GENRE: In Focus

More than 830 police personnel have tested positive for COVID-19 in Chennai. An Inspector with Mambalam Police Station succumbed to the virus recently, the first cop to have died with COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu.  From protecting individuals to taking care of guest workers in shelters, ensuring compliance with mandated norms in hospitals and public places and inspecting checkpoints, the police has had to deal with a variety of tasks on a daily basis. Well aware of their vulnerability to the infection, a total of 18,000 cops belonging to Traffic, Law and Order and crime departments have been toiling on the…

Picture this. Your monthly income falls from Rs 15,000 to zero. How does the state government, which is expected to mitigate the crisis leading to this situation, help you? By announcing cash support of Rs 1000, 15 kg of rice, one kg of dal and one kg of edible oil. The help may not be really enough, but it's some relief. But no, wait, this feeling too proves to be fleeting, because the government wants you to be a part of a welfare board to avail the benefits. The board you didn't even know existed.  This is the story of…

As the number of COVID-19 cases are sharply rising in Bengaluru, there's much debate on whether the city should go into another lockdown. When the city entered the first phase of unlock earlier this month, SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) had been issued to commercial establishments and offices, on preventive measures they need to take. Have establishments in Bengaluru been complying with these norms? Is it safe for you to visit them? Restaurants are among the businesses most impacted by lockdown, with low footfall even weeks into the unlocking. Most restaurants have some preventive measures in place, but the extent varies.…

Students from across educational institutions in the country have sent a comprehensive letter to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) condemning the passing of the EIA Notification 2020, which, in its current form, they perceive as destructive for the ecology and the people of India. In an initiative spearheaded by an environmental group of Ashoka University (headed by Anjali Dalmia, 20, from Pune), these youth (aged 17-28) have requested that it be deferred, rewritten as per recommendations by experts, and released once health and survival are not a critical issue. Following is the complete draft of the…

We have almost come to the end of June; in the normal course of events, by mid-June all students would have been back in school, classmates hugging each other and the school curriculum operational in full swing. Not 'this' June, however. Not only do schools continue to be closed, there's no visibility either on what the future holds for students and teachers, given the COVID-19 curve in the country that shows little sign of flattening. Just as everywhere else, schools in the city are apprehensive. It is unlike any situation they've faced before. "I think the education system has never…

World Environment Day on June 5th this year held a different significance altogether for the city of Kolkata. For the city battered by Cyclone Amphan, one of the worst storms to hit Bengal in over three centuries, the usual observances that mark the day, such as planting of trees, were no longer mere token activities but a critical need, an attempt at reversing the incalculable ecological damage it had suffered just days back.  But will Environment Day pledges and other plantation drives that have since been undertaken in the city prove enough? Are they even advisable as they are being…

Summer is usually peak business season for Duraimurugan M T, a juice seller near Kathipara Junction. But as the lockdown forced him to shut shop, the sole breadwinner of the family, with no clue as to how he was going to feed his family of four, slipped into depression. “I could not focus on anything. I was depressed over not being able to provide for my family,” Duraimurugan recollected. What did not strike him then was that the street vendor card he had obtained from the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) before the lockdown would help him sail through. A volunteer…

It is that time of the year again. When it rains, rather pours, in Mumbai ( the Mumbai region has the second highest rainfall in the country after Cheerapunji). And then the blame game begins to divert attention from the flooding of the city, loss of lives and livelihoods, and health issues.  Brihanmumai Municipal Commissioner (BMC) Iqbal Singh Chahal claims that the city is all set to meet the rains with its over 2900-km long storm water drain network -- all desilted and cleaned up, despite the COVID crisis and large-scale labour migration. Chahal announced that BMC has already surpassed…

It is that time of the year again. When it rains, rather pours, in Mumbai ( the Mumbai region has the second highest rainfall in the country after Cheerapunji). And then the blame game begins to divert attention from the flooding of the city, loss of lives and livelihoods, and health issues.  Brihanmumai Municipal Commissioner (BMC) Iqbal Singh Chahal claims that the city is all set to meet the rains with its over 2900-km long storm water drain network -- all desilted and cleaned up, despite the COVID crisis and large-scale labour migration. Chahal announced that BMC has already surpassed…

It’s called Mission Begin Again, Maharashtra’s plans to slowly remove lockdown restrictions and get life back to a new kind of normal. And one directive issued under this Mission, which came into effect from June 3rd, has brought cheer to Pune’s burgeoning cycling community. Phase I of the Mission lists the outdoor physical activities that citizens can engage in, amongst which cycling features prominently. “People are actively encouraged to use cycling as a form of physical exercise as it automatically ensures social distancing,” reads the directive issued by the state’s department of Revenue and Forest, Disaster Management and Relief and…