GENRE: In Focus

Saritha M, a 26-year-old from Kodungaiyur suffered from skin infections for as long as she could remember. Multiple visits to hospitals would bring temporary respite, but permanent recovery remained elusive. "Two years ago, I shifted from Kodungaiyur after my marriage. Soon afterward, my skin infection was completely cured," said Saritha, concluding that the polluted groundwater in her locality was the reason behind the infections. "My doctor is certain that the infection had been caused by dangerous chemicals in the water. Even today, if I stay at my mother's house for more than ten days, the infection reappears. It takes a…

Uttarkashi was recently in the news and social media because its ULB - Uttarkashi Nagar Palika Parishad - was caught  dumping municipal waste illegally into the Bhagirathi river, a tributary of Ganga. The viral photos of the incident in November 2018 caused huge hue and cry over Facebook and WhatsApp groups, and  the High Court ordered a magisterial inquiry into the matter. This incident showed, sustainable management of waste remains a mounting challenge for rapidly urbanizing towns and cities of Himalayan Uttarakhand. Why Uttarakhand matters? Bhagirathi assumes its own importance in both the historical and geographical narrative of river systems…

“This is only a Band Aid and will not work as a long-term measure,” said Sunita Narain, Director General Centre for Science and Environment, about the state government’s claims that Shimla’s water shortage problem has been solved and there will no water crisis this year. “The solution lies in conservation measures and recycling of waste water. Citizens should be involved in water conservation of and made aware about the value of each drop of water saved,” added Sunita Narain. The approximately two lakh citizens of Shimla are certainly aware, remembering as they do the unprecedented water crisis of last summer,…

Raj Kumar Jena resides in a slum close to Noapara metro station at Baranagar in Kolkata. Standing on the narrow viaduct below the station he watches several trains chugging into the last station of metro connectivity in the northern fringes of the city. Under the cemented viaduct, flows the Bagjola drainage canal carrying blackish water full of household waste and emitting a putrid smell. Jena however does not look to be as hit by the smell as you would expect him to be. Perhaps, because he lives with it. More than the polluted canal, he says, the unbearable stench from…

On a sweltering Saturday afternoon, a little more than a dozen men, armed with red flags in hand, towing a middle-aged lady with inconspicuous features quietly walk into a gated housing society in the heart of Kasba, a densely populated residential neighbourhood in East Kolkata. Minutes later, the residents hear a firm female voice that promises a better tomorrow devoid of anarchy and lumpen raj. A face here and a face there, slowly but gradually curious onlookers from windows and balconies start peeping down to catch the show. The lady, with a microphone in one hand (one of her party…

The cranes and backhoes are out. The boats, trawlers, and the beach walkers are waiting. The sea around Mumbai may be calm, but with multiple infrastructure projects forthcoming, its coast is definitely not. On the west is a Rs 12,000-crore eight-lane coastal freeway known as the Coastal Road Project which will run from South Mumbai to the northern suburbs. On the east, known so far for its petrochemical industries, dusty roads, and a flamboyance of flamingos in the mudflats, the Mumbai Port Trust has drawn plans to replicate London’s Hyde Park, reclaiming a 100 hectares from the sea.   Mumbai’s…

The cranes and backhoes are out. The boats, trawlers, and the beach walkers are waiting. The sea around Mumbai may be calm, but with multiple infrastructure projects forthcoming, its coast is definitely not. On the west is a Rs 12,000-crore eight-lane coastal freeway known as the Coastal Road Project which will run from South Mumbai to the northern suburbs. On the east, known so far for its petrochemical industries, dusty roads, and a flamboyance of flamingos in the mudflats, the Mumbai Port Trust has drawn plans to replicate London’s Hyde Park, reclaiming a 100 hectares from the sea.   Mumbai’s…

Kanika*, a 15-year-old girl, carries her two-year-old sister Alisha in her arms. The portions of her hands and arms visible outside her half-sleeved magenta kurta are full of abrasions. “I’ve shown it to the doctor many times and he’s given me medicine but it remains itchy,” she says. She attributes the itchiness to the purportedly contaminated water in her home of one and a half years, in Anand Parbat transit camp. Her move to this central Delhi neighbourhood -- five kilometres from her former home – was forced and put her out of school, Kanika recalls. “Alisha was an infant…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship “Madam, all I want now is a job that will help me meet my monthly expenses. That is all.” The worry in Sridhar’s voice and the desperation on his face as he says this, cannot be captured in words. Sridhar’s story is similar to that of many, who in their late teens or early twenties moved to Bengaluru in search of a job, often leaving behind ageing parents and small plots of farmland in their villages. Every year, thousands migrate to Bengaluru in search of a livelihood, to support themselves and…

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…