GENRE: In Focus

Scorching heat waves, devastating floods, a yearly increase in temperature, high AQI levels, Mumbai has seen it all over the past few decades, with no sign that the vagaries of climate will let up anytime soon. If the island city is to weather the storm of climate change, it requires a concrete map to navigate the next couple of decades. The Mumbai Climate Action Plan (MCAP), created by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) with the World Resources Institute (WRI) as a knowledge partner, is such a map. In 2020, Mumbai became a part of the global C40 network, pledging  a…

In October 2021 Prime Minister Narendra Modi had declared a plan to make Indian cities garbage-free under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0,  with the Government of India allocating Rs. 3,400 crore to Maharashtra for the implementation of the  Swachh Bharat Mission. According to the Environment Status Report (ESR) for 2022-23, released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mumbai generated 6330 metric tonnes (MT) of waste per day in 2022. With the two dumping sites in Mumbai — Deonar and Kanjurmarg — overflowing, a radical change in our approach to solid waste management is urgently needed. As Maharashtra gets ready to go to…

ஒரு வருடத்திற்கு முன்பு, திருநெல்வேலி மாவட்டத்தைச் சேர்ந்த 38 வயதான செல்வி, சென்னை நகரில் உள்ள ஒரு சிறிய துணி கடையில் விற்பனையாளராக பணியாற்றினார். "அந்த கடை உரிமையாளரின் சொந்தக்கார ஆண் ஒருவர் சூப்பர்வைசராக இருந்தார். அவர் பெண் ஊழியர்களிடம் தகாத முறையில் நடந்து வந்தார். அவரின் இந்த நடத்தை தொடர்ந்து அதிகரித்து வந்தன. பொறுக்கமுடியாமல் ஒரு நாள் நான் அவருக்கு எதிராக பேசினேன். எங்களிடம் இப்படி நடந்து கொள்வது சரி இல்லை என்று கூறினேன். அது பெரிய சண்டையாக மாறியது. என்னை தகாத வார்த்தைகளால் தாக்கினர் அவர். கடைசியில் நான் வேலையை இழந்தது தான் மிச்சம்," என்று செல்வி தனது அனுபவத்தை பகிர்ந்தார். செல்வி, தனது குடும்பத்தின் ஒரே சம்பாதிக்கும் உறுப்பினராக இருந்தபோது, வேலை இழப்பதால் அவருக்கு அதிகமான பாதிப்புகள் நேர்ந்தன. புதிய வேலை தேடும் பணியில், அவருக்கு பல மாதங்கள் கடந்து விட்டன. தற்போது, அவர் ஒரு பெட்ரோல்…

Chennai is home to countless apartment complexes, many of which are in dire need of redevelopment. While the city has seen a surge in new constructions, older buildings often require attention. So, what should you do if your apartment is showing its age and you are considering redevelopment? Two years after the Tamil Nadu Apartment Ownership (TNAO) Act of 2022 came into effect, the Tamil Nadu Housing and Urban Development Department introduced the TNAO Rules, 2024 recently, which include specific guidelines for redeveloping ageing apartment buildings. A little background on TNAO Rules, 2024 KP Subramanian, a retired Professor of Urban…

Until a year ago, Selvi*, a 38-year-old from Tirunelveli, worked as a salesperson in a small textile shop in Chennai. "One of the male supervisors, who is related to the shop owner, would verbally abuse the women staff and misbehave with them. The instances of such abusive behaviour kept increasing. One day, I spoke up and told him it wasn't fair for him to act that way. He became furious and started verbally abusing me. It escalated into an ugly confrontation, and I was thrown out of my job," says Selvi. As the sole breadwinner of her family, Selvi struggled…

Dust from construction debris, damaged roads, major traffic congestion, and vehicles and machinery occupying footpaths. Pedestrians contend with all this and more on busy roads, where the Chennai Metro Rail work is ongoing. Spanning around 116 km across three different corridors and 118 stations, the Chennai Metro Rail’s Phase II is a major development project in the city. “Inconvenience today for a better tomorrow” — is a slogan displayed prominently in the Metro Rail construction zones. However, it is more than a mere inconvenience. Pedestrians put themselves at peril every day as they navigate dangers on the road because of…

Peenya Industrial Area, one of Bengaluru's oldest industrial hubs, is facing a significant challenge — rising urban temperatures exacerbated by the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect. The aggregated maximum Land Surface Temperature for the first 8 months increased from 43 ℃ in 2023 to 46 ℃ in 2024, as derived from the ECOSTRESS sensor. This phenomenon, in which urban areas experience higher temperatures than their rural counterparts, is particularly pronounced in Peenya. The area’s industrial growth, coupled with a lack of green cover and the prevalent use of heat-absorbing materials, has made it one of the hottest zones in the…

A dump yard in Pammal, which was restored through bio-mining in 2020, has once again become a towering trash mountain. The real twist is that the Tambaram Corporation — the line agency tasked with managing waste — is responsible. When Pammal was a municipality, the dump yard was scientifically restored by treating the old waste and removing undigested organic matter, in a process called bio-mining. Once the locality was merged with Tambaram Corporation, the civic body started dumping about 150 tonnes of waste every day in Pammal’s Mahalakshmi Nagar (adjoining survey number where bio-mining was done) and the nearby Adyar…

Pavitharan*, a 30-year-old resident of Velachery, had a fever recently. Assuming it was a seasonal flu, he took over-the-counter medication and rested at home. On day three, he recovered from the fever. However, his fatigue remained and so he consulted with a doctor. The doctor ordered further tests and determined what Pavitharan had was dengue. The doctor also told him that his platelet counts were going down. Had he delayed the doctor's consultation, the infection could have worsened. Pavithran says he is unaware of the source as his house does not have dengue-breeding points. "Corporation workers come for regular checks…

Nilesh Shinde, the organiser of the Mumbaicha Samrat Ganpati at Khetwadi, is confused. Just as many other organisers of Mumbai's famed Ganeshotsav, he has also been preoccupied with the Bombay High Court's recent order. The Court, in its order, asked all civic bodies to intimate sarvajanik Ganesh mandals that they have to mandatorily follow the Central Pollution Control Board  (CPCB) guidelines of 2020 and shun PoP idols altogether. Yet, not all are aware of the rationale behind this."Why didn’t they put a ban on PoP for the past so many years? It is not as if people have started celebrating…