CITIZEN JOURNALISM | Citizen Matters

What will it take to nudge people towards public transport post COVID?

August 10, 2020 Abhinav Soman and Himani Jain

As cities gradually unlock, a look at interventions that could effectively quell fears of COVID transmission and revive ridership on buses and other public transport

Strict regulation, active citizens can rein in Pune’s infamous water tankers

August 9, 2020 Harshavardhan Vasanti Mohan

Pune municipal authorities cite lack of infrastructure and geographical constraints to justify the need for tankers. But citizens claim there is a nexus between local politicians, bureaucrats and the tanker lobby.

Delivery apps, social media and innovation: Three mantras for revival of Kochi’s restaurant industry

August 4, 2020 Ann Mary Biju

Eating out had been a dominant trend in Kochi for quite some time. Till COVID-19 struck. How will food joints in the city adapt to a post-pandemic world?

What lies behind the deepening water crisis in Himalayan towns?

July 29, 2020 Krity Shrestha, Sreoshi Singh and Anjal Prakash

A study conducted in the Himalayan towns of Singtam, Kalimpong, Darjeeling, Devprayag and Mussoorie exposes the effect of haphazard urbanisation, poor water management and climate change on water resources.

Clean air plans ready for 102 cities, but no budget

July 24, 2020 Dr. Sarath Guttikunda, Tanushree Ganguly and Kurinji Selvaraj

90% of the cities that have made plans under the National Clean Air Programme have no budgetary support. None, except Delhi, have a legal mandate to implement those either.

Wanted: New thought and regulation for the informal sector in India in a post-COVID world

July 10, 2020 Sachitha Kondath

The pandemic has exposed the gravest challenges facing India’s informal economy. These findings from a research project underline the need for policy implementation and reforms.

Locked down? Here’s how to grow your own food and become self-reliant

July 2, 2020 Himanshu Arteev

Imagine edible gardens on all rooftops in cities, apartments with community gardens, parks turned to edible food forests. That would be resilience, and you could build it too.

Providing information, support and hope: How an association of Pune housing societies came together to fight the pandemic

June 30, 2020 Sanjeev Kumar Patil

An example of a community fighting the COVID-19 crisis — helping migrants, collaborating with authorities and most importantly, providing much needed support and guidance to all residents.

How Gurugram is managing biomedical waste from residential communities in the time of COVID-19

June 26, 2020 Monika Khanna Gulati

Despite the guidelines from CPCB, management of biomedical waste is proving to be tough on the ground at several levels. Some suggestions for Gurugram

Why COVID-19 presents the perfect opportunity to make the lives of our household helpers better

June 18, 2020 Sariya Ali

Drawing upon learnings from her research project involving domestic workers in Delhi, the writer says this is a great time to take the first important step towards formalising their employment.

Banks of another kind: These help Dehradun manage its plastic waste efficiently

June 11, 2020 Anoop Nautiyal

11 plastic banks set up in the city by the Indian Institute of Petroleum and SDC Foundation have collected and sent more than 1800 kg of plastic waste for recycling till date.

Why 288 families in Bhopal were left scrounging for food during the lockdown

June 9, 2020 Porag Shome and Neelansh Sethi

Three slums in and around Bhopal are home to 288 Bel-Pardhi families, one of the 198 ‘denotified’ tribes in India. Here is what they faced during the lockdown.

How Trichy’s daily wager sanitation workers found support during the COVID lockdown

June 3, 2020 S Senthalir

The Tiruchirapalli chapter of an urban sanitation support programme has stepped up to secure the health and livelihoods of sanitation workers and caretakers managing community and public toilets in the city.

Bus-turned-wifi spot; Parking lots-turned-testing centres: How COVID-hit cities are using transport infrastructure

May 29, 2020 Ruchi Agarwal

Around the world, cities are adapting and reusing transport infrastructure to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. What can we learn from them?

Pandemic epiphany: Why unpaid domestic work shouldn’t be the woman’s burden only

May 27, 2020 Viswanathan Sridhar

The pandemic has led many men to recognise the unpaid labour that women undertake to run a household. Here’s a take on why the unequal distribution of work must end.