GENRE: In Focus

In 1987, an MTC bus plying on the muddy Pallavaram–Thoraipakkam 200 Feet Radial Road would see passengers reaching out for their handkerchiefs or the corner of their saris to cover their noses. Today, the road has been widened and many educational institutions and IT companies have mushroomed around it. However, the stench along the stretch of the Pallikaranai marshland remains unbearable. In fact, it is worse than in 1987. Destruction of wetlands: The Pallikaranai story The degradation of this freshwater marshland started in 1980 when the Greater Chennai Corporation started using the ecologically-rich wetland to dump solid waste. The marshland…

Can you believe this: A mammoth project such as Namma Metro in Bengaluru has, so far, been built without a broad mobility blueprint for the city in mind? In other words, Phase 1 -- which is already up and running -- and Phase 2 -- which is under construction -- do not integrate either with the existing transportation infrastructure (public bus service, pedestrian infrastructure, cycling infrastructure, cab aggregators and bike taxis) or with developmental plans of other civic agencies (BBMP, BDA, BWSSB etc).  If so, will seamless travel in Bengaluru remain a distant dream? It also begs the question whether…

Translated by Madhusudhan Rao ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನಲ್ಲಿ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ರಸ್ತೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿನ ಕಸದ ರಾಶಿಯನ್ನು ನೋಡಿ ಅಸಹ್ಯಿಸಿಕೊಳ್ಳುವವರೇ. ಬಿಬಿಎಂಪಿ ತ್ಯಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನು ವಿಲೇವಾರಿ ಮಾಡಿದ ನಂತರ ಎಲ್ಲರೂ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿಯ ನಿಟ್ಟುಸಿರು ಬಿಡುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಆದರೆ ಕಸ ಎಲ್ಲಿಗೆ ಹೋಗುತ್ತದೆ? ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಬೆಂಗಳೂರಿನ ಕಸದ ದುಃಸ್ಥಿತಿ ಸರಿಪಡಿಸಲು ಒಂದು ಧಿಡೀರ್ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಸೂಚಿಸಿದೆ - ದಿನಕ್ಕೆ ಒಟ್ಟು 2100 ಟನ್ ತ್ಯಾಜ್ಯವನ್ನು ನಿರ್ವಹಿಸುವ ಸಾಮರ್ಥ್ಯ ಹೊಂದಿರುವ ಐದು ಕಸದಿಂದ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್ ತಯಾರಿಸುವ (“ವೇಸ್ಟ್-ಟು-ಎನರ್ಜಿ” ಅಥವಾ ಡಬ್ಲ್ಯೂಟಿಈ / WtE) ಘಟಕಗಳು. ಅನೇಕರು ಅಂದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬಹುದು - ವಾಹ್, ಕಸದಿಂದ ವಿದ್ಯುತ್! ಎಂಥ ಅದ್ಭುತ ಪರಿಕಲ್ಪನೆ! ಒಂದೇ ಏಟಿಗೆ ಎರಡು ಹಕ್ಕಿ ಹೊಡೆದ ಹಾಗೆ! ಆದರೆ ಇದು ಖಂಡಿತ ತಪ್ಪು. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಐದು ಕಾರಣಗಳು ಇಲ್ಲಿವೆ: ಭಾರತದಲ್ಲಿ ಉತ್ಪತ್ತಿಯಾಗುವ ತ್ಯಾಜ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಡಬ್ಲ್ಯುಟಿಈ ಘಟಕಗಳು ಸೂಕ್ತವಲ್ಲ “ಆದ್ರೆ ಸ್ವೀಡನ್, ಸಿಂಗಪುರ್ ಮತ್ತು ಜಪಾನ್ ಗಳಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಡಬ್ಲ್ಯುಟಿಈ ಘಟಕಗಳನ್ನು ವಾಟ್ಸಾಪ್ಪ್ ವಿಡಿಯೋನಲ್ಲಿ ನಾನು ನೋಡಿದೀನಿ - ಈ ದೇಶಗಳಂತೆಯೇ ಆಧುನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಜ್ಞಾನವನ್ನು ನಾವೂ ಏಕೆ…

Mumbai dons the mantle of being the congestion capital of the world. It was accorded this dubious acclaim by TomTom, a global traffic management technology services provider that tracks real-time congestion globally across 80 countries, putting Mumbai way ahead of developed cities like New York, London, Shanghai and 405 other cities. Mumbai's 8.6 lakh cars contribute to a vehicular density of 530 cars/km across its 2000 km of road network, putting it way ahead of even New Delhi (over 28,000 km road network), which has almost thrice the number of cars. Mumbai saw the number of private cars and two-wheelers…

Mumbai dons the mantle of being the congestion capital of the world. It was accorded this dubious acclaim by TomTom, a global traffic management technology services provider that tracks real-time congestion globally across 80 countries, putting Mumbai way ahead of developed cities like New York, London, Shanghai and 405 other cities. Mumbai's 8.6 lakh cars contribute to a vehicular density of 530 cars/km across its 2000 km of road network, putting it way ahead of even New Delhi (over 28,000 km road network), which has almost thrice the number of cars. Mumbai saw the number of private cars and two-wheelers…

With inputs from G S Radhakrishna Within six months of assuming power, Chief Minister Y S Jaganmohan Reddy has undone many things started by his predecessor Chandrababu Naidu. The most contentious being Amaravati, Naidu’s dream capital. The last nail in the Amaravati coffin was hammered by the report of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) on January 3rd. Unmindful of the protests across the state, the Jagan government moved quickly to get the three-capital proposal endorsed by the state assembly, where he enjoys a brute majority. The assembly, on January 20th, passed the bill proposing creation of Amravati, Visakhapatnam and Kurnool…

Shortlisted for the National Smart Cities Mission in 2017, Dehradun, capital of Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, inaugurated its most ambitious smart city project on December 25th, 2019. The Doon Integrated Control & Command Centre (DICCC), built at a cost of Rs. 294.41 crore, will be the nerve centre coordinating all the smart city projects and work towards unification and ease of delivery of civic and urban services. Dr Ashish Kumar Srivastava (IAS), Chief Executive Officer of the smart city mission in the city, is piloting the different smart city projects that include schemes like Smart Water ATMs (Rs 1.98 cr),…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities The Sexual Harassment (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 was passed by Parliament to address gender specific discrimination in the workplace. The law codified the  Supreme Court’s guidelines in the Vishaka v. Union of India case, but has been marred by implementation and compliance challenges. Sexual harassment of women continues in the workplace, remains under-reported and when reported, is not immune from failed dispute resolution processes managed by the employers.. The reasons for the law struggling to deliver redressal to its intended beneficiaries are many.  But what…

Last November, the cybercrime police station (CCPS) in Bengaluru, the only one in the city at the time, had to suspend operations because of an unusual problem. The number of FIRs (First Information Reports) registered in 2019 were on the verge of crossing 10,000. The software used by the police allowed for registration of FIRs with only four-digit serial numbers, and hence the software could not register any more cases.  Due to this, the station had to be shut on November 23, and was reopened only on December 10 after the software was upgraded to allow entry of five-digit FIR…

Translated by Vadivu Mahendran குழந்தைகள் பாலியல் துன்புறுத்தல் பாதுகாப்பு  சட்ட (திருத்தம்) 2019 இன் படி அதில் மிக முக்கிய அம்சங்களானக சேர்க்கப்பட்ட குழந்தைகள் ஆபாசக் காணொளி தடுப்பு மற்றும் பாலியல் குற்றவாளிகளுக்கு மரணதண்டனை போன்றவை பலராலும் வரவேற்கப்பட்டது. முக்கியமாக வழக்குகளை விரைந்து முடிப்பதன் மீதான உத்தரவே பெரிதும் ஆமோதிக்கப்பட்டது. இதனை நடைமுறைப்படுத்த சட்ட அமைச்சகம், நாடு முழுவதும் இருக்கும் குழந்தைகள் மற்றும் பெண்களுக்கெதிரான 1.66 லட்ச குற்ற வழக்குகளை விரைந்து முடிப்பதற்காக 1023 சிறப்பு விரைவு நீதிமன்றங்களை நிறுவுவதைப் பரிந்துரைத்தது. உண்மையில் போக்ஸோ சட்டமானது சம்பவம் நிகழ்ந்த ஒரு வருடத்திற்குள் சட்டரீதியான நடைமுறைகள் எல்லாம் முடிந்திருக்க வேண்டியதை அவசியமாகக் கொண்டுள்ளது. எப்படியாயினும், பெரும்பாலும் இந்த விவகாரங்கள் எல்லாம் ஏட்டளவிலேயே உள்ளது. சென்னையில் மட்டும் நூற்றுக்கணக்கான போக்ஸோ வழக்குகள் வெவ்வேறு நீதிமன்றங்களில் உள்கட்டமைப்பு மற்றும் செயல்முறைக் குறைபாட்டால் அதிகளவில் தேங்கியுள்ளது. உதாரணமாக, சென்னையில் ஹாசினி வழக்கில் செங்கல்பட்டு நீதிமன்றத்தால் ஒரு…