Civic

'Gandhi and Cities' was the paradoxical title of a webinar organised by the INHAF Habitat Forum on October 1st. I say paradoxixal because it discussed deeply modern, urban worries and concerns, with reference to a freedom fighter who primarily explored rural landscapes and opposed capitalism and industrialisation. Yet, most of Gandhi's life was lived in urbanscapes. He had a "tender love" for London, said Dr Tridip Suhrud, Provost of CEPT (Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology) University, in his introductory speech. But how is Gandhi relevant to our cities today? Ela Bhatt. Pic: Wikimedia Commons According to the first speaker,…

A survey conducted by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palik in November last year said there were 4,246 homeless people in the city. As many as 3,380 of them are males, 857 females and nine sexual minorities. They live in and around the city railway station, bus station, footpaths and empty plots. Civil society organisations had proposed then that the BBMP set up 77 shelters for the homeless, including separate ones for women. While these are the official figures, the number of shelterless is clearly far higher. The current availability of working shelters, 10 by official claim, is nowhere near the…

Farmers protest, call for bandh on Sept 28 Hundreds of farmers blocked major highways and state highways in and around Bengaluru on Friday morning to protest the amendment to Land Revenue Act and the APMC Act passed in Parliament. The protest and blocking of roads was called by Ryot, Dalit, Labourers Aikya Horata Samithi - a collective of 35 farmers' groups, Dalit and trade unions. It affected the movement of regular traffic at Nayandahalli and Goragunte Palya junction. Police personnel were deployed at many places to prevent complete blockade of key routes. Hundreds of farmers courted arrest and were taken…

COVID-19: New rules for containing zones; 50,029 fever camps conducted so far On September 24th, Chennai recorded 1089 fresh COVID cases. The day also saw 1005 recoveries and 15 deaths. In a fresh development, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has removed all containment zones in its limits. According to the updated regulations, a street will be declared as a containment zone if there are three index cases reported and if the contacts are untraceable. An index case is defined as the first case in a family or other defined group to have come to the attention of the investigator. The…

As an active citizen who has been filing complaints on the state of various civic infrastructure in the city, I find the prolonged inaction on some of the problems raised deeply concerning. I would like to detail three such instances where the apathy of the authorities and the public has come to the fore. Patchwork roads Thiruvengadam Lane in Ward 70 was resurfaced with concrete for the second time in the year 2016. I had filed a petition with the Greater Chennai City Corporation in January 2018 seeking their help in repairing the damage caused to the surface of the streets.…

 “The bulk of our business is being conducted through WhatsApp as we can only allow a limited number of people in the store,” says Ankit Katariya, a wholesale saree dealer whose store, Katariya Tradelink, is located in Bhavani Peth, one of Pune’s COVID-19 hotspots. Currently, Pune has the highest number of positive cases and the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has put in place restrictions in the city’s old, congested neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods -- – Bhavani Peth, Budhwar Peth, Ganesh Peth, Raviwar Peth and Gurwar Peth – are also the hub of the city’s wholesale businesses. Each Peth is known for…

Sanctions from the Centre for the ORR-Airport Metro line is expected to take longer. Representational image: Ramnath Bhat (Wikimedia Commons) Vrishabhavathi river turns frothy dark yellow Vrishabhavathi River has changed its colour from black to turquoise blue to dark yellow with froth, over the past month. Things had worsened last week, when the water turned soapy like caustic soda. On Thursday morning, a pungent smell filled the air as the river turned yellow. Namami Vrishabhavathi, a citizens' group, brought the matter to the notice of the State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB). Residents suspect that electroplating and textile-dyeing industries have been…

Translated by Sandhya Raju சென்னையில் செயல்படும் வீட்டு வேலைக்கு ஆட்களை அனுப்பும் ஒரு நிறுவனத்திடம் ₹4500 செலுத்தியுள்ளார் வெட்டுவாங்கனியை சேர்ந்த அஷோக் ராஜ். பணம் செலுத்திய பிறகும், ஆள் வராததால் தொடர்ந்து நிறுவனத்தைஅழைத்தும் பலனில்லாததால், தான் ஏமாற்றப்பட்டுள்ளதை உணர்ந்தார். இதே போல் பல ஏமாற்று வேலையில் இந்நிறுவனம் ஈடுபட்டு வந்ததை அறிந்த அஷோக், தன்னைப் போல் ஏமாற்றப்பட்ட பிறரை தொடர்பு கொண்டார். அனைவரும் ஒன்றிணைந்து, அந்நிறுவனத்தின் மேல் மோசடி / மோசடி குற்றச்சாட்டுகளின் கீழ், ஜே8 நீலாங்கரை காவல் நிலையத்தில் புகார் அளித்தனர். இது ஒரு "கடுமையான குற்றம்" என்று கருத முடியாது என்பதால் புகாரை பதிவு செய்ய அதிகாரிகள் முதலில் தயங்கினர். இதனை தொடர்ந்து அடையாறு துணை காவல் ஆணையரிடம் அஷோக் புகார் அளித்தார். Justdial.com நிறுவனத்தில் பதிவு செய்திருந்த குற்றம் புரிந்த அந்நிறுவனத்தை துணை காவல் ஆணையரின் வழிக்காட்டுதலின் படி, கைது செய்தனர் நீலாங்கரை காவல் துறையினர்.…

COVID: Second serosurvey to be done by September end | 12 doctors from Chennai succumb to COVID | GCC steps up surveillance in 13,000 streets The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) announced that the second serosurvey will be conducted by the end of September. This time, the T-cells of recovered COVID-19 patients will be analysed for academic research. The T-cells and antibodies have a huge role in immune response in patients affected by the virus. GCC Commissioner Prakash expects the seroprevalence in the second survey to be around 40%. The first survey saw a seroprevalence of 20%. According to the bulletin, Chennai…

33% Delhiites develop antibodies as per new sero survey On September 17th, Delhi government shared the results of the third serological survey that was conducted in all the 11 districts of the national capital. Around 17000 samples were collected for the survey. Based on the results, it was found that 33% of Delhiites have developed antibodies for the COVID-19 infection. The government is claiming it to be the highest sero prevalence noted since the outbreak. As per the new guidelines, the administration has aimed to test each person living inside the containment zone within five days of the zone being…