Series: Sustainable Cities Fellowship

Manasi Dighe (name changed) rises before the sun, changes into a sari, plaits her thinning hair, and sets out. At the crack of dawn, her eyes begin searching the road, hoping to find plastic, metal or glass items which, at ₹20 a kilo, could earn her ₹100 in a day. Manasi covers 20 to 30 kilometres daily, when barely a kilometre from her Bhim Nagar hut in Mankhurd, an eastern suburb of Mumbai, is Asia’s largest dumping ground—the Deonar landfill. Mumbai’s 12.4 million citizens send 9000 metric tonnes of waste to this 134-hectare dumping ground every day. If one corner…

Manasi Dighe (name changed) rises before the sun, changes into a sari, plaits her thinning hair, and sets out. At the crack of dawn, her eyes begin searching the road, hoping to find plastic, metal or glass items which, at ₹20 a kilo, could earn her ₹100 in a day. Manasi covers 20 to 30 kilometres daily, when barely a kilometre from her Bhim Nagar hut in Mankhurd, an eastern suburb of Mumbai, is Asia’s largest dumping ground—the Deonar landfill. Mumbai’s 12.4 million citizens send 9000 metric tonnes of waste to this 134-hectare dumping ground every day. If one corner…

Hop, skip, jump or dance—follow any of these strategies and you may be able to navigate across Bengaluru’s footpaths! The Constitution of India guarantees its citizens the right to move freely throughout the territory of India. However, in cities like ours, enjoying that right seems to require a motor vehicle! As a pedestrian, you may be knocked down as soon as you start your journey. The National Urban Transport Policy, formulated in 2014, calls for “universal accessibility” and transport services for all including children, the aged and disabled. It goes on to say, “Walking is a zero-emission mode of transport…

With general elections in the country underway, all political parties have promised to prioritise public transport. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party promises to launch an “Urban Mobility Mission,” one of whose aims is to “increase the use of public transport.” On similar lines, the Indian National Congress says it will formulate a “policy on urban transport” that emphasises public transport including “metro rail, suburban rail, public bus transport” and non-motorised transport. Yet, despite these stated aims, transport policy and investment remains resolutely oriented towards road building and private vehicles, particularly in Bengaluru, as evidenced by the controversial elevated corridor project…