GENRE: In Focus

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing closure of all educational institutions, India has seen a transition to online teaching at all levels, including in primary and secondary schools.  Predictably, it has not been a very smooth transition, however, and questions have been raised over various aspects of it:  What challenges does it pose for a schooling system that has made rare use of technology as an enabler? What are the ways in which classes are being conducted and how effective are they? Should private schools charge fees for lessons delivered online? How are schools bridging the digital divide that separates the privileged…

The draft Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) turns the original 2006 EIA notification on its head. While the earlier notification had made environment impact assessment a precondition for any project to get started, the new draft allows industries to get started on their projects in violation of EIA norms and then seek clearance. And Pune’s green activists are adding their voice to the countrywide criticism of the new draft. Pune’s fight is against the Bal Bharati-Paud Phata link road that cuts through the Law College hill. The justification given by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is that this 2.1 km link…

Commodification of labour largely ignores the social and domestic life of labourers, treating them as mere cogs in the machine. This oft-repeated saying never came across as starkly as during the country-wide lockdown that was imposed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. While economic activity and its prime drivers – workers – are yet to recover from its effects, several States and cities across the nation, owing to the resurgence of the virus, are continuing to reimpose lockdowns for varying periods. Needless to add that for daily wage workers, the nightmare is unending. The lockdown ordeal left Kotresh Hargondnali, a…

On the narrow and traffic-free roads of Kannagi Nagar, five-year-old Kumar (name changed) plays cricket with a group of boys. Most of them are older to him. As they disperse and leave for their respective homes at lunchtime, Kumar stays back, all alone. Sitting on a small bench by the side of the road, the frail boy waits for new company to play with. When asked if he is not going home for lunch, he shrugs, “Pasi ille (I am not hungry).”  The truth, however, is different -- there is no good food at home. Kumar has been skipping lunch…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. In Part 1 of the story, we saw how pollution of the Daya river and lack of a proper sewerage system is affecting Bhubaneswar.  Bhubaneswar’s other problem is drainage. The city used to have 10 natural drainage channels that carried rainwater coming from the uplands in Chandaka forest and other areas around the city. But in the last few decades, most natural drainage channels have been encroached by illegal constructions blocking water flow.  “We have asked the state government to give Rs…

This article is part of our special series Environmental Sustainability & Climate Change in Tier II cities supported by Climate Trends. One of the earliest planned cities in the country, Odisha’s capital even today lacks a comprehensive sewerage system with treatment facilities. As a result, residents of 115 villages living along the lower end of Daya river are afflicted by several diseases, particularly cancer, as they are forced to use its water polluted by effluents and sewage generated by Bhubaneswar’s 11 lakh plus population. Daya river and adjoining plains: A view from Dhaulagiri. Pic: Rinaz Mohammed Umakanta Samantray, the MLA from…

Rahul K was waiting for a friend to pick him up from home that morning. He was heading for a job interview but did not seem to have the proverbial butterflies in his stomach. “I will attend, for whatever it is worth,” he said. The cynicism in his tone was unmissable….and way too much for a 21-year-old, I thought. Dressing up in formals and attending job interviews had become his daily routine ever since BBMP relaxed the nearly three-month-long lockdown, he said, speaking over a mobile phone that he shares with his mother. He has applied for dozens of jobs…

Rini Simon Khanna, whose presence and voice are part of most events of substance in the national capital, recently moderated the  United Nations Global Compact’s “Regional Perspectives on Leadership for a Global Crisis: Asia Pacific”. The same evening, she also moderated the launch of the Global Nutrition Report 2020. With one major difference from the past: the well-known former television anchor moderated both these events online. “Most events are already happening online,” said Rini. “Now, all work will be segregated into that which needs F2F (face to face) attendance or physical presence, and that which can be done through online platforms. These events…

Having spent the first two months of the pandemic and nationwide lockdown in politicking, to first grab and then stay in power, the Shivraj Singh Chauhan-led BJP government has now launched a 15-day state-wide “Kill Corona” programme from July 1st. The programme includes door to door surveys in urban slums and low-income households having high population density and poor municipal management as a majority of positive cases in both cities have been reported from these areas. As per data from the government's smart city portal, Indore has the second highest slum population (30%) in the state, followed by Jabalpur (46%)…

Management of solid waste has been a persistent issue for various cities. Chennai has been grappling to find ways to deal with its burgeoning quantum of waste and has tried out several experiments centered around decentralisation, starting from the early 2000s. While the city’s progress on this front has been patchy, some signs of promise had begun to sprout just before the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Prior to lockdown Chennai made crucial strides towards decentralised waste management with a pilot project  in Anna Nagar, that saw a significant reduction in waste sent to the landfills. The Zero Waste initiative…