GENRE: Report

27-year-old Salma was a  waste picker at the Ghazipur landfill before she came to Gulmeher, a social enterprise established in 2013 that aims to provide an alternative livelihood to women waste pickers in that area. They train these women to create eco-friendly products using discarded flowers, fabric waste and recycled paper. Till date, Gulmeher has already re-used around 15 tons of discarded flowers and more than two tons of fabric waste.  Salma, donning a red dupatta, smiles as she meticulously picks broken flower petals with a brush, pasting it on a diary before her. It has taken her long to…

It is 11:30 in the morning, Aarif (name changed), a vegetable vendor in KR Market, looks ahead, braving the searing summer heat, while waiting for customers. After a long time, a customer finally approaches him and asks for the rate of green chillies. As the day inches towards noon, the footfall in the market starts decreasing. Arif, who primarily sells chillies and ginger, says: “In about 1-2 hours, customers will start decreasing, but we will still sit in hope of getting more customers. We have to do something for survival. No matter how strong the sun is, we have to…

With people from different strata of society living here, Ward 197 is a study in contrasts. East Coast Road (ECR) cuts through the area, moving in a relatively straight line, towards Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry. On the side closer to the sea, large, empty bungalows line canopied streets, waiting for their owners to visit them on the weekend. However, on the other side of ECR, the roads become smaller and muddier, the houses no longer have security guards at their doorsteps, and the dogs are strays, not pedigrees being exercised by a dog-walker. Land closer to the beach is higher in…

Rekha, a farmer in Delhi's Yamuna Pushta, has been sitting in protest for the last 21 months along with other members of her community. Their demand is clear: “The farms that they (the government) have destroyed were our only occupation; the government must either give us employment in its place, or compensation for the loss we have suffered. Since they have also demolished the homes of farmers, we demand a place to live as well," says Rekha firmly. Rekha belongs to a community of farmers spanning three generations or more, comprising nearly a thousand households at Bela Estate, a slum…

This year has seen a scorching and extended summer all across the country. Tamil Nadu has been no different with the state capital, Chennai, recording 40.7 degrees Celsius in the peak of summer. As temperatures soared, the Greater Chennai Corporation issued an advisory, asking people not to step out of their homes between noon and 3 pm, and to cover their heads to protect themselves from the unbearable heat. Representative image: A food delivery worker during the pandemic. Pic: Nicholas Mirguet via Flickr But what if your job requires you to spend several hours out in the sun during peak…

“My grandfather is 88 years old. Like other senior citizens, he used to go for long walks, but now he can’t. Often, he doesn’t tell us how he feels because he doesn’t want to bother us. Going through this experience of wearing the empathy suit, which simulates challenges faced by older people, is very helpful. It's not that we don’t know about the issues, but experiencing them first hand provides a better understanding,” says Amod. He is referring to a wearable empathy suit being developed at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay that communicates the experiences of older citizens…

Imagine you are walking around Kala Ghoda, appreciating the heritage architecture, art galleries, food and fashion hotspots, and now imagine that it's a car-free road. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is considering declaring five streets around Kala Ghoda in Colaba car-free for specific hours on weekends. This proposal has come from the Kala Ghoda Association (KGA), which organises the popular Kala Ghoda Festival annually for the past 24 years.  At present, the Rampart Row Street, now officially known as the K Dubash Street, is closed for vehicular access for the nine days of the Kala Ghoda Festival. The KGA has…

In August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a renewed version of the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), through which migrants could avail of a cooking gas connection with just a self-declaration as proof of address. Through this scheme, christened  Ujjwala 2.0, the beneficiaries could get a gas connection, the first gas cylinder worth over Rs 800 and a stove, for free. It was touted as a thoughtful welfare scheme that helped migrant workers avail themselves of a gas connection without the necessary documentation such as caste certificates and ration cards.  Three years later, this scheme remains an unfulfilled promise,…

(Part 1 of this series summarised the increase in power demand due to soaring temperatures. Part 2 is a round up of power outages across the country and possible solutions to the problem) Cities in the dark across India  High demand for power in the Kalwa circuit of Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Co. Ltd. (Mahatransco), primarily due to the scorching heat, led to overloading and a disruption of electricity supply for up to two hours in April. The regions affected included Naupada, Pachpakhadi, Vikas Complex, Majiwada, Talao Pali, Colorchem, Temghar, Kalwa etc. in Thane as well as Vashi and Mahape…

Loretta Maria Pereira, 66, a committed and enthusiastic voter for decades, had noticed a discrepancy in her voter profile, where she was marked as male. She had applied online for correction, well in time, and was all set to vote in the fifth phase of the Lok Sabha 2024 elections on May 20th. But to her shock, the clarification was not updated in the electoral rolls and the polling officer wouldn’t let her vote.  Loretta spent the next three hours calling people who could help, going online, and going to the Khar election office from her polling booth in Chimbai,…