNEA, Corporation of…

For what might come as a breath of fresh air for Bengalureans quite literally, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has stepped up to tackle air pollution in the city. A 44-point joint action plan has been approved by the Air Quality Monitoring Committee (AQMC) that was set up by the Karnataka government in response to a directive by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). In addition to Bengaluru, action plans have been created for Hubli-Dharwad, Davengere and Kalaburgi. These are the four ‘non-attainment cities’ in Karnataka, i.e., cities that do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. As…

Meet South Chennai MP elect: Thamizhachi Thangapandian promises to be a strong voice for women South Chennai had been a DMK bastion for a long time, until 2014. J Jayavardhan, son of AIADMK MLA, D Jayakumar became one of the youngest MP’s by winning against DMK’s T K S Elangovan. With the victory of first-time contestant Thamizhachi Thangapandian, DMK reclaimed South Chennai, which has had leaders such as C N Annadurai and Murasoli Maran. Thamizhachi Thangapandian secured over 5.6 lakh votes and won against Jayavardhan with a margin of 2.6 lakh votes. Hailing from a family with a political background,…

The counting of votes for the 17th Lok Sabha elections is just days away. But how does such a mammoth counting exercise take place? Here is a guide. Preparations for the Counting Day The Returning Officer (RO) fixes the time & place of counting at least one week before the date of polling. The place is decided in consultation with the police. The selected place should be spacious enough with adequate lighting and other facilities to accommodate the officials and agents. A permanent structure like a college or a university is usually selected for the purpose of counting. The same is…

Miyawaki is a technique pioneered by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, that helps build dense, native forests. The approach is supposed to ensure that plant growth is 10 times faster and the resulting plantation is 30 times denser than usual. It involves planting dozens of native species in the same area, and becomes maintenance-free after the first three years. This article shares the basic steps to create such forests in small urban spaces, as small as 30 square feet. This guide is an abridged version of the DIY guide shared by Afforest, a service provider for creating natural, wild, maintenance-free, native…

Translated by Sandhya Raju சென்னையில் மென்பொருள் பொறியாளராக வேலைக்கு வரும் முன், மேகலா குமாரியின் வாழ்க்கைத்தரம் சவால்கள் நிறைந்ததாகவே இருந்தது.  ஏழ்மையான குடும்பத்தில் பிறந்த இவர், தனது படிப்பை தொடர இளம் வயதிலேயே பகுதி நேர வேலைக்கு செல்லும் நிர்பந்த்ததில் இருந்தார்.  சமூக சான்றிதழ் பற்றி அவர்  அறிந்திருந்தால் கடினமான சூழலில் வளர நேர்ந்திருக்காது. "என்னிடம் சமூக சான்றிதழ் இருந்திருந்தால், கல்வி கட்டணத்தில் சலுகை கிடைத்திருக்கும், இலவச சீருடை, புத்தகப்பை கூட கிடைத்திருக்கும்" என்று கூறும் மேகலா தன் பட்டப்படிப்பு போது தான் சாதி சான்றிதழை பெற்றிருக்கிறார். மேகலா போன்று ஆயிரக்கணக்கானோர் சமூக சான்றிதழின் முக்கியத்துவத்தை பற்றி இன்னும் அறியாமல் தான் இருக்கிறார்கள். மிகவும் பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட, பிற்படுத்தப்பட்ட சமூகத்தை சேர்ந்தவர்கள், பழங்குடி இனத்தவர்கள் ஆகியவர்கள் அரசின் சலுகைகளை பெற சமூக சான்றிதழ் எனப்படும் சாதி சான்றிதழ் மிகவும் அவசியம். மத்திய மற்றும் மாநில அரசுகளில் இப்பிரிவனர்களுக்காக ஒதுக்கப்பட்டுள்ள வேலை வாய்ப்பினை…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship Bengaluru has always grappled with migration and population explosion. As a result, the city produces more than 5,000 tonnes of waste every day. With a faulty garbage transport system and contractor mafia, the city runs into garbage problem every now and then. The identified landfills around the city keep filling fast. Bengalureans have always tried to come up with waste-management systems, starting from garbage bins to clean up drives and from a no-bin to a three-bin system. Even so, garbage dumps became rampant in Bengaluru. Indiscriminate burning of garbage also became…

When Chandra, in his late sixties, decided to invest his life’s savings in a house in Hyderabad, the builder promised to hand over possession of the new home in December 2018. But with the project nowhere near completion, Chandra has now been promised possession in March 2020. And lives in the hope that if even that date is not kept, the builder will pay him interest on the amount he has deposited, as the new Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA) mandates. Passed with much fanfare in 2016, RERA was supposed to protect home buyers like Chandra from unscrupulous builders, especially…

Meghala Kumari is a software engineer working in Chennai. But this is not what her life was always like. As a child in a poor family, she had to work part time to support her education even as a minor. All through her early years, she was completely ignorant about anything called a community certificate, a document that could have made things easy for her. "If I had my community certificate, I could have availed the concession in the annual fees, besides getting other benefits such as free school bag and uniform," says Meghala, who got the certificate only during…