GENRE: In Focus

Shifting from the slick, tree-lined Vasanthnagar to the mud and gravel of HRBR in East Bengaluru did it. Building a dream house in a nightmare colony with no roads or facilities dealt quite a shock to D.S. Rajshekhar ten years ago. It was then that he felt that unless he stepped forward and joined like-minded citizens to show some fighting spirit, he would continue to live in a perpetually 'under-construction' colony. His Residents' Welfare Association referred him to Citizens' Action Forum (CAF), which was a simple association of rather indignant residents. It was an idea that was seeded in 2007. It had…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship Why does one need to know the source of vegetables? Given the state of the environment today and the fact that each one of us is a consumer at some level, it has become almost imperative that our concerns grow beyond just our purchase and include the journey of the product before and after we use it. The fear among people seems to be related to heavy metal contamination. Kiran R V, a resident of Rajajinagar, says the vegetables might have been grown using contaminated water, or using sewage as…

For many years now Sarvesh (name changed) has been living in a kind of emotional seesaw that makes him swing like a pendulum between deep depression and manic excitement. He is afflicted with Bipolar Affective Disorder (BPAD) and life has not been easy for him or his family members. The latter have however accepted his condition and are supportive. Stated in simple terms, BPAD is a psychiatric disorder that makes it very difficult for people to control their mood swings. Medication is an essential part of the treatment. How did it begin for Sarvesh? 13 years ago, as an alcoholic,…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship. In our previous article, we saw how talent coming out of IT engineering colleges do not have the skill sets the IT industry needs. In this article, we look at what the solutions could be. Though the hiring scene for fresh IT graduates looks bleak, there is still some hope. There are options if one has the willingness to put in extra effort and learn while working. “Experienced talent is tough to come by and it is getting more and more expensive. Hence more companies, both large ones and startups,…

There has been concern and commentary that a public list of alleged sexual harassers maligns them and possibly costs them their jobs & family. It is a valid concern. Even so, here is why #MeToo needs to happen, and happen yesterday. And it doesn’t subvert due process, but actually improves it. 1. Sexual harassment, inside and outside workplaces, is the oldest crime in the book. World over, and in India, we have too many historical evidences of public stripping, buying & selling, stalking, sex without consent with women of all ages, stations in life, much worse with caste & poverty.…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship. Shreyas sat on the ‘bench’ for a few months after being selected by a top information technology company in Bengaluru through a campus recruitment drive. Coming from a tier-1 college in the city, and even after undergoing an induction programme, he wasn’t given any project to work on. He felt the need to study more and acquire new skills, to keep up with the trends in hiring. He quit the job and moved to Germany to study more. Many of his classmates who couldn’t study further are still on the…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship. Feeding a city like Bengaluru, that has 1.25 crore people is a huge challenge, and provides millions of business opportunities as well. The vegetables and fruits grocery business is a major part of this industry. It requires a solid supply chain to supply fruits and vegetables to the city from the surrounding areas and beyond, as they are perishable. There are thousands of vendors selling vegetables across Bengaluru, who set up shop on pavements or small stalls, or use a push cart. For these two couples living in Kammanahalli, the…

It has been six years since Bengaluru’s waste management mess was brought to the notice of the High Court of Karnataka through a Public Interest Litigation, by Kavitha Shankar and the Solid Waste Management Round Table team. While the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has undertaken many measures to help manage waste better, there is lots more that remains to be done. When the PIL began in 2012, the city of Bengaluru was producing about 3,500 tonnes of waste per day, with no waste segregation in place and all waste going to landfill. All mixed garbage from the city was…

The steady, low hum of buses leaving the city punctuates the night at Koyambedu, a commercial hub in Chennai. A few shops remain open for the odd patron while others are firmly shut. Under the golden yellow of the street lights, a rhythmic swoosh of bamboo against tar grows in the dark. Three women, bent at work, are leaving a pristine path in their wake, a trail they have cleaned for the last seven years. Armed with a rickety tricycle, an old aluminium basket, two brooms and reflector vests, this motley crew makes singara Chennai. The women work meticulously, one…

In March 2009, the Rajasthan government approached the erstwhile union government, seeking central assistance for setting up the Jaipur Metro Project. Nine years later, a performance audit of the first phase of Jaipur Metro by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) reveals how this urban mobility project was pushed through with undue haste. This has raised questions over why certain due diligence protocols in the planning phase were undermined. The CAG performance audit tells us that in April 2009, the Union Government advised the Rajasthan government to prepare a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) in order to conduct a…