A tale of two cities

I travelled to two different cities in two different states last week—Indore and Guwahati. I came back with images identified by common distinctions: piles of garbage and glitzy new shopping malls. Is this our vision of urban development? There is no question that cities are imploding; growth is happening faster than we ever imagined.

Letter

Play safe with forests

Letter

People the focal point The editorial “Lessons from Kakarapalli” (September 1-15, 2011) is a wake-up call for industries eyeing land and other resources of poor people.

A monsoon warning

As I write this my city Delhi is drowning. It started raining early this morning and within a few hours the city has come to a standstill. The television is showing scenes of traffic snarled up for hours, roads waterlogged and people and vehicles sunk deep in water and muck.

‘Don’t plug this hole’

It has been six years since the July 26 deluge, but the fear of flood during monsoons still lingers among Mumbaikars. Especially among the residents of Mumbai’s western suburbs who have been facing severe waterlogging for the past six years. The city municipal corporation claims to be well prepared this year; it is cleaning all the stormwater drains. Residents of Char-kop in Kandivali West, however, believe restoring a 50-year-old lake can end their worries.

500,000 billion litres

Every year, during monsoon, it is the same story for roads across India. Potholes, potholes and more potholes. It requires a small intervention to not only help reduce costs incurred in repairing a damaged stretch but also increase groundwater levels. Yet, the government has failed to do so.

Our little understood urban dystopia

OUR understanding of Indian cities— their history, geography, sociology, politics— is seriously limited. At the time of its Independence, India was primarily a rural country. The government invested heavily in understanding rural India.

Mumbai geared for monsoon?

Concern over Brihanmumbai Storm Water Drains project

central aid has finally been approved to revamp Mumbai's stormwater drainage system by 2011. But experts are sceptical whether the project is still relevant. The Brihanmumbai Storm Water Drains (brimstowad) project was conceived after the monsoon floods in 1985. A plan with recommendations was prepared by 1993. But the recommendations could not be implemented due to several factors including lack of funds. The project cost has escalated to Rs 1,800 crore since then.

Lessons in dealing with floods

The Comptroller and Auditor General's (cag's) audit report for Maharashtra tabled on April 18, 2007 scrutinised the post-flood disaster relief expenditure in the year 2005 and 2006. It indicated that preparedness for floods was inadequate, relief assistance was extended without proper identification of affected persons, financial management was deficient, and monitoring of relief and rehabilitation activities was unsatisfactory. This audit also went a step beyond just reporting the financial irregularities.