Infrastructure

Sassoon Docks, located in Colaba in South Mumbai, were built in 1875 by Albert Abdullah David Sassoon. Initially a private enterprise, the Docks were later taken over by the Bombay Port Trust (BPT). This docking facility located by the Arabian Sea has been providing employment directly or indirectly to thousands of people. Moreover, it has brought lakhs of rupees worth of foreign exchange into the country and provided fish to the local population as well. Despite the massive economic contribution of the Sassoon Docks, the people working here have no economic security nor an infrastructure which supports their work. Who…

In the previous part of this series, we reported on the demolition of the Jai Bhim Nagar settlements in Powai and delved into the legally dubious history of Hiranandani Gardens where they stood. On October 5th, the Powai police filed an FIR against officials of BMC's S ward, Hiranandani Group (HGP Community Pvt Ltd), and four associates on the recommendation of the Bombay High Court for conducting unauthorised demolitions in Jai Bhim Nagar. The charges against the accused include criminal conspiracy, public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury, and furnishing false information among others.  About 100-150 families…

A tarp-covered shed on a busy sidewalk in Powai lights up every evening with the cacophony of children. The ‘sabki library’ is a makeshift after-school space for the children of Jai Bhim Nagar living on the sidewalk, where they show up diligently to study with volunteers from nearby IIT Bombay.  The library was set up there over three months ago, soon after the Jai Bhim Nagar settlement was demolished, and its residents forcibly evicted. While many residents from the 600-odd homes have shifted elsewhere since then, about 150-200 families still live on the streets surrounding the demolished slum. “We have…

Several infrastructure projects have been launched or inaugurated in Mumbai over the last five years, in the backdrop of huge political upheavals in Maharashtra with unexpected alliances, fractured coalitions, and the overthrow of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) by the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti. Celebrated as an engineering feat, the Mumbai Coastal Road, named Dharmveer Swarajya Rakshak Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Road, was inaugurated by chief minister Eknath Shinde with deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar on 11th March. This is amongst the major infrastructure projects that have been completed in the past five years and being counted as one…

Chennai has approximately 8,331 homeless individuals concentrated in hotspot areas and along major roads across 15 zones. Notably, 69% of this population consists of families who have lived on the streets for generations. Despite this high number, a recent study by the Information and Research Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) reveals that the city doesn't have a single shelter for families. In January 2023, Citizen Matters visited five GCC homeless shelters in Chennai to identify operational gaps. These shelters cater to boys, girls, the elderly, and individuals with mental illnesses. Yet, the funding for their operation and maintenance…

For anyone who has to cross the Iblur Junction on foot — the critical intersection connecting Sarjapur Road and Outer Ring Road, the heart of Bengaluru’s bustling IT corridor, to the rest of the city — the experience is unforgettable. And certainly not for the right reasons. Iblur is currently infamous not just for traffic congestion, but also the risks and challenges it poses for pedestrians frequenting the area. On Saturday, October 5 2024, Oorvani Foundation, as part of its Civic Learning Hub organised a workshop titled “Urban Street Design: Fixing Iblur Junction” in the neighbourhood. Organised in collaboration with WRI…

It's wonderful to come back to Bengaluru. When you land in Terminal 2, you feel you are in one of the world's best airports, one that's aesthetically pleasing, modern, but in line with our cultural ethos. The weather is amazing and I always love the warmth of India when I am back here. However, once you make that road trip from Devanahalli airport to Sarjapur, your back tells you that something is not right. Especially if you do the last leg from Sarjapur road  — Dommasandra to Chambenahalli stretch. Whitefield and Marathahalli are fully built up and techies are now…

Bengaluru has had the Outer Ring Road (ORR) for decades. While it was initially a road around the city, now it is estimated that more people live outside the ORR than inside. Along with the movement of people, traffic has also grown by leaps and bounds and sections of the ORR are in the news regularly for large pile-ups. Outside of the ORR, the NICE road covers a large section of the city from the North-west to the South. There have been talks of other ring-roads to ease the traffic in the city. The premise is that a lot of traffic in…

The atmosphere is lively on a summer Friday evening at the Kathipara Urban Square in Chennai. Despite the oppressive heat and humidity of the coastal city, people find relief in the evening breeze. They are milling about at open café tables, grabbing ice cream, browsing a used book store, or watching their children play on the swings. A toy train circles the plaza, while metro trains and cars speed on the lanes above. This multi-use urban square is situated beneath a busy elevated road junction adjacent to a major metro station. Envisaged as a multi-modal transit hub by the Chennai…

Sujanbai, 46, has been living in Anna Nagar in East Delhi for over six years now, earning her living as a street vendor of seasonal fruits. And yet she laments, "There is no space to live in this Dilli. Not even on the footpath. The police come and shunt you out. This is the only space along the nalla (open drain) where I’m able to put a cot for my family to lie on." This space that Sujanbai refers to is the site of a settlement, perched on the ridge of a nalla or drain in Anna Nagar. This was…