Infrastructure | Citizen Matters

Closure of Srinagar’s precarious lifeline leaves citizens without essentials

January 23, 2021 Abid Bashir Wani

No vegetables, no mutton, no LPG. Closure till March of the only surface link connecting the valley with rest of India has hit food supply and livelihoods.

Hyderabad pavements tell you why a third of its accident victims are pedestrians

November 19, 2020 Kolla Krishna Madhavi

In most places, hawkers and shops have taken over the footpaths; besides, different departments dig them up for installing electric poles, transmission lines and transformers.

People-centric approach critical for solving India’s housing woes

October 30, 2020 Parul Agarwala, Swati Singh Sambyal and Pooja Varma

PMAY and Clean India Mission have built strong foundations for sustainable, inclusive housing but community engagement is crucial, say experts from UN-Habitat on the occasion of World Cities Day.

Shimla’s old tunnels are crying for attention; planned ones in limbo

October 8, 2020 Ashwani Sharma

Maintenance of its British-era tunnels and creation of new ones could be effective solutions to mobility challenges in the hill town. But clearly, government priorities lie elsewhere.

Six ways to make our cities child-friendly

September 17, 2020 Nikita Luke, Rohit Tak, Claudia Adriazola-Steil and Ariadne Samios

The pandemic has highlighted the urgent need for safe outdoor areas for children, many of whom have experienced mental and physical health issues due to restricted socialization and activity.

Delhi electric vehicle policy: Ambitious targets, but is the capital ready?

August 31, 2020 Asha Ramachandran

The policy aims to make 25% of all new vehicles in Delhi electric, by the next four years. But it has no answers to some very critical questions that will determine its success.

Delhi fights monsoon flooding with 44-year-old drainage plan

July 30, 2020 Sri Krishna

With a 1976 drainage master plan and multiple agencies managing them at loggerheads, Delhi shows how not to manage the yearly monsoon mayhem.

Why homeless families living under Kolkata flyover don’t want to go anywhere, come COVID or cyclone!

July 10, 2020 Puja Bhattacharjee/PARI

Living on the streets with all its dangers and risks has made people like Sabita fearless about pandemics and cyclones. Few inclemencies match the storms they have battled for survival.

Urban Affairs ministry cites Chennai-Pune examples to push for pedestrian-only markets

June 11, 2020 News Desk

The advisory issued by MoHUA calls for at least three car-free market places in million plus cities, and at least one in others.

Bus-turned-wifi spot; Parking lots-turned-testing centres: How COVID-hit cities are using transport infrastructure

May 29, 2020 Ruchi Agarwal

Around the world, cities are adapting and reusing transport infrastructure to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. What can we learn from them?

Why Pune Metro promises need to be taken with a pinch of salt

March 6, 2020 Amla Pisharody

The first line of the Pune Metro may finally be ready for launch in 2020. But while it promises to be the country’s ‘greenest’ metro, with end to end connectivity and assured rehabilitation for those displaced, there are still many concerns.

Bhopal’s ‘Intelligent Traffic Management System’ shows few signs of intelligence

March 4, 2020 Shuriah Niazi

The traffic management system, launched under the Bhopal Smart City Mission, is meant to regulate traffic, bring violators to book and address infrastructural and design lapses. Unfortunately, none of these are being done efficiently enough.

Scant hope for ‘housing for all’ within Mumbai city

February 27, 2020 Hepzi Anthony

Lack of public housing for low and middle income families has left them with few options in the city. They are forced to move to the peripheries, which lack physical and social infrastructure. Meanwhile, of 193 affordable housing projects listed, only four, including three slum redevelopment projects, are planned for Mumbai city itself.

Dehra’s Rs 295-crore nerve centre to integrate and coordinate civic service delivery: Smart city chief

January 24, 2020 Rishabh Shrivastava

Smart roads, smart parking, green markets, water ATMs and the most celebrated Doon Integrated Control & Command Centre (DICCC) — hear about the various smart city projects underway in Dehradun from the CEO of the city’s smart city mission.

Kolkata plans its first biomining project at Mollar Bheri landfill on eastern wetland

January 21, 2020 Mou Chakraborty

The Rs 21-crore project will be implemented in 55 acres of land near Mollar Bheri, a shallow fishery located in the East Kolkata Wetlands, that has seen a 12-feet-high mountain of waste build up over the years.