GENRE: Voices

The Supreme Court has put a stay on the pumping of treated wastewater to Kolar tanks from the wastewater treatment plants in the Koramangala and Chalaghatta valley of Bengaluru, comes the news. The stay means that this volume of treated wastewater will flow in the Dakshina Pinakini, mix with volumes of untreated wastewater and reach Kelavarapalle dam near Hosur in Tamil Nadu. These waters will then be used to irrigate 1085 acres of land to be cultivated by Tamil Nadu farmers. Some amount of the water will also be picked up by farmers in Karnataka through pumps for irrigation. A…

Following the complete digitization of the cable TV network, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the regulatory body for broadcasting notified a regulatory framework for broadcasting and cable TV services in March 2017. The framework is applicable to services provided through Direct to Home (DTH) Systems, Cable TV Systems provided through Digital Addressable Systems (DAS), Head-end in the Sky (HITS) and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV). These regulations are aimed at addressing various issues related to the sector. This regulatory framework included the following. Uniform Tariff for DTH & Cable TV Services: The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order.…

Air pollution has been a cause of worry globally. Economic growth of cities has influenced the spatial patterns of emission sources, directly impacting public health. Bengaluru’s rapid development and changing landscape followed by lack of planning has led to several urban concerns, with air pollution being a crucial one. Contributors to air pollution are unique to each city. Vehicular pollution is among those concerns that contributes maximum to air pollution in Bengaluru. Data indicates that 60-70% of the emissions is said to originate from vehicles. This makes the city the only one in India to be most impacted by vehicular…

Sabarimala is on national news now. The age-old tradition of denying women below the age of fifty entry into the famous temple has been broken. Two women have bravely gone where no woman (in that age group) has gone since 1991. Protests have erupted across the state of Kerala, but they seem to be largely politically motivated. So then, which side does the average person take in this seemingly dicey debate? For starters, you might think, like many others, ‘Why did these women choose to target this long-held religious custom? Why not address issues in other social and work related settings?’…

With the Tamil Nadu government's partial ban on single-use plastic in place since January 1st, Citizen Matters spoke to Rajendra Ratnoo, IAS, one of the the three regional coordinators working to make the transition to a plastic-less state smooth and ensure the success of the ban. We asked him some of the questions raised most often by our readers. What happens to the existing single use plastic in possession with the people as on January 1st? The segregated collection of waste by the local body is already underway in many places. People can turn in the single use plastic they…

The new year 2019 promises to be a landmark year for Mahadevpura Parisara Samrakshane Mattu Abhivrudhi Samiti (MAPSAS) in lake rejuvenation and sustenance. The efforts to rejuvenate Kaikondrahalli Lake and Lower Ambalipura - the first lakes MAPSAS got involved with - started a decade ago in 2009. From a motley group of citizens who came together to envision a participatory and progressive way of managing our water resources in the form of lakes, some of us made a Trust called MAPSAS (Mahadevpura Parisara Samrakshane Mattu Abhivrudhi Samiti). We have taken more and more lakes in the neighborhood under our ambit.…

Here we are! The day that many naysayers said would never come. The day the Tamil Nadu government's ban on single use plastic goes into effect. With the Madras High Court rejecting a plea to stay the ban on December 27th, the first step has truly been taken. As Lao Tse famously said "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Our solid waste management crisis is huge. Many issues remain to be acknowledged, leave alone addressed. Source segregation of garbage (mandatory since October 2, 2017), better door to door collection of segregated waste, forcing bulk generators…

Bengaluru has transformed from a city which was known as the “city of gardens” to the “Silicon Valley of India” because of the major IT boom it has witnessed since the 1990s. This transformation has, however, come at a major cost of widespread damage to the city’s vegetation cover, increasing pollution and concretisation of land. A problem that has crippled the city the most is the increasing traffic congestion. While most of the major roads in Bengaluru are plagued by traffic congestion, Hosur road is one of the worst affected. A 9 km-long elevated expressway was constructed on Hosur road…

A recent gazette draft published by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change proposed an ecosensitive zone for villages listed around Bannerghatta National Park in  Bengaluru. "The State Government shall, for the purpose of effective management of the Eco-Sensitive Zone, prepare a Zonal Master Plan within a period of two years from the date of publication of Final Notification in the Official Gazette, in consultation with local people and adhering to the stipulations given in this Notification for approval of Competent Authority in the State Government," said the notification, asking the State to prepare a master plan for eco-sensitive…

Private vehicle growth has choked cities and caused massive loss in productivity. With a growing population, moving to mass transport is the only way to avoid further congestion. But there are inconveniences in choosing public transport. One is the need to make multiple changes which means the transition needs to be smooth. Second, Public Transport never drops you at your doorstep. There is always a last mile which would have to be covered by walk or some other mode. Let’s for a moment assume this last mile segment is solved; as a choice architect, what can the state do to…