GENRE: In Focus

This is the second of a two part series on why health insurance companies refuse to reimburse treatment cost of mental illness despite laws and insurance regulator guidelines saying they must treat mental illness on par with any other physical illness. The cost of regular psychiatric medication can be substantial. A person with a mental illness is rarely hospitalised. But there are no reimbursements for non-hospitalisation treatment, rehabilitation or outpatient services. "Why is there reluctance from insurers?" asks Vijay Nallawala, Founder of Bipolar India and Co-Founder of the Mental Health Support Foundation. "Unlike somebody with a cardiac problem, the treatment…

Bengaluru will soon have 8600 CCTV cameras monitoring activity in public spaces. While the city currently has around 1,100 such cameras, another 7,500 would be added as part of a new 'Safe City' project. One key objective of the project, financed by the Center's Nirbhaya fund, is to monitor, detect and prevent crimes against women. What would this massive surveillance project entail - who will look at the footage, how will it be used, and what are the expected outcomes? Here's what we found, based on the tender documents for the project. The Centre had approved Safe City projects for…

The recent formation of a new Maharashtra government and the appointment of a new chief minister has quickly led to abrupt policy changes for Mumbaikars. On June 29th, ex-chief minister Uddhav Thackeray resigned from his post, and on the next day, Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the new CM of Maharashtra. The new government, a coalition of BJP and rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, is set to bring in policy changes, especially in the face of the forthcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.  The result of a widely publicised and unpredictable political conflict was sudden changes in government decisions, particularly the controversial reversal of Uddhav…

"In my class, if a girl got her periods, two other girls stood behind her as human shields, so that nobody would see her holding a sanitary pad in class. If someone saw her with a pad, she feared being judged,” recalls 19-year-old Keerthana Srinivasan. This attitude is all too common among young people shielded from learning about themselves and their bodies. "Pads are not missiles to be afraid of!," says Sharath Sathya, founder of Karpom Karpipom, an NGO working towards sex education in schools. Keerthana finished Class 12 in 2020 from a school in Chrompet sans any kind of…

There have been various developments around public transport systems in the city over the past year.  The work on Chennai Metro Phase 2 has been underway for a few months, with stations and lines coming up across the city. The proposal to merge the MRTS with CMRL has also moved forward with assent from the government.  The Metro’s rapid development has meant various traffic roadblocks in the city as the necessary infrastructure is being put in place. There have also been issues with the CMRL taking over green spaces such as Thiru Vi Ka Park and Panagal Park.  In addition…

This is the first of a two part series on why health insurance companies refuse to reimburse treatment cost of mental illness, despite laws and insurance regulator guidelines saying they must treat mental illness on par with any other physical illness. "I bought a health insurance policy from a well-known insurance agency in 2014,” says V Naresh, 73, (name changed on request). “In January 2020, my 39-year-old son, who was diagnosed with a psychiatric illness, was admitted to rehab for 25 days. In March 2020, I put in a claim of around Rs. 2.75 lakh for the treatment, but it…

For over a decade now, residents of Indira Nagar slums in Mumbai's Sewree have been waiting for a road that would not be an invitation to diseases in their homes. But that has not happened yet. With the arrival of the monsoon, the road adjoining their makeshift houses gets waterlogged making their living conditions difficult and threatening public health.  "The water and mud accumulate when it rains heavily, even taxis don't come here. People here frequently fall sick in the rains. There have been so many people who have had dengue or malaria in the past," said 42-year-old Laxmi Harijan,…

Before Chennai became the bustling metropolis that it is today, bright, artifical light was limited to a few sources. Street lights, name boards of shops and festive lighting were not as widespread. One could actually see stars in the night sky, an act almost impossible these days. Light pollution has not captured the attention of the masses but continues to grow as an issue that could affect human, animal and plant life in cities. We look at what light pollution means and some of the causes and effects of it across Chennai. Light pollution and its components Light pollution refers…

A lot has been happening with the Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) of Chennai over the past year. The transport body has embraced technology for live tracking. The process of fleet expansion is also underway, along with the procurement of more e-buses. The 'free travel for women' scheme has been well-received and earned plaudits, in addition to increasing ridership among women. We present a round-up here of all such recent developments related to the city's most important mode of public commute, its bus service. Dedicated app and GPS tracking The much-awaited mobile application to track the movement of MTC buses in…

Year after year, images of people wading their way through knee-deep water, potholes, and building collapses are splashed across newspapers and TV screens as soon as monsoons begin in Mumbai. Mumbaikars endure unsafe commutes without many choices. They register complaints on various platforms, and while Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) authorities claim to take note of their grievances, little materialises. A new report analysing councillors' performance confirms this. BMC's Councillors "do not appear to be interested in permanently solving day-to-day civic problems", states the report, released to the public earlier in July ahead of the civic body elections. "Instead, they show…