INFORMATIVE

India has seen the worst of summer this year, with temperatures breaking records in many parts of the country. Among various other impacts, high temperatures have also caused a surge in power demand in cities. This has not only created issues in terms of frequent power outages, but has also increased carbon emissions as the demands are met.  Read more: Scorched cities: Documenting the intense Indian summer of 2024  India’s power consumption increased by over 8% to 127.79 billion units (BU) in February 2024. The highest supply in a day rose to 222 gigawatts (GW) in the same month. The Ministry…

In early January, Dahisar resident Pankati noticed garbage being thrown behind one of the electric junction boxes in Kandarpada, her neighbourhood. It had accumulated over a few weeks. This was not a garbage collection point and it used to be clean before. She decided to raise a civic complaint on that garbage issue using the ‘MyBMC Assist’ WhatsApp Chatbot, which is run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Pankati, a volunteer with the Blue Ribbon Movement, found garbage being dumped behind an electric junction box in Khandarpada. Pic: Aniruddha Gaonkar After waiting for over a month, the garbage was still…

Sneha (name changed) decided to buy a flat in a gated community in Bengaluru this year. She was worried about the availability and sufficiency of water supply. She ticked off her checklist by asking one question to the builder: “How many borewells are there?” But could she have done more to assess water security in her new home? “Beyond that one question on borewells, no one could ask anything more,” she says, adding: “It is hypothetical, whether these borewells would supply the required water. Everyone felt that the use of tankers was inevitable. And that eventually the government would solve…

Out of three parliamentary constituencies in Thane District, Kalyan is a major constituency which comprises six legislative assemblies - Ambernath, Dombivli, Kalyan East, Kalyan Rural, Kalwa-Mumbra and Ulhasnagar. The constituency was created in 2009 after the recommendation of the Delimitation Commission of India. The qualified medical practitioner turned politician Dr Shrikanth Eknath Shinde is the current incumbent MP from the original Shiv Sena. The constituency is an urban area where parts of Ambernath, Dombivli, Kalyan East, Ulhasnagar, Kalwa Mumbra and Kalyan rural are urbanised. Dombivli is the new hub for industrial development as Sketchers developed Asia’s second largest national distribution…

Name: Rajan Vichare Constituency: Thane Rajan Baburao Vichare, 63, has been an intrinsic part of Thane becoming a political stronghold of the Shiv Sena. Vichare rose from the party ranks from being a local unit leader (shakha pramukh) of the Shiv Sena to corporator for four terms in the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) between 1992 and 2014. He also served as the mayor of Thane from 2007 to 2010.  Subsequently, he represented Thane in the legislature and in Parliament. He has been a member of Parliament (MP) from Thane for two terms in 2014 and 2019 and is now fighting…

The Cauvery River is located 100 kilometres away from Bengaluru, 350 metres lower than the city’s elevation. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has to spend approximately Rs. 3 crores per day as electricity charges to pump the water over such long distances. The city’s dependence on Cauvery as its primary water source prompted us to analyse this issue at the recently held 'Bengaluru Water Datajam', held by Opencity.in. Since the extraction of water from the Cauvery is recent (just 50 years ago), how did Bengaluru operate its water needs before the onset of rapid urbanisation? Since, we…

Mumbai goes to the polls on 20th May. With the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections underway, are you wondering which constituency you belong to? Knowing your Parliamentary constituency will help you find the candidates for whom you can cast your vote. Here is a list of the constituencies in Mumbai. Mumbai is divided into two districts: Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban. In both the districts together, there are six constituencies. Each of these parliamentary constituencies is further divided into the following assembly segments. Use this link to look at an enlarged map of your constituency. Mumbai North Mumbai North parliamentary constituency…

Name: Arvind Sawant Constituency: Mumbai South Two-term member of Parliament from Mumbai South constituency, Arvind Sawant, 73, started his political journey as a party worker with the Shiv Sena, when he started participating in agitations such as the Maharashtra- Karnataka border dispute protests.  He got into the trade union movement, when he founded the workers union of the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam limited (MTNL), where he worked.  Subsequently, he quit his job in 1995 to plunge into full-time politics and was nominated twice as member of legislative council ( MLC) from 1996-2010. He also played an active role in the Bharatiya…

Are you a resident of Ramapuram or Alandur, who thinks your ward comes under the Chennai South Parliamentary Constituency? Well, you are wrong! Knowing the boundaries of the Parliamentary constituencies is important because some of the wards that fall in Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) limits belong to the suburban parts of Chennai when it comes to Parliamentary voting, which is entirely different when we consider the profile of the urban and suburban areas. There are 200 wards under 15 Zones in the GCC limit. However, some of the wards in GCC limits fall under the Thiruvallur and Sriperumbudur Parliamentary Constituencies.…

Name: Manoj Kotak Constituency: Mumbai North East Manoj Kotak started working for the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1989. Before being elected as an MP from the Mumbai North East constituency in the 17th Lok Sabha elections (2019), he served as a Municipal Corporator from Mulund from 2007 to 2019. In the 2019 elections, Manoj Kotak got 56.61 percent of the total of 9,09,181 votes cast, getting 5,14,599 votes. He defeated his nearest rival, Sanjay Dina Patil of the NCP by 2,26,486 votes. Kotak was chosen to contest the elections instead of popular leader Kirit Somaiya, who was reportedly gearing…