GENRE: Solutions

"I found it challenging to adhere to the doctors' instructions due to the constant rotation of different doctors during each visit. It led to confusion in managing my hyperactive daughter, who tends to become angry quickly," said Kavita Shinde, a resident of Dahisar in Mumbai. Kavita's 8-year-old daughter Hansika has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and has visited B.Y.L Nair Hospital, Mumbai Central in Mumbai for treatment for the past three years.  Kavita was relieved after she moved to the recently established Early Intervention and Rehabilitation Centre for Children at Byculla. She has been consistently meeting the…

Six months ago, the Tambaram City Municipal Corporation carried out work on East Main Road and West Main Road in  Sri Prashanthi Colony, Madambakkam. In the past ten years, these roads were re-laid three times and each time, their heights increased considerably. The new roads came as a relief for residents only until the onset of the Northeast monsoon in 2023.  As the interior roads including the 2nd, 3rd and 4th cross streets of Sri Prashanthi Colony have not been re-laid, excess water runs down to these roads which now lie at a lower level compared to  the main roads.…

Iblur Junction lies at the T-junction of two major roads, Outer Ring Road (ORR) and Sarjapura Road in the IT corridor of south-east Bengaluru. It is a major road intersection, which serves as the gateway to the IT corridor, and lies in close proximity to many important locations in all directions. However, traffic woes at Iblur Junction are a daily experience. The junction witnesses major traffic congestion, leading bumper-to-bumper traffic.  Caught in the midst of this chaos is the hapless pedestrian, risking life and limb to cross the road and commute daily. Immediate attention from the authorities is required for…

Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) from Chennai and its suburban areas made some pertinent observations and suggestions regarding public transport and commuting in the city during the consultative meeting arranged by the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) late last month to discuss the Comprehensive Mobility Plan. These included — smooth access to railway stations and bus stops through walkways and skywalks; ample parking areas that are accessible to all including persons with disabilities; electronic display boards on buses; last-mile connectivity; EV charging points for commuters and much more.         In my capacity as Secretary of the Alliance of Residents Welfare Associations…

Part 1 of this series traced the journey of raising awareness about waste management and facilitating behavioural change in phase 1 of #TeamLBTC’s (Let's Be The Change) efforts in Mestri Palya. In part 2, we look at the process behind empowering the community members to create products out of waste as well as what more can be done to replicate the same model of waste management in other slums in the city. Waste to wealth initiative Soon after the successful implementation of Phase 1 of the project, we gradually moved into Phase 2. Before the initiation of Phase 2, an…

When a nature group heard that stately banyan trees, many planted before independence, would be chopped to expand a highway out of Hyderabad, its members pleaded with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to modify the route to spare the trees. When that failed, a small group of citizens went to court, where they called out the NHAI’s false claims about the lack of bird and animal life, the inability to modify the route and the number of trees. How they did it is a lesson for other citizen groups nationwide trying to save roadside trees. Asiya Khan remembers…

Hosur Road and Sarjapura Road are two arterial roads, cutting across the important south-east suburbs of Bengaluru. Sarjapura Road has become strategically important over the last few years due to the exponential rise of the IT corridor on Outer Ring Road (ORR), which has propelled development on Sarjapura Road. This development has led to the consequence of traffic bottlenecks. At the crucial junction of these two roads is the junction of Hosur and Sarjapura Road at the St John’s hospital. This area is perennially congested due to the complexity of two adjacent traffic junctions: the Marigowda Road and Koramangala National…

Every season brings its own positives and challenges for Aapli Mumbai. Monsoon is over and we are now grappling with the onset of winter and air pollution. Whatever the season and its challenges, it is important to look at the systemic issues and keep the focus on solutions. Only the collective will and efforts of the people and the administration can make the city more liveable. With that thought, Citizen Matters had organised an Essay Competition - Mumbai Monsoon Masterminds, calling for opinions from residents of Mumbai to share their experiences about monsoons and offer unique solutions. In the following…

In the midst of 2022, the phones of Navi Mumbai Environmental Preservation Society (NMEPS) membersbuzzed incessantly as they received alarming news. A serene plot of land, home to sprawling mangroves, faced a perilous future. The announcement in July 2022 by CIDCO, the local development body, revealed plans to auction a 6.2 acres of land neighbouring a vast expanse of mangroves. However, this was no ordinary piece of land. It was a vital habitat for thousands of flamingos, a cornerstone of the local ecosystem, and a site of paramount ecological importance. NMEPS had previously organised extensive clean-up efforts in collaboration with…

Longtime locals of Bandra west tell stories of a peaceful, sleepy suburb it once was. However, over the last couple of decades, they have seen a real estate boom transform the skyline into towering buildings, where once beautiful cottages stood. The same narrow roads accommodate thrice as many apartment blocks, causing a spike in population density, without any upgrade to the infrastructure. At the end of what used to be called Cemetery Lane, now Khadeshwari Marg, are two cemeteries facing each other. The lane is just off Hill Road, famous for shopping and eateries. Decades ago, this lane ended at…