bengaluru Citizen Matters

Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata attain 95% of clean air targets during lockdown

July 3, 2020 News Desk

The lockdown period helped researchers understand the effects of human-generated emissions; this could tell policy-makers how they may achieve what the NCAP has targetted in the coming four years.

Mitigating the curse of the car in Indian cities

September 2, 2019 Dattatraya T Devare

On one hand, there is a thirst for bigger and more expensive cars. On the other, there is the state’s inability to provide strong enough disincentives and efficient alternatives. Together these are destroying our cities and our communities slowly but steadily. What is the way out?

The gaps in public transport that are pushing people towards private vehicles

August 27, 2019 Dattatraya T Devare

Citizens look for mainly three factors when it comes to public transportation: efficiency, accessibility, and affordability. Sadly, Indian cities have been ignoring all three, leading to an explosion of private vehicles on our streets and all the associated problems.

Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru, our cities treat pedestrians as second class citizens

August 21, 2019 Dattatraya T Devare

In 2018, pedestrians comprised more than 50% fatalities on Mumbai streets; the numbers for Delhi and Bangalore stood at 44% and 40%. Our streets have turned into a battlefield between cars and citizens, and citizens almost always lose.

Why Bengaluru must phase out diesel vehicles on war footing

June 25, 2019 Vimal Simha

One diesel SUV accounts for the emissions of about 25-65 petrol cars! And yet cities, where vehicle emissions are the biggest cause of particulate matter pollution, have not been able to shun them. Can we take the steps needed to mitigate the diesel threat or will citizens and environment continue to pay a heavy price?

As Chennai, Bengaluru grapple with water shortage, time to consider a compact with Cauvery

June 25, 2019 Vishwanath Srikantaiah

Cities can no longer rely on romanticized local water resources, but must place themselves in a river basin and take responsibility for the ecological health of the river as a whole. Take the case of the Cauvery in the context of the water starved southern metros.

What Bengaluru’s scientific waste management can teach the Swachh Bharat mission

May 6, 2019 Jude Weston

While the Government of India has time and again emphasised the importance of cleanliness, Bengaluru has kept up the spirit of swachhata with a number of initiatives. See how an innovative waste collection station, plastic tiles and a compost school are reimagining waste management in the city.

Why addressing pedestrian concerns is key to making Bengaluru liveable

April 22, 2019 Vimal Simha

Not so long ago, residents and visitors alike gushed over the pleasure of walking along the fragrant tree-lined avenues of Bangalore. Today walking in the city is a nightmare. What changed, and what can be done to encourage and protect pedestrians?

Sustainable traffic solutions missing in campaign discourse as Bengaluru eyes one crore vehicles

April 15, 2019 Vimal Simha

As election discourse heats up, many political parties promise to make urban mobility, public transport key areas of focus. But do they walk the talk? What does the proposal for an elevated corridor in Bengaluru say about the search for sustainable mobility solutions?

Forget Kiki and Ice-bucket, take the Minimum Water Challenge instead!

March 22, 2019 Odette Katrak

Here’s a challenge that actually makes a difference. It will make water saving a daily habit among citizens, so that every day is World Water Day and there is never a D-Day scenario because of water scarcity!

Backbreaking education: Centre’s directives on schoolbags fall on deaf ears

January 8, 2019 Revathi Siva Kumar

Heavy schoolbags have serious health effects. Yet, in many cities, children carry almost half their body weight on their backs. The recent central government order to reduce schoolbag weight also looks unlikely to make much difference.

Solar rooftop connections: Why are city homes lagging?

December 19, 2018 Garima Prasher

A recent study conducted in Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Jaipur and Nagpur reveals various challenges that the residential rooftop solar sector is facing in India, posing a risk to its target of achieving 175 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2022. Some key findings here.

‘Walks’ of life…from Delhi to Bengaluru

December 4, 2018 Suchitra Deep

When was the last time you took a relaxed stroll with your family or friends through the neighbourhood, ending with an ice cream or perhaps a cup of coffee? The author, accustomed to the ways of Delhi, brings her love of walking in the open to her new home, Bengaluru.

What will it take for our city bus systems to keep fares low and still curtail losses?

November 13, 2018 Arjun Rajan

Most public bus units in our cities have run into huge losses. Yet, fare increase would make buses unaffordable for the ones who need them the most. Can the state step in and find a way for them to be accessible as well as economically viable?

City Buzz: Faizabad renamed Ayodhya | Diwali impact on air quality | Delhi Signature Bridge opening…and more!

November 12, 2018 News Desk

Did the SC order have any impact on Diwali pollution? Which are the other cities that may see a name change after the renaming of Faizabad to Ayodhya? What’s special about Delhi’s new Signature Bridge? All this and more news from our cities in our weekly recap.