Civic

Every time I visited the Wazirabad Bundh site to watch a lush linear forest taking shape in the middle of our city, the dirty storm water drain would bother me no end. iamgurgaon – a citizens’ movement focused on improving every aspect of life in the Millennium City – had been working on the bundh for a year and a half and it was clear that the work would remain incomplete if this drain full of debris and plastic was not cleared. The drain was such an eye sore that I decided to seek permission to clean the 200 metres…

India’s largest city, and the eighth largest globally, Mumbai houses more than 1.2 crore people according to Census 2011. The city traffic has a notorious image, with frequent traffic jams being reported routinely in the media. However, the Draft Development Plan for Greater Mumbai 2014-2034 conveys a different story of how the city moves. The plan reveals that more than half of the city uses non-motorised modes of transport such as walking and cycling (51%). 42% of the trips are catered to by public modes of transport, including trains, buses, auto rickshaws etc, while the share of cars, two-wheelers and…

It seemed like a bright sunny day. A working woman in her late thirties, left Powai for Matunga by Uber at 7.30 a.m. The route normally takes 45 minutes. But yesterday it took a little longer than usual, around 75 minutes. The rain gods had by then showcased a trailer of what was going to be an adventurous day. Even then, never had I thought that I would return to the cosy comfort of my home only after more than 24 hours! As a Mumbaikar, you can feel the vibe when rain, or for that matter anything, rises above the…

Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections are just a year away, and it’s time for residents in Bengaluru to register themselves in the electoral rolls. In Mahadevapura Legislative Assembly Constituency that is home to a large number of migrant population in the Information Technology and other sectors, it’s a huge challenge to get people registered in electoral rolls and make them vote in elections. Citizens in Whitefield and surrounding areas in Mahadevapura have come up with an initiative to fix this problem. Million Voter Rising, a campaign by Whitefield Rising, aims at enrolling at least one lakh voters to the electoral rolls…

Every Saturday morning Srinivasan, a retired revenue officer, and Ganesh, also a retired government employee, sit in a tiny room in one of the old buildings in a narrow lane of Bazaar Road in Saidapet. For the entire day, they sit there, receiving grievances and applications from the citizens who throng to the office from Chennai and surrounding areas. This is the office space of Satta Panchayat Iyakkam (SPI), where the SPI has been conducting their Saturday grievance redressal sessions over the last five years. These grievance meetings primarily focus on assisting people in availing government services and to help…

Lalbagh - my beautiful slice of heaven was taken over for the past fifteen days for the flower show. A 250-year-old garden on 240 acres, with one of the most spectacular collections of trees in the world was trashed. Very disheartened to see the crowd fill the place with garbage even though there were dustbins kept all over the place. The heritage rock - a three hundred billion year old rock which is the major attraction of Lalbagh, was filled with plastic covers flying all over the place and soft drink bottles. Shame on us people! A so-called hi-tech city…

In a day's time, India will celebrate yet another Independence Day. The usual chest thumping will happen, followed by posts of jawans' sacrifices, Rehman's Vande Maataram, snippets of the "Tryst with Destiny" speech, and salutes to the tricolour. While I personally don't like this overt display, it is a fact that India will justifiably, proudly and loudly, reaffirm its democratic ideals, and its increasingly prominent place in the comity of nations. It is also a good time to introspect, and instil this same sense of pride that we have of our country, in our states, our cities and villages, and…

India’s urban population has grown by 32% from 2001 to 2011 as compared to an 18% growth in total population of the country. As per Census 2011, 31% of the country’s population (377 million people) live in cities, and contribute to 63% of the country’s GDP. The urban population is projected to grow up to 600 million by 2031. With increasing urban population, the need for providing better infrastructure and services in cities is increasing. The government has introduced several schemes to address different urban issues.  These include the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart Cities Mission, Heritage City Development…

It’s a small audio studio on the fourth floor of Jain University Building on Palace Road, Bengaluru. A group of women sit on the floor in cosy room, circled around a recorder, speaking animatedly, giggling, and also participating in a radio play. One of them narrates how an auto rickshaw person duped her, while others advise her how she should handle it next time. Another woman shares her experience of being cheated by the shop owner who distributes ration in the Public Distribution System in her area, while others explain her her rights and responsibilities, and how she could have…

Citizen Matters presents a contest for all enthusiastic writers of Bengaluru. Write an article on what you’d do if you were the Mayor to make a difference to Bengaluru. In either Kannada or English. What we expect Innovative yet practical ideas for what you’d do as the Mayor of Bengaluru that can make the city better. Your writeup should be based on an understanding of the role of the Mayor and the  authority vested in them. Your arguments should make one think, substantiate them with context and data. Write in a simple and lucid style. One winner in each language…