GENRE: Voices

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…

“Even God himself cannot do anything within the next one, two, or three years," to solve the traffic problem in Bengaluru, said Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar recently. God can't save Bengaluru because he did not create the problems Bengaluru is facing. These are human-made problems, so humans alone have to solve them. The Deputy CM assured that traffic conditions would improve once projects like tunnel roads and elevated corridors took shape. His plans include tunnel roads costing ₹40,000 crore for just 50 km; Sanchara Yukta at a cost of ₹3,000 crore; elevated corridors at ₹15,000 crore; a double-decker metro and road…

Across the dense urban habitats in the country, the lack of fire safety remains one of the key threats to life and property. Not a week goes by when you do not spot a news item related to a fire incident or tragedy in some city or the other. They may or may not make front page headlines, but their occurrence is remarkably and painfully regular.  For the past 15 years, Beyond Carlton in Bengaluru has been at the forefront of a critical mission — improving fire safety across India. Born out of a tragic accident, the organisation’s purpose is…

In Dehradun’s narrow lanes, mayoral election banners flutter briefly, promising progress, before fading into obscurity. The sound of crackers and victory speeches fills the air, echoing through neighborhoods already too familiar with broken promises. Across Uttarakhand’s urban towns and cities, local body elections were recently held, leaving behind a growing unease—a sense of democracy as a ritual, devoid of impact. Amid this fleeting spectacle, a sentiment stirs quietly but persistently: Why vote when nothing changes? This question reflects more than frustration; it reveals a deeper disconnection between governance and the people it serves. Much like Gregor Samsa in Kafka’s Metamorphosis,…

“I have always been fascinated by trees. This long journey of documenting Bengaluru’s trees was addictive. The more I documented them, the more I wanted to do it,” remarked K Sankara Rao, author of Trees of Bangalore. Rao, a former professor at the Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc.), has a long and varied experience in the field of Plant Biology with profound reverence and love for nature. Published in two volumes, Trees of Bangalore is a one-time documentation depicting the rich ecology of Bengaluru and works as a road map for policymakers to preserve this richness. Read…