GENRE: LN

Tamil Nadu, the largest manufacturer and consumer of plastic in South India, has announced a welcome move to ban disposable plastic from January 2019. Ripples of the proposed ban can be felt in the state and even in Chennai city, where questions are being raised over the preparedness of people to fall in line and the many ramifications of doing away with plastic altogether. Will people really be able to discard everyday disposables that they are so used to? And how will the shift affect employment and income generation? A self-help group in Walajabad panchayat of Kancheepuram has initiated a…

It has been a week of contrasts for transit in Bengaluru last week. Even as the debate about the proposed elevator corridor heated up, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy announced that a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for the Suburban Rail project would be set up in a month to help speed up the project under K-RIDE (Railway Infrastructure Development Company Karnataka Limited). This move was welcomed as a shot in the arm for the project that has been decades in the making - except for one tiny detail. A Special Purpose Vehicle for Suburban Rail already exists for Bengaluru! In…

Tamil Nadu will be banning single use plastic and other biodegradables from January 2019. Not wishing to impose restrictions on unprepared citizens, the state government has given itself and its people a good six months before the ban kicks in and plans to conduct back-to-back campaigns over this period. From sensitising shopkeepers and consumers about switching to biodegradable bags to campaigning against plastic in schools, the civic body is leaving no stone unturned to ensure successful implementation.   But, how are the people of the city reacting to the prospect of doing away with single-use plastic altogether? Responses have been mixed…

16 traders lose licences for using disposable plastic At a council meeting held in July, BBMP had declared an ultimatum to traders who do not stop using disposable plastic material (cups, plates and spoons). Mayor Sampath Raj had chalked out a week's deadline for the shopkeepers to permanently shift to using eco-friendly materials instead, failing which the licences of establishments would be cancelled. True to their word, the corporation's health department cancelled 16 trading licences of shops in Avenue Road, Bommanahalli and Neelasandra. One and a half tonnes of plastic was recovered through the raids conducted over two days, along with…

Bengaluru has 11,000 acres of designated forest land on record, but the draft master plan released recently doesn’t show even a part of this, said Dipika Bajpai, Indian Forest Service officer, who is a Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) in charge of Bengaluru. She said her department has compiled a list of objections to the master plan to dispute the non-inclusion of forest area. Dipika was talking in a discussion organised by Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy and Citizen Matters, in collaboration with Bangalore International Centre on July 14, 2018. Vidhi Centre and Citizen Matters have joined hands to publish…

Every Chennaiite who has lived through the floods of 2015 has a quiet apprehension about the monsoon. The revelation that the 2015 flooding, which left scores dead and Chennai in shambles, was the result of inaction on the part of officials, has increased the distrust among the public. However, a joint effort by various stakeholders to renew and restore close to a 100 water bodies under the Greater Chennai Corporation has been underway for many months now. The Goals of Restoration Flood mitigation, renewal of water table and rejuvenation of water bodies constitute the aim of the initiative that has seen…

Varthur lake, the second-largest lake in Bengaluru has been an unfortunate victim of unplanned urbanisation and industrialisation. With the growing population and the inflow of commuters to Whitefield and Sarjapur on a daily basis, the infrastructure of the roads circumventing the lake, specifically the Varthur bridge and the Varthur-Gunjur stretch, are unable to handle the congestion. This has pushed local residents to demand the widening of the road. While the BBMP had sanctioned the work on repairing the bridge, work has come to a halt due to protests by surrounding landowners who are afraid of losing their land. The road-widening…

How can cities as drivers and victims of climate change cope with its risks and become custodians of a livable environment? Chennai, having already been directly affected by the effects of climate change, especially needs to find answers to this question. EYES ON THE CANAL, an initiative focused on reimagining one of Chennai´s most important spatial and functional elements, the Buckingham Canal, has now floated an open call for ideas to raise awareness on the issue of climate change in urban areas and especially to propose visionary, but also feasible, solutions to improve the current situation alongside the canal.  How…

The Swacch Bharat ranking released last month has seen Chennai climb to rank 100, up from a lowly 235 the previous year. While there is some reason for cheer there, realities on the ground with regard to sanitation facilities in the city are far from promising. Chennai's lack of public toilets has been an issue that has plagued the city for many years.  With a burgeoning population, the facilities in existing toilets have also been found to be wanting. Couched in this larger issue is the oft neglected problem of absence of adequate public toilets for women in the city…

Kasavanahalli Development Forum(KDF) hosted a meeting of many Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) and forums that represent more than 10,000+ citizens across Bellandur and passed a 'Bellandur Development Resolution 2018' to address the critical infrastructure issues in the ward. In Bellandur, the IT hub/SEZ ORR zone alone contributes to ~12% of IT Services GDP for the country, and 30% of Karnataka’s IT Revenues. In addition, Bellandur is one of the highest contributors of tax to BBMP with no proportional investment coming back in infrastructure. Citizens' right to life is being challenged, with no basic amenities of water, drainage, road infrastructure, public…