GENRE: Voices

Voting in the largest democracy in the world holds great responsibility. The moment you press a button on the ballot, you become a part of those who choose to take the onus of moving their country forward. This election will be my first as a voter. In a democracy every citizen has a say in the governance of the nation. But 1.44 billion people cannot all be directly a part of the government. So we choose a few people, who will represent us and our interests— expecting them to meet the needs of the many. As a child, my knowledge about…

Varsha Gaikwad, a four-time MLA from the Dharavi assembly constituency, is entering national-level electoral politics as she contests the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Mumbai North Central constituency. She belongs to the Indian National Congress (INC) and has been given a ticket for this constituency from the INDIA bloc alliance. She belongs to an Ambedkarite Buddhist family. She says that her background in teaching has prepared her to address large audiences with ease. Her father Eknath Gaikwad was also a politician from the INC and was a two-time MP, once from the Mumbai North Central constituency and the second time…

On a road as busy as the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), there are many challenges residents and commuters face because of bad road infrastructure — some of these include the increased risk of accidents and traffic hold-ups that come with potholes. On discovering and using the ‘Namma Saalai’ app to fix potholes on the OMR, we, at the Federation of OMR Resident Associations (FOMRRA) decided to bring awareness about the app. We not only posted about it on our X (Twitter) account, @fomrra, but also encouraged and educated several RWAs to use the app and benefit from it. The above stretch, a…

With the onset of summer, Chennai has already started facing water woes. Veeranam Lake, one of the sources of drinking water supply for Chennai has dried up. Meanwhile, the storage level in Cholavaram Lake has come down to 9.99%. As of May 5, the reservoir sources in the city have a storage of 49.42%. Will Chennai face yet another drought like in 2019? This is one fear that residents of the city come face to face with every summer. And this year seems to be no different. To know how the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) is…

With the Lok Sabha elections just around the corner, citizen groups of Mumbai North East Parliamentary constituency in Govandi have been organising awareness camps for voters. These efforts are for those in the area, who feel disconnected from voting, or feel that they do not know enough. They have been organised by groups, which have established themselves in the area through years of social service related activities, including Govandi Citizens Welfare Forum, Govandi New Sangam Welfare Society, Al-Khidmat vyapari Associations and many more. By conducting election awareness programs and voting camps, these organisations aim to increase voter turnout, empower citizens…

In December 2021, the Tamil Nadu government introduced the Nam Kudiyiruppu Nam Poruppu scheme for residents living in low-income, government housing and resettlement sites managed by the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board (TNUHDB). In this scheme, residents form associations to oversee the maintenance of these sites, with the intention of transferring ownership of their living spaces back to them. This move is significant, especially for the resettlement sites, considering the minimal consultation and abrupt evictions relocated families have faced during the process. What the scheme entails The scheme also aims to improve the quality of living in these sites.…

The way the first phase of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections was conducted in Tamil Nadu, especially in Chennai, has laid bare the lacunae in the system. For residents, who were not able to cast their votes despite having valid Voter ID cards, it seemed nothing short of a sham. Every time before the elections, the electoral rolls are updated by Election Commission of India (ECI) officials. Instead of deputing people who are working full-time within the ECI, the work is outsourced to government employees drawn from schools, colleges or other agencies. These ECI staff, who come from distant locations,…

“Just, I mean, I don’t feel like voting. This politics and all. I didn’t even apply, I think I was late,” rattled one of my students when I asked if they had all registered to vote as most of them had turned 18 one or two years ago.  This was pretty much the chorus. They spoke about how it was too late when they tried to register, how it was so difficult (which was promptly rejected by those who had done it), how they were in a different city, how they were not interested in politics and how it was…

Everyone in Mumbai is eager to know who their MP (Member of Parliament) will be in the next few weeks. And so am I. I'm Anmol Tiwari I'm from Natraj Chawl, Kranti Nagar, Kandivali East Mumbai. Kranti Nagar is located on the periphery of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) in Borivali, on the slope of a hill. While in other parts of Mumbai, when one looks out of their window, they see the ocean, highrises, green spaces and more, in Kranti Nagar, I open my windows to see narrow lanes, congested houses, a mix of greenery and garbage.  As…

Part 4: The plague of the ‘asuras’ Lesson learnt: None yet for we don't know from where or rather how so many caterpillars descended on us! In the second part of the series, I described how the Muplis beetles had invaded our home. As if we didn’t have enough on our plates with the beetles turning up every year. For a few seasons we had the added joy of seeing caterpillars contend with the Muplis for the top spot of insects we never wanted to see again. And these are not butterfly caterpillars, which I discussed in the third part…