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Sep 24, 2024 | 
citizenmatters.in | Prachi Pinglay-Plumber |Mari Kanagy
After any major event, more often than not, the next day’s news is about how much waste was collected and cleaned up from the city. For example, after Ganpati Visarjan on September 17th around 550 metric tonnes of waste was collected. Few months before that, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) cleared 11,000 kg of garbage after the victory parade at Marine Drive celebrating India’s T20 world cup win. This is just to illustrate that Mumbai has a major garbage problem.
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Sep 23, 2024 | 
citizenmatters.in | Mari Kanagy |Sandhya Bhat
A new scheme for EVs, called the PM Electric Drive Revolution In Innovative Vehicle Enhancement (PM E-DRIVE), is all set to replace the erstwhile FAME scheme, that had been in effect for nine years till this March. The PM E-DRIVE scheme enjoys a central allocation of Rs 10,900 crore for a period of two years, which will subsidise electric two-wheelers, three wheelers, e-buses, electric trucks and hybrid ambulances.
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Sep 19, 2024 | 
citizenmatters.in | Mari Kanagy |Sandhya Bhat |Shobana Radhakrishnan
Garbage has a locality. On any given street in Bengaluru, certain spots are unofficially designated as waste spaces by the public. These areas, marked by piles of trash bags, walls with peeling plaster, and litter strewn about, reflect a broader issue. With a population of 1.4 crores, according to the World Population Review, waste management issues in Bengaluru are of growing importance. Despite awareness campaigns, the problem of littering has become worse over the years.
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Sep 10, 2024 | 
citizenmatters.in | Shruti Gokarn |Mari Kanagy |Shobana Radhakrishnan
Nilesh Shinde, the organiser of the Mumbaicha Samrat Ganpati at Khetwadi, is confused. Just as many other organisers of Mumbai’s famed Ganeshotsav, he has also been preoccupied with the Bombay High Court’s recent order. The Court, in its order, asked all civic bodies to intimate sarvajanik Ganesh mandals that they have to mandatorily follow the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines of 2020 and shun PoP idols altogether. Yet, not all are aware of the rationale behind this.
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Sep 4, 2024 | 
citizenmatters.in | Mari Kanagy |Shruti Gokarn
Much of the waste we produce need not go straight to the landfill. With proper management, plastic crisp packets are recycled and repurposed, while banana peels and eggshells become soil. Hygiene waste items, such as used menstrual products, however, are destined for the dump or incinerator. This represents a significant environmental challenge. That’s where concerted community efforts can make a big difference.
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Sep 1, 2024 | 
citizenmatters.in | Mari Kanagy |Grace Madigan
Two months before I left for Chennai, I stopped by the Man Who Sold the World, an antique store in my neighbourhood in Seattle. I go to this shop sometimes to look through the old-fashioned stereoscope. You peer through the device at two side-by-side photos, soften your gaze, and these two slightly different perspectives become one three dimensional scene. On that particular day, I set my sights on India. One scene is of a cow in a crowded Delhi alley.
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Aug 30, 2024 | 
citizenmatters.in | Sravasti Datta |Mari Kanagy |Yash Sheth
In May this year, the ‘deepfake’ controversy took a grim turn and hit closer home, when AI-generated morphed photos of a class 9 student from a prominent public school in Bengaluru, was circulated on an Instagram account. The parents lodged a complaint with the cyber crime cell. This incident raised concerns about the growing threat and damaging effects of deepfakes, particularly revenge porn, on young adults.
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Aug 23, 2024 | 
citizenmatters.in | Mari Kanagy |Shruti Gokarn
Trash is mostly an afterthought when it gets taken away seamlessly. Like most residents, I follow the weekly trash routine without much thought. This system contrasts with my recent experiences in Chennai, where household waste segregation is more community-oriented, while civic authorities are largely responsible for collection and disposal of the waste in the city. Compared to Chennai, Seattle has a smaller population, about 762,500.
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Aug 13, 2024 | 
citizenmatters.in | Prachi Pinglay-Plumber |Mari Kanagy
Dharavi has had many distinctions from being Asia’s largest slum to being the subject matter of Indian and international movies such as the Oscar winning Slumdog millionaire and scores of fiction and non-fiction books. But amidst all these, it is the people of Dharavi who make it what it is – a settlement spread over 240 acres with countless micro industries from pottery, snacks to leather and garments and more. For decades, the settlement has housed migrants coming to the city to make a living.
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Aug 12, 2024 | 
citizenmatters.in | Mari Kanagy |Shobana Radhakrishnan
Indian cities face the risk of being among the top global contributors of , mostly untreated municipal solid waste, into aquatic environments. Researchers from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis estimate that in 2020, municipal solid waste from India contributed to 10% of waste leakage to the world’s rivers.
