GENRE: In Focus

In the second week of January, amidst heavy security provided by the local police and the Karnataka State Reserve Police (KSRP), Forest Department officials -- along with the Dakshina Kannada district authorities and personnel from Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM) -- began uprooting and chopped nearly 202 trees at Alake village in Padil in Mangalore city in Karnataka. The 10.09-acre area formerly under Karnataka State Forest Industries Corporation (KSFIC) at Padil - is located on National Highway 75. In 2014, the state government transferred 5.89 acres to the Revenue Department. The Alake area with survey No. 23/6A1B2, 23/4B, 23/12B,…

At a recent All India conference for senior police officials in the capital city, best performing police stations across the country were recognised and honoured. K4 Police station, Annanagar, Chennai bagged the 5th position in the country for its speedy disposal of cases, zero incidence of murder and the way visitors are handled. Citizen Matters spoke to officials at K4 to understand the distinct functioning of the police station. வண்டிகள் நேர்த்தியாக நிறுத்தி வைக்கப்பட்ட பார்கிங் ஏரியா, வரவேற்பாளர் அறை, பார்வையாளர்கள் காத்திருக்கும் பகுதி, குடிநீர் என ஒரு ஹோட்டல் போன்ற அமைப்பு கொண்டிருக்கிறது கே4 காவல் நிலையம். ஆனால் சிறந்த காவல் நிலையமாக தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டதற்கு இதுவல்ல காரணம். ஜனவரி ஏழாம் தேதி…

The academics of substance addiction is full of definitions and statistics. The World Health Organization defines substance abuse as “persistent or sporadic drug use inconsistent with or unrelated to acceptable medical practice”. Hours have been spent on understanding the patterns. Yet, when you put a face to the problem and ask them to describe it – it very simply is about losing control. “You know it harms you. Yet you feel so helpless to fight the urge. That loss of control is possibly the hardest thing when you battle addiction.” remembers Sahana (name changed). She should know. The 38 year-old…

Chennai airport has been in the news for quite some time now. For those of us who regularly come through its portals, some of the news sounds almost comic. One of the articles in the dailies says Chennai airport is soon going to see Phase II of expansion, after which it will be like Singapore's Changi airport. Another said that there will be a tunnel to connect the passenger and cargo terminals that are proposed in Phase II.  The third report said that the airport is attempting a 10-day trial of operating the cross runway in order to increase the…

Four days before the Bhogi festival, the state Environment Minister, K C Karupannan had flagged off an awareness campaign at the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) office in Guindy with a view to ensuring an improved post-Bhogi situation in the city. “Auto rickshaws sounded a recorded message over microphones as they plied across the city, warning citizens against the hazardous pollution created by festival practices. We sensitised people in all the fifteen zones in Chennai,” said a spokesperson from the TNPCB. But all claims by the TNPCB came to nought on Bhogi day when thick smoke engulfed the city,…

For our English readers: Mandram is a global platform for like-minded people with interests in Tamil language and literature. It marks the coming together of people from different backgrounds to share their perspectives, journey and success stories for everyone to be inspired. Despite the Internet binding us all together, we still stay polarised. Mandram looks forward to be a TED in Tamil. The first ever Mandram was organised in Chennai which had speakers from varied backgrounds like science, art and culture sharing their perspectives. தமிழ் மரபை பறைசாற்றும் பொங்கல் திருநாள் ஒரு புறம் நகரத்தில் களைகட்ட, தமிழ் இலக்கியம், எழுத்து மேல் உண்டான ஆர்வம் காரணமாக…

Despite five years of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Karnataka High Court and hundreds of court orders, Bengaluru is way behind several other cities in the country in managing its garbage and is living up to the epithet it has earned: ‘garbage city’.   Except for a few wards where some good work may be happening, one hardly sees any change on the ground in most areas. In the meantime, several other cities have moved far ahead of Bengaluru in managing their waste. No wonder Bengaluru fell to a position below 200th in the Swachh Bharat Survekshan last…

Let's face it. There's no way you can be sure that the organic food that you bought from the store was genuinely grown organically, unless and until you yourself have produced it. I say this because genuine organic food can only be produced by natural farming practices. Natural farming, again, isn't possible without an  integrated farm and the very few integrated farms that we find cater mostly for self consumption by the producer. When food is grown for commercial purposes, it is easier to produce, process and transport a single item in large quantities, than to manage 10 different items…

Srinivas (52), Mahadev Gowda (42), Narayana Swamy (35) died while they were cleaning the Collection Tank of the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) in ND Sepal Apartments in HSR Layout. The apartment management association RWA of the 80-unit complex, largely occupied by software engineers, now finds itself charged with a crime under IPC section 304A. STP issue was in news recently because of a tussle between the government and the apartment owners. Following a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, the Government made it mandatory for even older apartment complexes to have STPs in their premises and added a penalty for failing…

When the story of Kanchanamala Pande, the silver medal winner at the Berlin para-swimming championship in 2017, hit the headlines, there was wide furore, and rightly so, over the tribulations that that she was made to go through. The grant sanctioned by the Government of India for six participants failed to reach them on time and Kanchanmala was forced to beg and borrow on the streets of Berlin in order to be able to stay there and participate in the tournament.  . If such is the treatment accorded to a para-sportsperson representing the country in a global tournament, one can…