GENRE: Solutions

It was August 2016. I chanced upon a Conservancy worker in Rail Nagar near Koyambedu segregating the 'waste' that was dumped into a plastic packet and suddenly found something like human excreta on her bare hands. I was shocked and asked how she got that. She said she had been asked by officers above her to separate the wet waste (mainly kitchen waste) and dry waste and put them into separate bins. I asked her whether the people who dump all their waste in one plastic bag would not segregate the different types of waste themselves if asked to, and…

Have you ever stopped to read an advertisement board nailed onto a tree trunk? Or stared in awe at the pretty strings of lights used to adorn many a tree during the festive season? Now place yourself in the position of the tree and think again! These fixtures or constricting elements on our mature trees actually kill them silently. However, the good news is that even as a concerned citizen, you can save the city's trees, free them from such abuse and give them a new lease of life and respect. Free the Tree Campaigns or FTCs organised by Nizhal, the…

In our article on monetary compensation available to victims of road accidents, we had mentioned the Solatium Fund, constituted under the Solatium Scheme, under Section 163 (1) of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, for the payment of compensation to victims of hit and run motor accidents. This came into force with effect from July 1989. Below is a round-up of its most salient features, and the details of the procedure for claiming compensation under it. How is the Fund administered? Contributions to the Fund are made by the General Insurance Corporation according to an agreed formula and the latter nominates one…

Hoskote. East Bengaluru. March 22, 2016. The case of 22-year-old Kishore Kumar, whose bike was hit by an unidentified vehicle and who was turned away by two private hospitals in the city, was reported by several local media. The first hospital reportedly refused treatment to the victim, as he was unaccompanied by family members or any persons known to him and had been taken to the hospital by a good samaritan. Cut to a year later. On March 17, 2017, The Indian Express reported the case of Sunil Patra who was critically injured when a truck rammed into his motorcycle…

Our first reaction when we see litter on the streets, dump yards along our highway or near our home, street animals eating the bits of rubbish along with the plastic covers:  Uuhgghh….!! Can anything at all be done to end this? Can’t the government do something to clean up? Can we stop rampant garbage burning? Only about 25% of the waste generated in Chennai is treated, the rest is merrily added to the waste dumps, creating pollution and in-turn affecting our health. Can we do something about this? Exploring these questions, some of us at Bhumi NGO decided to start by…

Come summer, newspapers across the country faithfully remind us of the dire state of the depleting water-tables in our cities, touching scarier levels each year. Living in our ivory towers as we do, water tankers shield us from reality. Some believe that the rains will naturally resolve matters. The stark reality is that mismanagement of water-resources, illegal bore-wells, rampant misuse of potable water for construction, disrupted storm-water drains/water channels – all ensure that groundwater recharge is severely impacted. With a spiralling demand-supply gap, the water problems of every Indian city are set to assume nightmarish proportions unless immediate action is…

You are a runner. The customary weekend long run is underway, when suddenly it dawns upon you at the 20th kilometre that you were supposed to get your periods today. Hmmmmmm. May be you are getting it right now, but you are sweating, your nose is running and the body is complaining, so you don’t know for sure if it is the monthly disaster that has commenced (so soon?) or whether these are the aches and pains of a long run. If you have never found yourself in the above scenario, you are likely to be a man. Even if…

I had my periods when I was nine, and used mostly disposable sanitary pads and occasionally, homemade cloth pads. My mom experimented and introduced me to tampons when I was in Grade 9 and the freedom was mindblowing! Can’t thank her enough. I became a responsible waste management volunteer in 2011 and it was a full year before I discovered a menstrual cup! Between Grade 9 and 2011, I travelled to more than 30 countries and even lived in the US for three years. I feel menstrual cups are the best kept secret of all times! The system didn’t expose me…

Remember when it was 'that time of the month' and you dreaded the lumpy sanitary pad which left you constantly stressed about staining your pants? Well, the world has moved on from all thing chunky to all things sleek, pads included, but it's still uncomfortable, causes rashes, leaks and leaves you stressed for the week. The biggest problem of the now long sleek pads, with extra absorbents and what-not, is the volume of garbage they generate. This, in addition to being expensive and uncomfortable. There is no safe way to dispose of these pads and tampons. They clog drain pipes,…

This city of 11 million, formerly known as Bangalore, is home to India’s software giants and its startups, as well as multinationals such as Samsung, Oracle and Amazon. com. The growing tech sector symbolizes urban India’s upward mobility and economic vigor. But an existential threat hovers over all this new prosperity. Bengaluru is running out of water. A drought that has dropped reservoirs to dangerous levels is only part of the problem. The situation is made worse by rampant and unregulated extraction of groundwater, which is depleting underground aquifers. Anyone who can afford to drill a borewell to tap groundwater has done it, particularly in the…