GENRE: In Focus

[In Part 1 of this series, we saw that around 5000 trees are proposed to be axed for the 'Bangalore Surrounding Roads Project' but certain discrepancies hint that the actual number could be higher. In this part, we look at the project's impacts and why citizens are worried.] "I was in Hesaraghatta the other day and an electrician asked me why I wasn't protesting tree felling on the Nelamangala-Doddaballapura road, just a little distance away from there. He asked me, don't the ministers and bureaucrats need air and water too?" says Mahesh Bhat, photographer and faculty at the Srishti Institute…

Since the start of this year, there's been much discussion about the ‘Bangalore Surrounding Roads Project’, for which thousands of trees around the city would be axed. The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) had proposed this road-widening project to decongest the city's peripheral roads, and to better link different parts of Bengaluru Urban and Rural to the Kempegowda International Airport. Six roads, spanning a total length of nearly 155 km, are to be widened for the project. Though these roads are mostly outside BBMP limits, the tree loss would have severe, long-lasting impacts for the city. But there's been…

For the first time, the demand for cycles in Ahmedabad has overtaken supply. One of the happy fallouts from the civil mess that COVID-19 has caused. Ahmedabad is now reporting over 100% hike in average sales, with most new models being pre-booked. “All kinds of bikes from pleasure to professional, including mountain, hybrid and kids bikes have seen a huge spike in demand,” said Aditya Sharma, an administrator with the Decathlon Cycling community. “For the first time, people have to wait for the model or colour of the bike they want.”  “We are out of stock of many models,” added…

Swati Patil can’t stop crying. It has been ten days since she lost her mother due to unavailability of a hospital bed. “If only we had got a bed for dialysis, she would still be alive today,” she said, holding her mother’s photo close to her heart. “There was nothing wrong with her,” says Swati. “She was coughing the other day and the family doctor mentioned that we go for a COVID-19 test. All of us tested negative except my mother. It took us four days to find a bed in the municipal-run Kasturba Hospital in Somwar Peth, which has…

COVID-19 has had a seriously unsettling effect on all sections of people, not least on students who find themselves in an unprecedented situation caused by closure of schools and colleges, and a rather hasty, unprepared thrust on digital modes of learning. Figures released by UNESCO, as they assess the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic on education, say that in India alone, some 32 crore learners have been impacted in some way or the other by the closure of educational institutes, nearly 17 crore of them in secondary school or at higher levels. Undoubtedly, the most affected and stressed are…

Patriotism has 3 colours – and green is one of them! So let our celebrations be green! That is the key message of the introductory poster of the #GreenPatriot series we put out this week through Beautiful Bengaluru – a citizens’ initiative which focuses on clean, green, safe living. Our extended name Beautiful Bharat for campaigns of national relevance brings more focus to an important subject for the whole country. With each passing festival and event, there is an urgency to focus on what we can simplify, do better, how we can go greener, and most of all, how our…

ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಪ್ರಕರಣಗಳ ಸಂಖ್ಯೆ ಹೆಚ್ಚಿದ್ದರ ಹಿಂದೆಯೇ ಕೇಳಿಬಂದ ಬಹುಮುಖ್ಯ ದೂರು ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳ ಹಾಸಿಗೆ ಕೊರತೆ ಮತ್ತು ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ ನಿರಾಕರಣೆ. ಇತ್ತೀಚೆಗೆ ರಾಮನಗರ ಜಿಲ್ಲೆಯ ಚಿಕ್ಕಮುದವಾಡಿ ಪ್ರಾಥಮಿಕ ಆರೋಗ್ಯ ಕೇಂದ್ರದಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ತೊಡಗಿದ್ದ ವೈದ್ಯ ಡಾ. ಮಂಜುನಾಥ್ ಎಸ್.ಟಿ.  ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ ದೊರೆಯದೆ ಕೊನೆಯುಸಿರೆಳೆದರು. ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಮೂರು ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳು ಅವರನ್ನು ಒಳರೋಗಿಯಾಗಿ ದಾಖಲಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳಲು ನಿರಾಕರಿಸಿ ಹಿಂದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಳುಹಿಸಿದ್ದವು. ಇಷ್ಟೆಲ್ಲಾ ಆದ ಮೇಲೂ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಮಾತ್ರ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆಗೆ ಅಗತ್ಯವಿರುವ ಹಾಸಿಗೆಗಳು ಲಭ್ಯವಿವೆ ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುತ್ತಲೇ ಬಂದಿದೆ. ಜೂನ್ ತಿಂಗಳ ಕೊನೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಒಂದು ಆದೇಶ ಹೊರಡಿಸಿ ಖಾಸಗಿ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳು ತಮ್ಮ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯದ ಅರ್ಧದಷ್ಟು ಹಾಸಿಗೆಗಳನ್ನು ಕೋವಿಡ್ ರೋಗಿಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಮೀಸಲಿಡಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಹೇಳಿತು. ಜುಲೈ 7ರಂದು ವೈದ್ಯಕೀಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ ಸಚಿವ ಡಾ.ಕೆ. ಸುಧಾಕರ್ ಅವರು ಖಾಸಗಿ ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕೋವಿಡ್ ರೋಗಿಗಳಿಗಾಗಿ ಮೀಸಲಿಟ್ಟಿರುವ ಹಾಸಿಗೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಶೇಕಡಾ 78ರಷ್ಟು ಖಾಲಿ ಇವೆ ಎಂದರು. ಆಗಸ್ಟ್ 4ರಂದು ಈ ಲೇಖಕ  ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿಯ ಹಾಸಿಗೆ ಲಭ್ಯತೆಯ ಆಯಾ ಕ್ಷಣದ…

The majority of road accident victims in Bengaluru are pedestrians. An analysis of road crash deaths in 2017 by the NGO Footpath Initiative showed that 44% of the victims were pedestrians. As per their data, between 2010 and 2018, over 3000 pedestrians have been killed in traffic crashes in the city, and four times as many have been injured. Given the poor state of pedestrian infrastructure like footpaths, it isn't surprising that pedestrian deaths are so high. Anusha Chutturi of Footpath Initiative said their data showed that areas with better footpaths had fewer pedestrian accidents. She said, "The areas around…

Delhi has no COVID war room. But the capital had become the centre of attention in the fight against COVID-19 when on June 9th, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia estimated that Delhi, groaning under an acute shortage of hospital beds, would need over 5.5 lakh beds by end July. A shocked public, the city administration, hospitals and even Union Home Minister Amit Shah stepped in. The BJP at the Centre and AAP in Delhi called a truce as they joined hands to deal with what was becoming a crisis in the capital. Their crisis management efforts finally yielded some positive results. At 10.25…

Kulsum Khatun and husband, a rickshaw puller, are residents of Jagdamba camp in Sheikh Sarai. Over the last few months of lockdown in the capital, none of them were able to find any work. “My two daughters, aged 7 and 9, study in a government school in Malviya Nagar (South Delhi),” said Kusum, “Mid-day meals were very important for us since we hardly make enough to feed them twice a day. Now, even that has stopped. We received around Rs 95 in March but nothing since then.” On March 23rd, seven days after the COVID crisis forced closure of all…