GENRE: In Focus

Translated by Sandhya Raju காலச் சக்கரம் வேகமாக சூழல, அதிகரித்து வரும் சுற்றுச்சூழல் சீரழிவு காரணமாக நம் நீராதரங்களை பாதுகாக்கும் முயற்சி முன் எப்பொழுதையும் விட மிகவும் தீவிரமாகியுள்ளது. கடந்த வருடங்களில் தண்ணீர் பிரச்சனை சென்னையை வாட்டி வதைக்க, இதை சமாளிக்க பல இடங்களிலிருந்து தண்ணீர் விநியோகிக்கும் நிலை உருவானது. இதே போல் ஒரு சூழல் மீண்டும் உருவாவதை தடுக்க, நீர் நிலைகளை காப்பதே ஆகச் சிறந்த ஒரே வழி. இதற்கு முரண்பாடாக, நம் நகரத்தில் உள்ள ஏரி மற்றும் ஆறுகளை காக்கும் முயற்சியில் அரசு தீவிரம் காட்டுவதாக தெரியவில்லை. கொரட்டூர் ஏரியின் சோகமான கதையே இதற்கு சாட்சியாகும். சென்னையின் மத்திய பகுதியில் அமைந்திருக்கும் இந்த 590 ஏக்கர் பரப்பளவு கொண்ட ஏரி தற்போது மரணப்படுக்கையில் உள்ளது. இதற்கு முக்கிய காரணம்  இரும்பு, பாஸ்பரஸ் மற்றும் துத்தநாகம் உள்ளிட்ட ரசாயனம் கலந்த நீர் மற்றும் சுத்திகரிக்கப்படாத கழிவுநீர் இந்த ஏரிக்குள்…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities From gender discrimination to sexual harassment and violence, the threats faced by women as they go about their lives are daunting. The roots of many of these critical issues lie in the social conditioning that has been in place for generations and it would be futile to try to address concerns over women's safety or issues faced by women in general without involving one of the most critical stakeholders in this entire piece: men.  Non-profit organisations and community groups working in the domain are, therefore, increasingly emphasising…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities The brutal rape and murder of a young veterinarian and the subsequent police encounter deaths of all four accused in the crime brought Hyderabad into the national headlines for all the wrong reasons. Women in Telangana’s capital face the same safety and security problems that affect women all across the country---harassment, assault, violence in public and private places. But the Telangana police have taken some steps to provide speedy assistance to women in trouble. In an interview to Citizen Matters, Swati Lakra, IPS, IGP Law & Order…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities In any criminal act in which a woman is the target, the police is almost always in the best position to offer help, safety and reassurance to the aggrieved, besides investigating the crime and bringing the assailant to book. Clearly, this calls for a certain level of competence and professionalism, and a degree of empathy, patience and sensitivity towards women. Such qualities on the part of law-enforcers would be the criminal justice system’s most significant contribution towards empowering women and upholding their equal status.  Sadly however,…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities With inputs from Raj Machhan, Shuriah Niazi and Sri Krishna In 2012, the Karnataka government set up ten special fast track courts for trying cases of rape and sexual assault under Section 376 of the IPC. In 2015, Karnataka was allotted a whopping amount of Rs 218.72 crore as part of the Government of India's plan to set up 1800 fast track courts (FTC) across the country. The primary intent behind setting up these FTCs was to ensure a speedier sentence and justice for crimes against…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities The Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Amendment) Act, 2019 was hailed by many for the inclusion of certain crucial aspects such as child pornography and death penalty for rape convicts, but predominantly for its focus on speedy trial of cases. To ensure this, the Law Ministry had proposed to set up 1023 Fast Track Special Courts (FTSC) for the speedy trial of 1.66 lakh pending cases of crimes against women and children across the country. In fact, the POCSO Act mandates the completion of…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities Last November, the Karnataka government issued a notification allowing women employees in factories to work night shifts, along with their male counterparts. Until recently, night shift for women was allowed only in the IT and ITeS (IT enabled services) industries. As per the Factories Act, 1948, women were originally allowed to work only till 7 pm. This law was amended in 2007 to extend timings to 10 pm. With the new notification, factories registered under the Act can employ ‘willing women workers' in night shifts - that…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities In December 2012, it felt like the ground under my feet was shaking. An upheaval seemed underway. True to the sensation, the world around me also began to show signs of an epoch-making era ahead of it: one that would call out the lackadaisical approach to violence against women, one that would witness radical changes in the laws and the security sector in ways that would prioritise justice for survivors of violence.  In December 2019, it felt like nothing had changed. Seven years had passed since…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities With inputs from Shuriah Niazi, Sri Krishna, J Jahanvi and Raj Machhan The beginning of the year saw an important step taken towards implementation of the Disha Act passed by the Andhra Pradesh legislature in mid-December. On January 3rd, two women officers were appointed to ensure effective implementation of the new law, which provides for tougher punishment and faster delivery of justice in cases involving crimes against women and children. This was when the country was still in shock over the brutal gang rape and murder…

Huge unsold housing inventory across 35 cities in the country is one of the key reasons for the Great Indian Economic slowdown, according to former chief economic adviser Arvind Subramaniam. In a working paper titled "India's great slowdown- What happened? What's the way out?", Arvind Subramaniam estimates that this vacant real estate inventory has locked up funds worth Rs 13 lakh crores, resulting in huge unpaid loans to banks. "While developers could in principle tempt buyers by reducing prices, they couldn't do that in practice because lower prices would have destroyed the (notional) value of the collateral that they pledged…