Environment

It is almost as tall as the Qutb Minar and growing in height every day, threatening to grow taller than the Taj Mahal. It spews deadly methane gas into the atmosphere and pollutes ground water. It provides a risky and toxic living for ragpickers and is a major health hazard for all those living around it. It claimed two lives when a part of it collapsed in 2017, and poses a continuous fire hazard. And yes, it is causing changes in the climate of the city. This is the Ghazipur landfill in East Delhi, now represented in Parliament by former…

The summer of 2019 was not kind to the residents of Chennai. Heatwaves through the last three months and acute water scarcity has made the lives of residents miserable and desperate for some relief through rains. But why is the summer becoming increasingly brutal with each passing year? Rising annual temperatures have been a concern across the globe, and various studies indicate that Chennai is no exception to this trend. The nature of urban spaces also contributes significantly to this increase in temperature. Construction activity, pollution and loss of green cover all play a role in the hotness of summer, thus…

On July 8 2019, about 500 middle class working professionals skipped work, school and college, ignored delayed train services, and braved heavy rains and jammed roads to turn up at a public hearing at an auditorium in the Bandra-Kurla Complex. Adivasis, students, professors and people from different walks of life had all gathered to raise their voices against the proposed felling of 2702 trees in Mumbai's Aarey Colony, to make way for a car shed of Metro-3. Their demand, the trees in this lush green forest be saved from the axe. Holding placards, shouting, booing and jeering, the attendees questioned…

On July 8 2019, about 500 middle class working professionals skipped work, school and college, ignored delayed train services, and braved heavy rains and jammed roads to turn up at a public hearing at an auditorium in the Bandra-Kurla Complex. Adivasis, students, professors and people from different walks of life had all gathered to raise their voices against the proposed felling of 2702 trees in Mumbai's Aarey Colony, to make way for a car shed of Metro-3. Their demand, the trees in this lush green forest be saved from the axe. Holding placards, shouting, booing and jeering, the attendees questioned…

It's a pleasant dawn in early June; however, 52-year-old Zareena is fidgety and keeps checking the time. It's just 6.30 am. Before long, a teenage boy opens a gate and hordes of people make their way through it to the massive well at Easwari Nagar of Zamin Pallavaram. In a firm voice, Muthu, the caretaker of the well asks people to follow the queue according to their token number. Zareena’s number is sixteen, which means she has to wait for all the fifteen members to get their share of water. The tokens are distributed on lottery basis every Sunday, and…

“We began the tourist season on a happy note, mid-way we crumbled,” says Anup Thakur, President Manali Hoteliers Association. “Highways got choked, the 40-45 km Kullu–Manali road turned into a nightmare, while the administration slept through it all”. Unprecedented summer heat in the northern plains saw tourists flocking to Shimla, British India’s winter capital, in search of a cooler haven. The other popular tourist destination, Kullu-Manali, with its scenic drive to the 13059-feet high Rohtang Pass got crowded too. And while the rush was a boon for hoteliers and the state’s tourism industry, for visitors and locals alike, it proved…

The occasional spells of rains have brought some relief to Chennai. But that should not cloud the fact that the city went without any significant rainfall for about 200 days at a stretch. Rainfall patterns have become erratic in Chennai, with a spike in extreme weather events such as cyclonic storms and heat waves. Even though a large number of people -- in civil society as well as in the government -- are sceptical about attributing it to climate change, scientists do feel that there is a strong connect. Citizen Matters Chennai spoke to Dr V Selvam, former Executive Director…

One morning, nearly a month after Cyclone Fani struck Odisha, Ashok Baral, a citizen of Bhubaneswar, came upon a fallen trunk of a banyan tree near the Stewart School boundary wall. The tree had been uprooted by the cyclonic storm Fani, which hit the city on May 3, 2019. Recalling that particular moment, Ashok says, “Though it was my regular route home from the milk vendor, it seemed as if the helpless trunk of the tree was trying to tell me something on this particular day. I stayed there, looked at the trunk for some time, and wrote a message…

Air pollution is now the leading cause of death in India. It accounts for 1.2 million deaths, more than the number of people killed by malaria, smoking or road accidents. Last year, a study by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) found that Bengaluru topped the list of major polluting cities in India. More recently, measurements of pollution level using hand-held devices show that particulate matter pollution levels in many places in Bengaluru are substantially higher than the levels in Beijing, China and yes, even New Delhi.  More alarmingly, pollution levels in Bengaluru are expected to skyrocket over the next…

‘Azim Premji University (APU) and Penguin Random House India released the book ‘Cities and Canopies: Trees in Indian Cities’ on June 20th, at Alliance Francaise. The book is available in bookstores across India, and on websites such as Amazon and Flipkart. The book is authored by Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli, faculty at APU. Grounded in extensive research, the book offers a fascinating journey on trees in Indian cities, exploring science, history, culture and imaginations around trees. Native and imported, sacred and ordinary, culinary and floral, favourites of kings and commoners over the centuries - trees are the most visible…