GENRE: In Focus

As AC trains in Mumbai turn five this Christmas, they have milestones to celebrate. In August, the AC trains on the Western Railway (WR) carried one lakh passengers in a single day for the first time - a feat that is a regular feature now. On October 27th, it celebrated moving one crore people in only the first seven months of the financial year. AC trains on the Central Railway (CR) started later and had fewer services. It recorded a patronage of Rs 72.32 lakh in the same period. The number of daily passengers boarding the trains has skyrocketed in…

Rajokri Lake, located near the Delhi-Gurugram border till 2017 was a dying water body that had suffered years of toxic abuse. Domestic wastewater and sewerage from the adjoining semi-urban settlements of Rajokri village were channelled through open drains into the lake, which became a breeding ground for communicable diseases. As one resident of the area said, “It was hell living here. But today, we have a park where children play and an open gym”. In what had become a hub for anti-social elements, “it is now safe for women to venture out anytime,” added the resident. The transformation was the…

Among the many vocations and livelihoods severely impacted by climate change is the dried fish processing sector in Mumbai. Unseasonal rains lashing the coastline directly affect the produce and yield, and ultimately the business itself. The trade, entirely dependent on sunlight for its drying process, has become extremely vulnerable to the unseasonal rains, a direct result of climate change. At Madh village, between resorts and bungalows lining the coastal backyard, lies a buzzing village trading in dried fish. As soon as a boat lands at the jetty with fresh catch in baskets, the fish are sorted by the women at the jetty.…

Bengaluru, in many ways, is still recovering from the recent deluge, which caused an estimated loss of approximately Rs 225 crores and claimed 96 precious lives. Three months down the line, we are in no way even remotely better prepared for another impending tragedy. The impact of such climate change-induced disasters are only made worse by unregulated urbanisation and the unpreparedness of government agencies. The Department of Science and Technology has identified Bengaluru to be moderately vulnerable to climate change-associated risks. Yet, it is one of the only Indian metro cities that still does not have a Climate Action Plan…

"Will the protection of Ennore and Pulicat wetlands alone bring them back to the time when they were clean and unpolluted?" asks K Saravanan, a fisherman from Urur Olcott Kuppam, who has also been mapping fishing villages across the city. "It is too late for a complete revival." In the wake of Pallikaranai marshlands receiving the Ramsar tag this year, the question on everyone's minds is whether other wetlands in Chennai, like the Ennore and Pulicat wetlands, also get Ramsar status. To examine this possibility, it is crucial to understand the causes and effects of the degradation of the wetlands.…

For a large part of October, the air quality in Mumbai remained passable. Not very good, but not very bad either. The downslide began in the last few days of the month. The Air Quality Index (AQI) was at 79 —considered to be satisfactory; on October 22nd, it jumped to 121, moderate, the very next day. Mumbai's AQI was 136 the day after that, and finally, on October 25th, the city's air quality further deteriorated and turned 'poor' with an AQI of 213. Maharashtra Pollution Control Board’s (MPCB) sub-regional officer Achyut Nandavate says, "We are sure that Mumbai is never…

Rains pounded Chennai in the first week of November, reminding people of the horrors of the 2015 floods. But this time, the residents of Seethammal Colony were fast asleep, oblivious to the downpour. "When we woke up the next morning, we did not believe that it had rained the previous night," says A Sridharan, the vice-president of the Residents' Welfare Association of the colony, adding that the area used to be one of the hotspots of floods in Chennai until last year. However, this year, the newly laid stormwater drains (SWDs) were doing the job of keeping the roads free…

It is difficult to imagine a couple of constantly-overflowing garbage bins standing near a transformer being a part of so much history. But the ones you see at the tri-junction in Thiruvanmiyus where Malaviya Avenue Third Street bifurcates into the left and right of Sivakamipuram First Street in Thiruvanmiyur dominate the conversation in these parts.  For nearly a decade, efforts have been made by tenacious residents to transform the area by moving street furniture and getting the necessary infrastructure in place to prevent flooding. During this time, there have been recurring issues with waste management in the streets. If only…

Settling into a cosy corner at home with a mug of hot tea during the rains is the idea of a picture-perfect monsoon for many. However, when we relax indoors enjoying the drizzle, there is often someone out and about ensuring the roads are not inundated, that power lines stay intact, the drains are not clogged, and garbage is not strewn on the streets after a heavy downpour. Chennai's many frontline workers deal with these unenviable tasks even as they are unable to attend to their own needs or that of their families during these situations. With the impact of…

It was an encouraging clean air start of October for Delhi. The capital recorded five good AQI days in the first two weeks of October. But the good news ended there. The annual nightmare of poor to severe and very severe air quality in Delhi and adjoining areas soon returned. And with it, the annual nightmare of strict and systematic implementation of the different stages of the revised Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) by the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the NCR which had kicked in from September 11th. Air quality had continued to deteriorate before and after…