GENRE: Explainers

When you heard on November 22 that effluents from an exploded boiler's sugar factory entered River Shimsha, did you hear some alarm bells too? There were some fears that the potassium-laced river waters would enter River Cauvery near Shivanasamudra, which would pollute the Bengaluru water supply network. Would they have come true? "The city's water supply would not be affected. The polluted waters would get diluted by the time it reaches the city," explained Vishwanath Srikantaiah, an expert on water-related issues. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board officials were camping on the site and sending the water samples for testing. K.L.…

Fifteen years ago, Chennai had to rely on neighbouring metros such as Bengaluru to rehabilitate and reform the lives of drug addicts and alcoholics. But as the number of addiction cases increased, private rehabilitation centres mushroomed in the city. "There is a steep increase in people falling prey to alcoholism, drug abuse and other substances. We had admitted 111 cases in 2015-16 and 220 patients in 2016-17," says Dr V Sunil Kumar, a clinical psychologist and founder of  Mindzone, a private de-addiction centre in Adyar. However, while a barrage of information is available online when you search for de-addiction centres,…

The Mumbai Marathon is a special race. Great weather, flat course, the sea breeze and  wonderful crowd support from the cheerful Mumbaikars during the race -- all this is rare to find in any other Indian city. The city which never stops, halts completely for a few hours so that runners can have the roads to themselves. I have run this race many times. Every time I come back with some great memories. Procam organises the race efficiently and participation is higher every every year. But if there is one thing that I have not seen any improvement in—and it…

Citizens in Bengaluru are finally looking forward to participate in hyper-local level of governance in Bengaluru, with a systematic approach to ward committee meetings. A directive issued by the BBMP Commissioner on November 16, 2018 mandated the meetings to be held on first Saturday of every month. If you are gearing up to go to the ward committee meeting, here's a compilation of everything you might want to know. What exactly is a ward committee? Ward committees are the citizen committees at the hyperlocal level meant to decide the functioning of a ward. They have been mandated by Nagarapalika Act,…

[The article has been co-authored by Devanshi Chanchani, an independent social science researcher based in Bengaluru.] Poor air quality is a topic that is dominating minds and discourse throughout the country, especially now that winter is around the corner. To people with experiences from cleaner environments abroad, the contrast in air quality becomes ever more palpable and stark upon returning to India. To examine the possibilities of breathing healthy while on a visit to the city of Raipur, we decided to try out an air purifier from a company called Smart Air. The DIY Air Purifier from Smart Air appealed…

In 2017, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) reported that 425 million adults have diabetes worldwide and India alone harbours 73 million adults with diabetes. November 14 is observed as World Diabetes Day aimed at raising diabetes awareness and calling for urgent action to tackle the diabetes epidemic. Since 1991, each year World Diabetes Day is centered on a theme related to diabetes. The theme for World Diabetes Day 2018 (and 2019) is Family and Diabetes. A two-year timeframe has been chosen to best facilitate the two following aims through vigorous public campaigns: a) To raise awareness about the impact of diabetes…

You've been hearing of a looming food safety crisis triggered by the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in meat and vegetables for some time now. Now, this has hit close to home, right here in Chennai, with new found evidence. A study that examined samples of vegetables, fruit, fish, chicken and mutton from households, market and fish and meat outlets has found the presence of colistin-resistant bacteria in 44 of the 100 samples. The study has also unravelled the mechanism by which a gene responsible for antibiotic-resistance can be transmitted to humans, with worrying consequences. Colistin is known as the ‘antibiotic…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship In September 2018, the Karnataka State Government announced an increase in ticket fares by 18 percent for both Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). The reason cited: Hikes in fuel price. This met with strong opposition from civil society groups, with the Bengaluru Bus Prayanikare Vedike (BBVP), a coalition of organizations working for commuter rights, holding a ‘Commuter Ballot’ campaign at Kempegowda Bus station. 95 percent of the commuters voted against the fare hike. This was accompanied by the ‘Call Your MLA’ campaign, with citizens…

Recently, the Karnataka police found itself in a rather embarrassing situation after its DGP for internal security division AM Prasad, was conned by fraudsters of  Rs 2 lakh through vishing (fake call fraud). In mid-June this year, Assam legislator Utpal Dutta was defrauded Rs. 14 lakh from SBI bank by cyber criminals. Former IAS officer C V Ananda Bose lost Rs. 3 lakh, an ex-Income tax officer from Nagpur lost Rs. 68 lakh from his retirement fund. A 16-year old Delhiite hanged himself after losing Rs. 29,000 to a fraud from an e-linked account, while a 49-year-old homemaker from Bengaluru…

Now that the Mayor has made an announcement in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Council meeting that Ward Committee (WC) meetings will be held on the 1st Saturday of every month, beginning in December. Now it is up to the citizens and ward committee members to ensure that the councillors and ward committee secretaries follow the WC Rules, conduct the meetings regularly and become accountable to the community, bringing in true decentralisation. Below is a summary of the rules regarding the functioning of ward committees which citizens should insist upon. Unless we do this, it is no use blaming BBMP…