Civic

With a surge in dog bite incidents across Chennai, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has intensified measures to ensure responsible pet ownership. The civic body has set November 23 as the deadline for all dog owners to get a pet licence, failing which, they will face a fine of ₹5,000 starting November 24. Though mandatory pet licensing began in 2023, very few complied. Now, GCC is enforcing it more strictly, with penalties, to ensure public safety and improve the management of community and domestic dogs. “We have survey data on pet dogs in Chennai from previous years, but no way…

The constant tug of war between legally registered property owners and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), now the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), over stormwater drain (SWD) and lake encroachment clearance is not new to Bengaluru. The city remembers one of the most prominent instances of this face-off that surfaced in August 2016, when the BBMP demolished 10 structures in Shubh Enclave Layout on Haralur Road. City authorities claimed that the layout had encroached on a secondary drain connecting Kasavanahalli and Kaikondarahalli lakes.  In November 2024, BBMP, now restructured as GBA, declared that they had cleared up all SWD encroachments, despite…

For the residents of Tansi Nagar in Velachery, Chennai, the arrival of the rains signals not relief, but a looming threat of flooding that damages their homes, property, and hard-earned possessions. These families are forced to vacate their houses, needing boats, tractors, and other makeshift transport to relocate. This grim reality affects more than 10,000 families living in the Velachery area, including neighbourhoods such as Annai Indira Nagar, Anna Nagar, Balamurugan Nagar, Venus Colony, Sarathi Nagar, Bhuvaneshwari Nagar, VGP Selva Nagar, Seshathripuram, EB Colony, and Balakrishnan Nagar.  Rainwater from this entire locality drains through the canal adjoining the Perungudi Railway…

The neighbourhood of JP Nagar 7th phase in the southern part of Bengaluru is home to three lakes — Sarakki, Puttenahalli, and Chunchaghatta, alongside a sprawl of well-planned high-rise apartments, upscale restaurants, reputed schools, and proximity to the city’s cultural hub. It’s everything a modern urban citizen could ask for. In reality, it’s an area teetering on the edge, willing to ruin itself in a bid to cash in on its opportunity. Convenience at a cost A map showing the RBI Layout Main Road and the surrounding localities. Pic courtesy: Google Maps. Before taking a peek into the area, let’s…

Mumbai recently witnessed unprecedented protests that brought its road and rail services to a standstill, disrupting daily life. Around 60,000 protesters from across Maharashtra converged in the city between August 29 and September 2, demanding Maratha caste reservations under the Other Backward Class (OBC) category. For five days, protestors blocked trains and roads, affecting lives and livelihoods across the metropolis. As the capital and political nerve centre of Maharashtra, Mumbai regularly draws protestors from all corners of the state. This is especially true around Azad Maidan, the city’s designated protest site. Those residing and working in South Mumbai, where the…

As the monsoon continues to wreak havoc in Mumbai, residents of Appa Pada, living along the slopes of the Malad hillocks within the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), are among the worst affected. As soon as the rainy season begins, they find eviction notices pasted on their doors. The Forest Department also erects banners warning residents to vacate the area because of monsoon-related hazards. These notices seem to absolve the government of any responsibility in the event of an accident.   Appa Pada continues to be susceptible to landslides, posing danger to the hillock’s inhabitants. Despite this, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation…

Sponge parks are quickly becoming a prominent element of Chennai’s flood mitigation efforts. Spearheaded by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), the project now boasts 78 sponge parks in the city, under the Sponge City initiative. While these structures are designed to manage surface runoff and prevent urban flooding, a closer examination reveals significant deviations from the holistic, nature-based designs that typically define a sponge park. Unlike the sponge park in Porur (Dr MS Swaminathan Wetland Eco Park), that integrates nature-based design and ecosystem restoration, most GCC-implemented sponge parks function more like glorified rainwater harvesting systems. The critical question remains: Are…

On August 11 2025, the Supreme Court of India directed all authorities in the National Capital Territory — extending to Delhi, Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad — to immediately relocate all stray dogs from all localities in the region. The apex court ordered all street dogs to be shifted to dog shelters, from where they must not be released under any circumstances. Any individual or organisation found to obstruct the work of authorities capturing and moving the dogs shall face legal consequences. The order came from a bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan, hearing a suo moto case…

Amidst the urban sprawl of HSR Layout, Swachagraha Kalika Kendra (SGKK) stands out, looking nothing like a traditional park. At the entrance, a striking archway made of old plastic bottles and scrap materials makes a statement on creative reuse. Stepping further in, visitors to the park are greeted by a thriving community garden, where vegetables are grown organically.  SGKK is not just a park; it is a place for learning and community action, and inspires people in the locality to adopt sustainable waste management practices. The park stands as a microcosm of what the city could become—greener, more conscious, and community-driven.…

Several Marathi poets have captured the beauty of the month of Shravan: the gentle, short spells of silken raindrops, playing hide-and-seek with the sun, and etching rainbows in the sky. After one and a half to two months of dark skies and consistent rainfall in Mumbai, Shravan, when it starts around August, is seen as a time for Mumbaikars to enjoy the rains, as the monsoon wanes in intensity towards the end of the season. At least, that used to be the case.Over the past couple of years, however, rains have started to visit Mumbai at the beginning of June. Then it…