GENRE: In Focus

As rapidly-expanding Guwahati, northeast India’s largest metropolis, gears up to clean its air under the National Clean Air Policy (NCAP), a study suggests a cocktail of natural and man-made pollutants wafting through the air is tinkering with the city’s rainwater quality. Guwahati in Assam is among the 122 ‘non-attainment’ cities identified for implementing mitigation actions under the national policy, which means it does not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Researchers said pinpointing critical sources of air pollution and their contributions to the problem are essential to crafting effective city and region-specific air pollution control plans. Connecting the dots between the origin of…

Following a strict order from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), custodian of the Rabindra Sarovar Lake in Kolkata has taken several steps to ensure that Chhat Puja is not held in the lake premises this year and its biodiversity is protected. As a result, for the second time in the history of its existence, Rabindra Sarovar will remain closed on November 2 and will open on November 3 after 11 AM. The only other time that the lake was completely closed down was during the Aila Storm in 2009. Spread over 192 acres, Rabindra…

The much-hyped 24-km BRTS (Bus Rapid Transit System) corridor in the city, on which Rs 329 crore has already been spent to create the required infrastructure, is now likely to be dismantled, at a cost of 40% of the money already spent on it. The “corridor of trouble”, as it has come to be known among commuters, residents and commercial establishments on its route, has seen 121 accidents and 21 fatalities between 2016 and 2018, according to official figures. Not to mention the traffic chaos it is causing. Launched in 2013 by the Bhopal Municipal Corporation, the corridor from Misrod…

According to the Bengaluru Traffic Police, an average of four vehicle-caused accidents occur in the city every day. An alarming 20 percent of these are fatal. These happen for several reasons - pedestrians crossing wide junctions where there's little coordination, driver belligerence, and disregard of traffic rules. People with disabilities and the elderly are left at an unimaginable disadvantage, with only a few seconds to cross the road. The obvious question here is - what about the skywalks? Skywalks exist for the sole purpose of pedestrian safety, but are rarely used. For the average Bengalurean to incorporate skywalks in their…

Diwali 2019 could well be the quietest festival of lights Delhi has ever seen. For a city which used to reverberate to the sound and smoke of crackers for a week before and after Diwali, last year’s Supreme Court crackdown on bursting of crackers, its order that only “green crackers” be sold and used, and a tight police vigil on cracker sales, has forced Delhi’s citizens to be satisfied with letting off only flower pots (anars) and sparklers (phuljaris) this year available in only two colours . The so-called atom bombs of old are out, as the concern is not…

In ongoing efforts to deal with monkeys causing disturbances and impacting health in human settlements, the Delhi government is planning a census of monkeys (rhesus macaques) in the capital city. The monkey species, which has now adapted to the urban environment, is often involved in cases attacking humans. After two decades of effort, the government has now roped in the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, to study the “numbers and behaviour” of the animal. In 2018, more than 950 cases of monkey bites were reported in the capital. The proposed census will help the Delhi government identify the number…

Like many metropolitan cities in India, Bengaluru is facing a dire water crisis. There is an imminent need to manage the city's water resources in a sustainable and equitable manner. With population projection of 13.6 million in 2020, Bengaluru is experiencing high growth rates and predatory geographical expansion that subsumes surrounding peri-urban and rural areas. But necessary infrastructure is not established to meet the basic needs of housing, water, sanitation, and so on. Lacking access to formal housing, majority of residents in informal settlements are forced to rely on water from private vendors, neighbourhood sources, or illegal networks of accessing…

Children these days are active shoppers, both online and offline, but are we doing enough to make our youth aware of their rights as consumers? It does not appear so. The subject of consumer rights is given scant regard and any structured education on this subject is usually confined to students of commerce at the higher secondary school and college levels. In fact, a lesson on consumer protection for students of Class 10 has now been deleted, following a revision of syllabus in Tamil Nadu. “The lesson on the rights and responsibilities of consumers in civics was an essential guide…

Tucked away in a corner of the Phase VI Industrial Area, in a building that has clearly seen better days, is the District Industrial Centre (DIC), the nodal office for industry in Ajitgarh city, better known as Mohali. “We have great infrastructure, regular power supply at competitive rates, ample skilled manpower, an international airport, great work environment, and a government sensitive to the needs of the industry,” said DIC general manager Harjinder Singh Pannu, a jovial, friendly individual who goes out of his way to emphasize that Mohali is the best destination for industry in the North. The problem is,…

The recent Bollywood release Chichore may have been dismissed as a clichéd story. But its theme – depression among school and college students – is becoming a serious issue, especially in big cities like Mumbai. India has one of the highest suicide rates in the world among youth in the 15-29 age group and depression is one key cause for this. Though media did report two recent incidents, that of a 24 year old student, from Assam studying at the School of Architecture and Planning (SPA) who committed suicide due to mental pressure and that of a 29-year-old student of…