GENRE: Voices

Concerns about the quality of housing and basic amenities in Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB) tenements have reached a tipping point. Resettled families, relocated due to natural disasters, continue to face persistent issues such as frequent flooding, dilapidated infrastructure, and a lack of essential services. Residents are grappling with the daily challenges of damp walls, crumbling ceilings, non-functional lifts, and poorly lit streets, making them feel fearful and uncertain. The tragic death of a 60-year-old man in an elevator shaft at the KP Park tenement is a stark reminder of the existing safety hazards. Meanwhile, the government continues…

Ever heard of theatre as therapy? When a person recovering from a mental health condition takes the stage, the result can be transformative. Many individuals who have experienced mental health issues often face discrimination and isolation. Art and theatre can help in the healing while challenging this stigma and bridging the gap between awareness and acceptance. Theatre can also be a powerful tool for mental health advocacy, changing public perception and breaking down harmful stereotypes about mental illness.    To this effect, a unique theatre initiative in India is proving that theatre performances can be a catalyst for social change.…

As Odisha’s Jaga Mission progressed, the vision expanded from developing slums into liveable habitats with the active participation of the community, to developing the upgraded slums as empowered units of hyperlocal self-governance. The highlights of participatory slum transformation were discussed in the first part of this series. Taking forward the idea of collaborative problem solving, the Mission now sought to put in place systems to institutionalise decentralised participatory governance in the upgraded slum neighbourhoods. The objective was to transfer the management of neighbourhoods, encompassing the 4 lakh slum households across 115 cities in the state, to the Slum Dwellers Associations…

Solid waste management is perhaps among the most overwhelming problems that Indian cities are grappling with today. But while the complexities around waste management in big cities are discussed widely, the challenges faced by smaller Indian cities and towns are even more complex due to limited scale, inadequate funding and institutional capacity constraints. Tier-1 and some Tier-2 cities have set up infrastructure and allocated resources for waste processing, but in general, small cities struggle to do so. As a result, waste processing in these cities is almost negligible, with only a few exceptions.   Chikkaballapura is a Tier-2 city located about…

Bengaluru, a city known for its vibrant streets and rapid urban growth, struggles with a critical yet overlooked issue: safe and accessible pedestrian infrastructure. Footpaths, meant to provide safe passage for walkers, are often riddled with obstacles, forcing people to step onto busy roads and risk their safety. Arun Pai, the founder of BangaloreWALKS, brought together a group of citizens of Bengaluru to participate in a Footpath Challenge, an initiative aimed at documenting and addressing footpath-related hazards and showing how citizen action can create civic change. We walked 15-kilometres from Singayyanapalya Metro Station to Kadugodi Tree Park, documenting every obstruction…

Whether it is a quick bite of dosa, steaming idlis or spicy chaats, street food plays an integral part in Bengaluru’s urban life and culture with vendors offering diverse meals from their pushcarts and temporary stalls. Street food vending also supports livelihoods and vendors play an important role in providing affordable meals to the city’s working population. However, these stalls may pose challenges related to urban infrastructure, hygiene, waste disposal and environmental management. Regulations that govern urban street vending Recognising the significance of street vendors, the National Policy for Urban Street Vendors advocates for a supportive framework while maintaining urban hygiene and…

What started as a cool activity in the 1970s—a group of college students going on night walks to protect freshly laid turtle eggs—has, half a century later, evolved into a crucial conservation movement. The Students' Sea Turtle Conservation Network (SSTCN) now plays a key role in the conservation of the Olive Ridley turtles along the Chennai coast. Their awareness efforts have been so impactful that these night walks are flooded with people of all ages, particularly children and young adults. From collecting freshly laid eggs and relocating them to hatcheries to releasing hatchlings back into the sea after 45 days, SSTCN volunteers…

The recent hike in Namma Metro fares, announced by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), has evoked strong reactions from commuters. This analysis delves into the policies and decisions of both the Union and State governments over the past 12 years, drawing on documents available in the public domain and information obtained through RTI. An analysis of these documents suggests that all the three concerned authorities, namely the Government of India (GoI), Government of Karnataka (GoK) and BMRCL, must take their share of responsibility for the stiff increase in fares. Some of the decisions indicate that the metro has…

பெருநகர சென்னை மாநகராட்சி, ஒருங்கிணைந்த திடக்கழிவு மேலாண்மை திட்டத்தின் (Integrated Solid Waste Processing Facility (IWPF)) கீழ், 2100 மெட்ரிக் டன் கழிவுகளை எரித்து மின்சாரம் உற்பத்தி செய்யும் எரிவுலையை கொடுங்கையூரில் நிறுவ திட்டமிட்டுள்ளது. இந்த  திட்டத்தின் தளம் - 01 குப்பை எரிவுலை (Waste-to-Energy Facility) திட்டமிடப்பட்டுள்ள இடம், ஈரநிலமாக அறியப்படும் சர்க்கார் நஞ்சை பகுதியில் அமைந்துள்ளது, இது வெள்ள பாதிப்புக்குட்பட்ட ஒரு பகுதியாகும். அதே நேரத்தில், இந்த இடம் ஏல ஆவணங்களில் (Tender Documents) குறைந்த வெள்ள பாதிப்புள்ள பகுதியில் உள்ளதாக தவறாக சித்தரிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளது.  இதனால் இப்பகுதியில் சுற்றுச்சூழல் பாதிப்பு ஏற்பட்டு மழைக்காலங்களில் அதிக வெள்ளம் ஏற்படும் வாய்ப்பை உருவாக்கும்.  இயற்கையான ஈரநிலங்களின் முக்கியத்துவம் பெருநகர சென்னை மாநகராட்சி - ஒருங்கிணைந்த திடக்கழிவு மேலாண்மை திட்டம் மூலம் மண்டலம் 1 முதல் 8 வரை உற்பத்தியாகும் திடக்கழிவுகள் மற்றும் மண்டலம் 9 முதல் 15 வரை பிரிக்கப்பட்ட…

Once known for its pleasant climate, Bengaluru now faces a climate crisis. Rapid urbanisation, vehicular emissions, and construction dust have led to hazardous air pollution, with PM2.5 and PM10 levels endangering health. Rising temperatures, water scarcity, vanishing green cover, and rampant concretisation have intensified the urban heat island (UHI) effect. Erratic rainfall and groundwater depletion further threaten a water emergency, affecting households across the city. The Bengaluru Climate Action and Resilience Plan (BCAP) was introduced in November 2023 to build adaptation and resilience against climate change, but implementation gaps persist. The absence of a dedicated climate budget, lack of transparency…