GENRE: Voices

Countless promises and mere lipservice display the lack of political will to tackle the mammoth problem of pothole-ridden roads in Bengaluru, even as several reports highlight the spike in fatality caused by them. Citizen Matters on November 18th hosted a Twitter Spaces, titled 'What will it take to make Bengaluru free of potholes?', where several civic leaders voiced their discontent when it came to road management in Bengaluru and offered solutions and avenues for civic action. Vaidya R, who traced the road management by the Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA) which yielded peak road and pothole-free roads, highlighted the…

Learning outcomes in government schools have been greatly impacted by the pandemic. There has also been a record number of enrollments in government schools in the city due to the economic impact of COVID-19. To improve the prospects of students in government schools in Chennai, fluency in English has also been made a key focus, with English classes being piloted across government schools. A tailor-made programme for government school students to gain proficiency in the English language has also been launched by Citizens for Law and Democracy (CLAD). We currently operate in three schools in Chennai, reaching out to nearly…

Across the globe, numerous cities have reaped the benefits of citizen-led urban planning proposals. Such initiatives consider the needs and aspirations of citizens, ensuring the effective use of open spaces and resources. For instance, in 2013, the Metropolitan Government of Seoul designed an urban regeneration policy focused on improving public, open spaces within the city through active citizen engagement, collaboration, and participation. Today, it is the 3rd best city in Asia. In a similar effort to revitalise the Nepean Sea Road in Mumbai, the Nepean Sea Road Citizens’ Forum has put forth a proposal to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to redesign a 2.7-km…

As world leaders gather at Egypt’s Sharm El Sheikh for the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP27), climate finance, backed by India, is high up on the agenda. This refers to a transnational financial reserve that will aid the mitigation and adaptation strategies of the “less endowed and more vulnerable” countries.  While addressing a high-level Ministerial Dialogue on Climate Finance at COP27, India's Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Bhupendra Yadav outlined how there is no understanding of what really comprises climate finance. However, it was set up to address “loss and damage”, a term used to describe the…

Every woman in India has felt unsafe while accessing public spaces. Even though Mumbai is considered relatively safer for women when compared to other metropolitan cities, incidents of sexual violence are not uncommon in the city. To address women's safety in Mumbai, Citizen Matters Mumbai held an hour-long virtual discussion with researchers, legal experts, and activists. The discussion first shed light on the acts of violence that women and other vulnerable genders are subjected to daily and then turned towards the question of how they can be prevented. Speaking about her experience while researching for her book Why Loiter: Women &…

Public libraries, often referred to as the 'people’s university', form an integral part of the social framework. They are not just institutions for borrowing books, but also providers of information, knowledge and education, making them the social nerve of any locality. In Karnataka, public libraries are governed by the Karnataka Public Libraries Act, 1965. The lack of a legislative review over the years has led to problems with the availability and accessibility of public libraries for all sections of society. The global pandemic has given rise to a new set of challenges that libraries are now facing, exhibiting their inability…

Did you know that the launch of textbooks in Hindi on anatomy, biochemistry and physiology for first-year MBBS students, to presumably replace the ones in English that have been used historically, will convert India’s “brain drain” into “brain gain”? How exactly that will happen is not clear. But so said Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a launch function of these books in Bhopal last month. There was plenty of other rhetoric by various speakers at the function. Including invoking Nelson Mandela, who was quoted as having said “If you talk to someone in a language, it reaches their brain.…

In its annual report titled ‘State of Policing and Law and Order in Mumbai, 2022’, PRAJA Foundation revealed that 98% of the total cases in Class II serious offences, including murder, crimes against women and cases under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act are pending for trial. In cases where the trials were completed, 86% ended in an acquittal or discharge. The data was based on findings from applications under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and data published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Read more: Is Mumbai really safe for its women? Data suggests otherwise…

The government recently announced that it will now ease the travel woes of residents by cutting travel time between South Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to 30 minutes. The Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) will soon launch a ferry service from Belapur in Navi Mumbai to Gateway of India. This forced me to do some research on this subject. CIDCO (City and Industrial Development Corporation) recently made two jetties within a distance of hardly 4 km from each other: one in Belapur at a reported cost of approximately Rs 10 crore, and another one in Nerul costing more than Rs 111 crore. Both were…

Most people do not know about an anganwadi worker’s responsibilities, they think this is a voluntary service that can be compensated with an honorarium. I share my story here to tell you about my work, my goals and my experiences as an anganwadi worker. I have been an anganwadi worker since 2002 and I recently completed 20 years in this role. Although my children were 12 and 9 years old respectively when I joined, I faced a lot of trouble managing my household responsibilities, ensuring they are cared for, picked up from school and fed while I went out to…