Environment | Citizen Matters

Why young Indians should put ‘equity’ at the forefront of climate activism

October 21, 2019 Anjali Sharma

A climate movement here cannot be built without acknowledging the differentiated responsibility of developed and developing countries in causing climate change. The rhetoric of ‘young vs old’ is not just oversimplification, but simply untrue in the case of India.

Students begin crusade to save East Kolkata Wetlands

October 17, 2019 Mou Chakraborty

Young students from the neighbourhoods of the East Kolkata Wetlands, along with students from city schools, are getting ready to join hands and work towards saving this “wetland of international importance” as designated by the Ramsar Convention in 2002.

Why residents on outskirts of Hyderabad are forced to drink contaminated water

October 16, 2019 Aarti Kelkar Khambete

Groundwater, drawn at rapid rates from peri-urban areas of Hyderabad is now turning into a commodity, controlled and distributed at a premium by a few, to meet the needs of the city. Recent research reveals the alarming consequences of such trends.

Biodiesel from used cooking oil: What’s fuelling five buses in Mangalore

October 12, 2019 Harsha Raj Gatty

In Mangalore, a state government-run research centre has developed the technology to convert used cooking oil to biodiesel. Five private buses here now run on biofuel blend

Miyawaki afforestation catching on in Indian cities, but can it sustain?

October 11, 2019 Nikita Vashisth

Miyawaki forests lower temperature, make soil nutritious, support local wildlife and sequestrate carbon. But how sustainable is this expensive method in Indian cities?

Aarey “forest” has fired-up Mumbai poll scene

October 9, 2019 Kanchan Srivastava

A metro car depot which will wipe out 2,646 trees at Aarey milk colony in Mumbai is an important electoral issue in the upcoming state elections.

Toxic pollution in Sutlej waters puts one crore lives at stake across three states

October 6, 2019 Raj Machhan

Indiscriminate dumping of industrial effluents and untreated municipal waste in the Sutlej river, and various other channels flowing into it, is causing unprecedented incidence of cancer and other health hazards in the three states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

The many warnings that Pune ignored before it went under water this September

October 4, 2019 Himanshu Upadhyaya

Intense September rainfall over a couple of days devastated large parts of Pune, causing loss to life and property and exposing the unpreparedness of the city authorities. Yet, the writing on the wall had been clear for some time and called out by both environmentalists and lay citizens.

Climate Strike comes to India — three things to keep in mind

September 28, 2019 Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya

Over the last one week, thousands of Indian students and youth across India, inspired by the Global Climate Strike organised by ‘Fridays for Future’, came together to demand immediate and appropriate action to mitigate local and global climate risks. What should be the way forward?

As Kolkata begins Durga Puja festivities on Mahalaya, environment gets a raw deal

September 28, 2019 Mou Chakraborty

2500 plus community pujas. Lakhs of revellers. The Durga Puja celebrations in Kolkata are magical, but harsh and unforgiving on the environment. Unfortunately, thoughts and plans on greening the celebrations appear to be at a very immature stage still.

India gets its first public battery swapping station as Ahmedabad launches 18 e-buses

September 26, 2019 Binita Parikh

The e-buses run on RTO circular routes 1 and 2, covering many key residential and business centres. The battery swapping station is at Ranip, on Route 1. Find out what else is on the cards for Ahmedabad’s e-mobility programme.

How the Sabarmati river is affecting the climate of Ahmedabad

September 18, 2019 Amita Bhaduri

A study shows how the open space on the western bank of the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad acts as a heat sink. Water bodies in general have a great impact on land surface temperatures in the city, as is also seen in the case of Chandigarh’s Sukhna Lake.

Cities must know more about desertification and be a part of the solution: Sunita Narain, CSE

September 14, 2019 Kedar Koushik

As the 14th Conference of Parties (COP) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification was held in New Delhi, we spoke to Sunita Narain, Director-General of Centre for Science and Environment, to know what our cities can do to mitigate the looming environmental crisis.

Citizen Matters Impact: Buddha Nullah restoration in Ludhiana gets new life

September 11, 2019 Raj Machhan

It has been a little over three months since Citizen Matters raised the long-pending issue of the clean-up of Buddha Nullah. That coverage has given a boost to attempts by a 50-member umbrella organisation to restore the Sutlej tributary, and the government appears to be listening too.

As Mumbai gets ready to bid adieu to Bappa, the sea braces for more pollution

September 10, 2019 Jahanvi J

An estimated 1.63 lakh idols were bought by households this year, and over 19,000 idols for the public pandals. Most of these are made of thermocol and Plaster-of-Paris (POP), and will be immersed in the sea, along the popular beaches. Why is Mumbai unable to move from POP to clay idols?

Why the Bombay High Court had to don Mumbai tree panel’s hat

September 4, 2019 Hepzi Anthony

Mumbai’s Tree Authority had for long led a quiet existence, issuing permissions without fuss to cut trees to make way for the city’s rapid urbanization. People are now looking up to the courts as a last resort to save the green cover of the city.

Amaravati capital city project: A sad tale of politics, finance and environmental neglect

August 30, 2019 Mayank Aggarwal

After World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank withdrew from the project, all construction in Amaravati has come to a halt. The new YSR Congress government has also announced its intention to probe into complaints of mismanagement in the project.

Catch 22 in Shimla: To save urban forests or stay safe?

August 30, 2019 Ashwani Sharma

Every year, heavy monsoon rains cause the uprooting or instability of many large trees, posing a risk to life and property. Then again, the same pretext is used for rampant illegal tree felling in the town, that has led to loss of 50-55% of its green cover over the last 30 years.

Can individual water metering help Indian cities avoid Doomsday?

August 29, 2019 Apekshita Varshney

Is there any scarce resource that we can enjoy for free or for a fixed sum, irrespective of the amounts we consume or use? If that’s not true for anything, why should it be so for water? As Indian cities stand perilously close to running dry, a look at whether water metering can help the cause of conservation

Yeh dil maange more: Kolkata, New Town love their e-buses, but more needed for impact

August 22, 2019 Gurvinder Singh

40 electric buses planned for 11 routes in Kolkata were pressed into service earlier this year, while the satellite town of New Town has been successfully running 3 e-buses for more than one year. How have they been faring and what’s in the offing?