GENRE: Report

With India's mammoth generation of 26000 tons of plastic waste daily, Indian cities are struggling to manage their plastic waste, with single use plastic (SUP) posing a major challenge. So much so that the Modi government's big decision to ban SUP from October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, was shelved as the market was not ready to take such a toll without proper alternatives to plastic in place. However, the government's recent Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) campaign, which aims at large scale collection and recycling of plastic waste, is being actively pursued by state governments. The campaign involves concepts like plogging, cleanups…

Palampur is a picturesque Himalayan town in Kangra district, in the foothills of the majestic Dhauladhar mountains and the gateway to the popular Kullu-Manali tourist destinations. Surrounded by lush green tea gardens growing the famous Kangra tea, which was first planted in Palampur, the town is also home to CSIR’s Institute of Biosource Technology. Sadly, barring some localities and the town’s peripheral belt, the once pretty lanes of this town are today lined with garbage heaps dumped haphazardly at some spots.  “We need to find answers to fix this problem,” said former Chief Minister Shanta Kumar, who hails from Palampur.…

Tucked away in a corner of the Phase VI Industrial Area, in a building that has clearly seen better days, is the District Industrial Centre (DIC), the nodal office for industry in Ajitgarh city, better known as Mohali. “We have great infrastructure, regular power supply at competitive rates, ample skilled manpower, an international airport, great work environment, and a government sensitive to the needs of the industry,” said DIC general manager Harjinder Singh Pannu, a jovial, friendly individual who goes out of his way to emphasize that Mohali is the best destination for industry in the North. The problem is,…

An exhibition celebrating Climate Diplomacy Week has raised new hope for saving the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW). While conscientious adults have already doing their bit, this time, young residents of the neighbourhood, along with some school students, are getting ready to take up the role of ambassadors and work towards saving the East Kolkata Wetlands. Crisscrossed by creeks and canals, the EKW are the world’s largest fully functional organic sewage management system and were designated a "wetland of international importance" under the Ramsar Convention on 19 August 2002. In the marshy land east of Calcutta, 248 species of birds and…

Urban growth and expansion of cities is increasing the demand for land and water, increasing pressure on resources available not only in urban, but also in peri-urban areas. State policies often use peri-urban spaces and resources to meet the needs of urban populations; for instance, they use grazing lands for urban infrastructure, sewerage and water treatment plants or for special economic zones. Water is another resource that continues to be scarce in urban areas because of the growing population and competing domestic and industrial water needs. Public infrastructure and utility services are unable to keep pace with the growing water…

In a first-of-its-kind development, private city buses in Mangalore have started making a beeline to receive biofuel made out of Used Cooking Oil (UCO) from restaurants. Biofuel researchers here are set to create a unique ecosystem for disposing hazardous UCO while also creating an eco-friendly fuel for transportation fleet. The coastal district has over 100 medium to large scale eateries, and 360 private buses plying the routes. Eight years ago, the Government of Karnataka had mooted the creation of 27 to 30 biofuel research information and demonstration centres in the state. This included a unit in Nitte village, Udupi District,…

In roughly a week from now, the city of Kolkata will be transformed into a spectacular carnival, a moving stream of countless heads, as tens of thousands descend on its roads to celebrate Durga Puja. In the capital Kolkata, this marks a magical celebration of not only the homecoming of Goddess Durga and her four children – Lakshmi, Saraswati, Kartik and Ganesh -- but of art, creativity and life itself.  During the festival spanning five-days, Kolkata is decked up like a bride. ‘Pandals’, which look more like film sets these days, pop up across the city, where devotees will seek…

“In this humid weather, the ride is really comfortable,” said Harivardan Thakkar, a regular commuter on Ahmedabad’s new Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS), about the new electric buses introduced into the system from August 29. “Let us see how many such buses and new routes get operational as promised.” Commuters like Thakkar are understandably cautious with their reactions as a number of promises given when the BRTS was launched in 2009 are yet to be fulfilled. BRTS was introduced with the promise of being a substitute for private vehicles and ensuring last mile connectivity for passengers. Last mile connectivity is…

The intentions were noble, but as usual got derailed by poor implementation. Bhopal’s smart bicycle service, first introduced two years back, is a typical example. The main reasons for the lukewarm public response to it were the initial high rental cost, inadequate number of cycles available and poor choice of location of the cycle rental stations. The government addressed the first issue recently by cutting the one-time registration fee for renting a bike. To encourage students, women and elderly people to rent a bicycle, the earlier one-size-fits-all fee of Rs 500 was cut to Rs 50 for college students and…

With assembly elections due next February, the Arvind Kejriwal government is on a spree doling out freebies to Delhi voters. The freebies range from free electricity, free water and free WiFi to free bus rides for women. They all come with a catch, though. For instance, electricity will be free only for those consuming a maximum of 200 units every month. For those consuming 201 to 400 units, the subsidy was revised to a maximum discount of Rs 800 on the bill. Similarly, with regard to water subsidy, the limit is 20 kilolitres per month, with the consumer having to…