GENRE: In Focus

At the entrance of the Jankalyan Society at Dahisar, near the lift, a blackboard asks residents to clear their pending maintenance charges. Signed by the building's Mahila Mandal Sudhar Samiti (MMSS) or resident women's group, the note also urges residents that they would be able to offer better services to residents if maintenance dues are paid on time.  Though a number of garbage bins lie below their building, the provisional committee members of the Society are convinced that their building is cleaner and better maintained compared to other buildings provided by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) Mumbai. Even so, at…

A study conducted by the Chennai-based NGO, Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC), on World Bank-financed housing projects in Chennai and across Tamil Nadu reveals that nearly four decades after the implementation of the project, a majority of the beneficiaries still await land titles and sale deeds that were promised to them. The study, titled 'Implementation of the World Bank-financed Housing Projects in Tamil Nadu and its Impact on the Deprived Urban Communities', has been compiled based on the existing information and updates available in various citizens’ reports and participatory assessments that were facilitated by IRCDUC…

This three part series examines rainfall patterns in Bengaluru and the lessons we can learn about water resilience. Part 1: Over 100 years of Bengaluru rains decodedPart 2: Can a little boy affect Bengaluru's rains?Part 3: Deluge or drought: Water researchers explain how Bengaluru can build resilience So far, the rainy season of 2023 is breaking all sorts of records. According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), in Bengaluru, April had a 54.3% rainfall deficit while May had 102% surplus rainfall. May 2023 was the wettest May in 66 years. Meanwhile, June was in deficit, July had 6% excess rainfall…

Chennai has waited for more than a decade for the completion of the Port-Maduravoyal Expressway project. The infrastructure project was commissioned with a view to decongesting Chennai roads, particularly from traffic from containers that head to the city’s port. The funding agency for the Port-Maduravoyal Expressway project is the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) which is also responsible for its maintenance and management. Disagreements between successive state governments have resulted in the project lying suspended for an inordinately long period. Over all these years, commuters have been driving past incomplete pillars where the elevated expressway should have been. Shanavas…

This three part series examines rainfall patterns in Bengaluru and the lessons we can learn about water resilience. Part 1: Over 100 years of Bengaluru rains decodedPart 2: Can a little boy affect Bengaluru's rains?Part 3: Deluge or drought: Water researchers explain how Bengaluru can build resilience Through my childhood in the nineties, all I recall about Bengaluru’s weather was that it was good, mild or fine. By mid-2000s, the talk was mostly about how the city was getting hotter. In 2020, well into adulthood, I suddenly noticed the rains. Over the course of the first lockdown, lime- washed white…

Bhaucha Dhakka or Ferry Wharf, located on the eastern seafront of the city, is one of Mumbai’s oldest fish landing sites. It is one of the four major sites, where fish is brought to the town.  Over the last few years, the dhakka has seen immense changes. A grimy billboard inscribed with the title ‘Sagarmala-Port-led prosperity’ stands at the side of the current trestle that leads to both the jetty and the newly constructed cruise and ferry terminal. This trestle will soon be demolished.  Bhaucha Dhakka handles both small boats and trawlers. As claimed by the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)…

கருப்பான மற்றும் துர்நாற்றமான தேங்கி நிற்கும் நீர் - ஒரு காலத்தில் நகரின் குறிப்பிடத்தக்க நன்னீர் கால்வாய்களில் ஒன்றாக இருந்த மாம்பலம் கால்வாயைத் தேடிச் செல்லும்போது இதுவே காணப்படுகிறது.  நான்கு தசாப்தங்களுக்கு முன்பு இருந்த நுங்கம்பாக்கம் குளம் மற்றும் மாம்பலம் குளம் ஆகிய இரண்டு பெரிய தொட்டிகளில் இருந்து உபரி நீரை எடுத்துச் செல்லும் இந்த கால்வாய் அதன் உச்சக்கட்டத்தில் இருந்தது. நகரமயமாக்கல் காரணமாக, இந்த குளங்களின் நீர்ப்பிடிப்பு பகுதி முழுவதும் தற்போது குடியிருப்பு மற்றும் வணிக நிறுவனங்கள் உள்ளன.  அசல் கால்வாய் செல்லும் பாதை வள்ளுவர் கோட்டம் அருகே தொடங்கி தி நகர் மற்றும் சிஐடி நகர் வழியாக நந்தனம் கோல்ஃப் மைதானத்திற்கு அருகே அடையாறு ஆற்றில் வடிகால் செல்கிறது. மாம்பலம் கால்வாயை அதன் தோற்றம் முதல் இறுதி வரை கண்டறியும் முயற்சியில், அதன் சில பகுதிகளை மட்டுமே கண்டுபிடிக்க முடிந்தது.  கால்வாயின் பழைய படங்கள் அனைத்தும் உள்ளூர் மக்களின்…

Rani is a 12-year-old young girl studying in 6th grade. She has lived all her life in Ambedkar Nagar in Colaba. Her day usually begins at 5:00 am. In this informal settlement, water comes for two hours and given her family size of five, she and her mother have to ensure that is available for all. Rani’s mother is a daily wage worker and leaves for her work as early as 6:00-6:30 am. It is up to Rani to ensure enough water for the household. “Kabhi-kabhi paani nahi aata hai time pe, isliye main school se chutti leti hu,” (There…

As I climbed the stairs of the Velachery - Taramani link road Foot Over Bridge (FOB) at around 9 pm, I found myself in near total darkness as the FOB did not have any lights. The FOB has a roof on the top and sheets on the side, limiting light from the street entering it. Using the flashlight from my phone, I climbed further. Soon I found footsteps following me. A man was climbing the stairs behind me. Gripped by fear, I turned around, pretended to make a phone call and waited till he walked past me.  As I walked…

Savitha, a resident of Thirumangalam, travels to Guindy every day by Chennai metro. Last December, when Savitha was walking out of the Thirumangalam metro station, she found the floor of the station wet due to the rain. She slipped and fell, and sustained minor injuries as a result. "I did not know if there were any first aid facilities available at the station. Besides, there were no staff at the place where I fell. So, I walked out of the station and went to the nearby medical shop to get some first aid," she says. Similar instances have also been…