Civic

Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) today released a list of 28 endorsed candidates from 18 Assembly constituencies for upcoming assembly elections, 2018. "A country like ours has a diverse polity and you need multiple skillsets to tackle the issues that confront us today. It was a tough call and after diligent deliberations the committee concluded that each of these candidates had something to offer the voters, and hence, should be supported in their endeavors to represent Bengaluru" - Kiran Mazumdar Shaw  Since 2013 B.PAC has been endorsing candidates for all three general elections namely Assembly Elections in 2013, Lok Sabha Elections…

Namma Chennai App to the rescue of residents, yet a long way to go Since the launch of the Namma Chennai App in January, Greater Chennai Corporation is witnessing a steady flow of complaints. As many as 3000 complaints have been received so far and officials say they act on the complaints swiftly. Poor street lighting, Pavement encroachments, abandoned cars  are some of the issues that are getting the attention of the officials.  As on May 4, the app had seen 8000  downloads on Google Play store, and it has also been introduced in the iOS store. Source : Times…

Indian cities’ ongoing dilemma: To breathe or not to breathe? With 14 of the 15 most polluted cities in the world in terms of PM 2.5 concentrations, as recorded in the recently-released WHO global air pollution database, India continues to grapple with the huge challenge of cleaning up the air in its cities. With a PM 2.5 of 173 micrograms per cubic metre, Kanpur holds the unenviable top position in the list, followed by Faridabad, Varanasi and Gaya. The Indian capital stood at sixth position. The study considered both PM2.5 and PM10 pollution in the cities over the period 2010-2016.…

Never before in the history of Bengaluru (or even other Indian cities), have we heard of non-partisan groups of citizens reaching out to all their candidates, preparing a bunch of hard questions, and interviewing each candidate on video, and working to share the video with all voters in their constituency so each one of them can make the most informed choice. Mahadevapura’s Million Voter Rising (MVR) team has been working from late 2016 to enroll voters in their constituency. They went to court filing a PIL when they found irregularities in the enrollment process and protested when majority (more than…

Pigs hogging the food waste, a few empty tablet sheets flying around and a muddy road reduced in width to almost half, thanks to the garbage overflowing from three bins -- this was the sight that greeted me at the approach to the Voluntary Health Services (VHS) hospital at Taramani on an evening in the second week of April. The VHS hospital is known for taking health care to the poorer sections of the society, and boasts of various upgraded departments including the neurological department and maternity ward, but on this occasion it certainly  appeared that it had a long way to…

Chennai taps go dry already With major reservoirs supplying water to Chennai holding enough water only for the next four months, several pockets of Chennai are already seeing water cuts ahead of the severe shortfall that will arise this summer. Though December 2015 floods had filled up the lakes and reservoirs and increased the groundwater table, it has not helped much in salvaging the crisis. The north east monsoon which is the main source for the state was deficient by 62 percent last year. With acute heat waves already setting in, experts warn of a severe summer ahead and the…

Since its launch in November 2017, the Kuppai Thiruvizha has been in the news for all the right reasons, evincing phenomenal support from the denizens of different parts of the city, both online and on the ground. While the first thiruvizha was very successful for a flagship effort, we had to rethink the outreach strategy before the next one, to make the initiative more participatory and inclusive and amplify its reach to a wider range of actors. Core members of the alliance, including representatives from CAG, Urban Design Collective, Arappor Iyakkam, Vettiver Collective, etc., convened one fine morning and dissected the different aspects of…

Governor's behaviour at Press Meet sparks controversy Chennai has been witnessing an abundance of action week after week, though not all may have been reason to cheer. While the Cauvery protests and IPL grabbed the limelight a week ago, this week it was the State head, His Excellency Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who stirred up controversy over his allegedly objectionable behaviour. At a press meet that he called for, on an incident involving Madurai professor Nirmaladevi, he ended up inviting the wrath of the journalists for his uncalled for behaviour. “The incident took place when the 78-year-old Governor was about to…

For our readers in English Chennai has over 1350 Anganwadis under the ICDS. Contrary to popular perception, many of these centres are clean, well appointed with teaching aids, toys etc (maybe lacking in infrastructure as compared to private playschools and daycare centres) and well run by dedicated teachers and employees who take a holistic view of the daily needs of a 2/3 year old child. In addition, many anganwadis also serve as centres for spreading awareness about maternal and child health, importance of nutrition during pregnancy and early childhood, vaccination etc ஒருங்கிணைந்த குழந்தைகள் வளாகம் (ICDS) - ஒரு பார்வை பொருளாதாரத்தின் எந்நிலையில்…

Cities relive cash-crunch crisis as ATMs run dry In an unpleasant reminder of the demonetization days, ATMs across Indian cities and towns reported running out of cash, creating panic among the citizenry. Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh appeared to be the worst affected, though reports and social media posts came in from all corners of the country. The government attributed the shortage to a sudden spike in demand over the last three months amid regional elections (or the run up to it) in several states. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the "temporary shortage" in…