GENRE: In Focus Citizen Matters

Little hope for clean air in Delhi as crop burning likely to continue

April 13, 2017 News Desk

Denial and lackadaisical attitude in implementing the environment ministry’s Graded Response Action Plan to combat air pollution in Delhi puts citizens at risk, say experts.

How to claim compensation under the Solatium Fund in hit and run cases

March 30, 2017 Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya

Details of the Solatium Scheme of the government and the procedure to claim compensation under it in hit and run cases

A guide to compensation available for accident victims

March 30, 2017 Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya

If Parliament passes the new Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill 2016, the sum of compensation available to hit and run victims could go up significantly. But what are the existing legal schemes for compensation and how does one avail that?

This World Water Day, here’s an SOS call for you!

March 22, 2017 Odette Katrak

With a spiralling demand-supply gap, the water problems of every Indian city are set to assume nightmarish proportions unless immediate action is taken. We must each do our bit on a daily basis and it is so simple if you know how!

As playschools operate at will, is your child’s safety at threat?

March 17, 2017 Akshatha M

Several reported instances of child sexual abuse in preschools across India, often by members of staff, raise concerns about the lack of regulation in the country’s pre-primary education sector. Akshatha M digs deeper.

Professional municipal cadre: Could guilds be the way forward?

March 15, 2017 Anirban Choudhury

When we talk about a cadre of municipal professionals for smart cities and urban local bodies, it would be good for such professionals to be a part of respective trade guilds created by due legislation, says Anirban Choudhury.

Where are the ‘smart city’ planners?

March 14, 2017 Anirban Choudhury

Smart cities need a vision. But perhaps more importantly, they need people who are able to draft that and take it to fruition.

A woman’s first guide to sustainable menstruation

March 7, 2017 Sharmada Shastry

A few very helpful menstrual cup tips for beginners about to give up the ecologically disastrous sanitary pads

Green the Red: Enabling women for a sustainable planet

March 7, 2017 Shyamala Suresh

Organised around International Women’s Day, the Green the Red campaign aims to educate women about alternative menstrual practices that would be better for them as well as the environment.

Bengaluru looks underground in attempt to avoid water Doomsday

February 25, 2017 Patralekha Chatterjee, Citiscope

Innovative Participatory Aquifer Mapping project seeks to educate residents about precious groundwater and also involve them in sharing information about borewells in their communities.

How to lock and update your Aadhaar biometric data (and more!)

February 2, 2017 Akshatha M

In view of the obvious push for Aadhaar by the central and state governments, here is a quick FAQ to resolve your doubts and fears over the data shared with the UIDAI.

How green is my city?

November 17, 2016 Navya P K

Open green spaces in the heart of an urban sprawl provide the much needed lung space for its citizens. Most Indian cities, however, have a long way to go before they catch up with global cities on that count, finds Navya P K.

Can Bengaluru teach other cities to say ‘no’ to bad planning?

November 2, 2016 Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya

The recent large-scale protests against a proposed steel flyover in Bengaluru has been in the news nationally. Could this large scale mobilisation of people in the cause of sustainable urban mobility be a trend-setter?

From Chennai to Pune, citizens wage lonely battles to save wetlands

August 29, 2016 Navya P K

As urban wetlands increasingly fall prey to vested interests, citizen activists organise themselves to save the environment, often ‘despite’ the government rather than because of it.

Parents up in arms against school fee hikes

August 29, 2016 Akshatha M

The hike in fees of private schools by as much as 20 to 30% in some cases has created much discontent across India. But why is private schooling becoming so costly and what do schools have to say?