GENRE: In Focus

Water is fundamental for our survival, yet is also limited in availability. For Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) diverts over 4000 million litres of water a day to the city from lakes as far as 163 km away. Partially transported by gravity, it is then treated, stored and pumped up to reach homes. This costs the municipality Rs 19.44 for every 1,000 litres. But what are the water rates that Mumbaikars are burdened with? When it comes to putting a price on water, a balance must be struck between affordability and offsetting service costs. This materialises in BMC's differing…

Ever since its launch in 2018, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been trying to include his “revolutionary step” of doorstep delivery of rations in Delhi to the list of 100 services presently available under this scheme. Presently, people pick up their rations from Fair Price Shops (FPS) under the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS).  The state government was all set to roll out the scheme initially on March 25th, and again in mid-June. Both times, Lt Governor Anil Baijal ensured it did not happen. Baijal represents the BJP-led Central government that has constantly been at loggerheads with the AAP government. The…

In April, 2020, Usha Rajagopalan, Chairperson, Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT), had sent — like she always did since 2011 — the Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to be renewed, fully expecting it to come through. “Later, in June, I realized that the MoU was not renewed and the other citizen-led lake groups had the same experience,” says Usha.  BBMP has been signing MoUs with lake groups since 2011. Usha says: “The MoU states that we do not charge any entry fees or undertake commercial activity such as selling the lake water to…

In October 2017, 22-year-old Naren Baratwaj was walking near Hindustan College in Kelambakkam at around 8 pm when his phone was snatched by a couple of men on a bike. But imagine, for a second, a situation where police are present at the site of snatching even before the thugs arrive and are in fact poised and prepared to catch them in the act. No, this scene is not part of a far-fetched movie plot, but could well be possible according to recent criminology research. Researchers, including those who have been studying crime in Chennai and the incidence of snatching cases,…

Imagine you’re about to go to bed after a long and tiring day’s work. And at that very moment, you hear the dreaded sound of those heavy drilling machines from a house next to yours, as part of some work that looks likely to continue late into the night. Or imagine having to deal with the constant menace of dust pollution in your homes and locality because of some building activity in the neighbourhood. Perhaps not so difficult to imagine, given that it is a common issue that residents of India’s metro cities, including Chennai, have been facing for years:…

As Delhi’s air quality continues to oscillate between poor and severe this winter, the Delhi government imposed a ban on construction from November 15th. The Supreme Court too stepped in to reinforce the ban. In a move to alleviate the problems faced by about six lakh suddenly unemployed construction workers registered with the Delhi Government, the government launched the ‘Shramik Mitra‘ scheme for them. Under the scheme, 800 ‘Shramik Mitras’ will reach out to construction workers, and spread awareness on various government schemes available to them. These Shramik Mitras will work as District, Ward and Vidhan Sabha level coordinators and go…

On any given day, 4173 million litres (MLD) of water flows towards Mumbai. It travels through 650 km of transmission pipes and 6000 km of service pipes, to eventually provide just 2300 million litres for its residents. The difference — 1,900 MLD — is lost due to a variety of reasons, including leakage, thefts, dysfunctional or rigged water meters and non-metered municipal connections. 7.74% - 323 MLD - is lost before the water is even made fit for drinking, en route to the two water treatment facilities at Bhandup and Panjrapor, northeast of the city. These are conveyance losses, and…

In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we saw that Bengaluru’s drains are poorly designed and that the government doesn’t even have a full database of the drainage network even as many drains have gone missing. In this article, we explore why these stormwater drain works do not yield results. When a government department entrusts any work to a contractor, it should follow clear procedures to verify the completed works and make payments. But this seems anathema to BBMP's Stormwater Drain (SWD) Department. A 2021 audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), an independent watchdog body,…

On the evening of November 21st, parts of North Bengaluru were hit by a sudden thunderstorm. Jakkur, in the Yelahanka zone recorded 153 mm. Many layouts and apartments around Yelahanka were flooded. Visuals of a flooded Manyata Tech Park went viral on social media. November is expected to be the start of winter in Bengaluru and the end of the regular rains that start in April. As per the IMD Long Period Average (LPA) - the average rainfall between 1981 and 2010 - November gets average rainfall of only 49 mm, with four rainy days. But this November, IMD Bengaluru…

Translated by Sandhya Raju கடந்த சில நாட்களுக்கு முன் பெய்த அடர் மழையின் போது, தி.நகரில் வசித்த விஎஸ் ஜெயராமனை, தரைத்தளத்தில் வசிக்கும் அவரது சகோதரர் அதிகாலையில் எழுப்பினார். அதிகாலை வேளையில் அந்த குடியிருப்பு பரபரப்புடன் இருந்தது. தி.நகர் மோதிலால் சாலையில் உள்ள அந்த குடியுருப்பு முழுவதும் வெள்ள நீரால் சூழப்பட்டு, தரைத்தளம் முழுவதும் நீர் புகுந்தது. "உடனடியாக மாநகராட்சி அலுவலர்களுக்கும் ஆர் 1 காவல் நிலையத்திற்கும் தகவல் அளித்தோம். காவல் துறை மற்றும் சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர் அலுவலக ஊழியர்கள் உதவியுடன், தரைத்தளத்தில் வசித்து வந்த என் 96 வயது அம்மாவை, முதல் மாடியில் உள்ள என் வீட்டிற்கு கொண்டு வந்தோம்" எனக் கூறும் ஜெயராமன் தி.நகர் குடியிருப்பு வாசிகள் சங்கத்தின் தலைவரும் ஆவார். மாநகராட்சி அலுவலர்களின் அறிவுறுத்தலின் படி குடியிருப்பின் மின்சாரம் நிறுத்தப்பட்டது. இதனால், தண்ணீர் வெளியேற்றப்படும் வரை பல நாட்களுக்கு மின்சாரம் இல்லாமல் இருந்தோம். தி.நகரின் பல…