Articles by News Desk

In 2023, Citizen Matters published an in-depth series on the rainfall deficit in the city. Over the last two months this year- due to depleting groundwater levels, weak southwest monsoon rains, and reduced water levels in the Cauvery River basin-the water crisis is at our doorsteps. 223 taluks have been declared drought-hit by the state government. As per estimates, 7,408 villages and 1,115 wards in urban local bodies are at risk of drinking water shortage.  The state government, Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) have stepped in to take stock of the crisis.…

Budget focuses on SWD development under Singara Chennai 2.0 The Greater Chennai Corporation's budget for 2024-25 has allocated ₹1,321 crore for constructing stormwater drains in the Kosasthalaiyar and Kovalam basins as part of the Singara Chennai 2.0 initiative. Mayor of Chennai R Priya presented the budget on Wednesday which focused on various schemes and programmes including road development, infrastructure, education, health and solid waste management. For relaying of roads around the city, ₹390 crore has been allocated under the Nagarpura Salai Mempattu Thittam (NSMT) and Singara Chennai 2.0 schemes. Many initiatives for school children were also announced. These include setting…

Roll on/Roll off services between Vasai and Bhayandar Mumbai's water ways are expanding, albeit slowly. A new RoRo boat service started between Vasai and Bhayander from 20th February. The ferry service which covers 1.89 nautical miles or 3.50 kilometres has been started on a pilot basis. It will take 15 minutes to cover the distance one-way and will accommodate 100 passengers and 33 vehicles in a single journey. The name RoRo comes from the term roll on/roll off which means that vehicles can also be ferried across in the boat. Suvarnadurg Shipping and Marine Services Private Limited will be running…

Water crisis in summer looms The city faces a potential water crisis this summer due to drought. Many areas have irregular supply and low-pressure flow. In Hebbal, Banaswadi and JC Nagar, there has been a decline in water frequency, with the once-in-two-days Cauvery water supply reduced to once every five days. At Munireddy Palya, there are complaints of erratic supply patterns and short supply hours. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) denied it, but residents suspect that the agency is rationing water to preempt a summer crisis. Weak Southwest monsoon rains, reduced levels in the Cauvery basin reservoirs…

Sarjapura Road gridlock continues to haunt Bengalureans for several years now. Over the years, several solutions have been planned, but it has done little to alleviate the issue. The issues More than 15,000 cars (PCU) every hour at the Sarjapur Road-ORR junction 75,000-1 lakhs commuters - more than 50% of office goers take private transport Footpaths non-existent Last mile connectivity - There are no bus routes servicing inner roads. Some roads are too narrow for BMTC buses Metro on Sarjapur Road will take a few years What solution addresses this mess: Road widening, elevated ways and flyovers, more BMTC buses,…

Pink Squad looks into the safety of women travelling in Chennai Metro Rail The Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) conducted a survey last year on the safety of women passengers in metro trains. The majority of the 12,000 women who took part in the survey opined that they felt safe travelling in the metro trains. However, they have concerns over male passengers occupying the seats in women's coaches. In a bid to address this issue and to further improve the safety of women passengers, CMRL has recruited around 25 women, who are trained in martial arts, to patrol on the…

257 water crisis zones in the city The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has identified 257 areas facing potential water scarcity. Poor monsoons have led to a significant drop in the water table, with 1,240 out of 10,995 borewells expected to dry up soon. To meet the shortfall, an extra 1,680 million litres of water per day (MLD) is needed. Hence, the BWSSB is planning to make up for the water shortage with its 60 tankers, 120 private tankers and high awareness programmes. Almost 20% in the city get water from tankers due to increasing scarcity in the state,…

Leopard spotted behind residential complex A leopard was seen behind the boundary wall of Oberoi Splendor, a residential complex near the Aarey forest. A video taken of the leopard shows it walking parallel to a barbed wire fence. Forest officials are keeping an eye on the situation and patrols have been put in place. They have made an appeal to people to inform them in case they spot a leopard. Residents of the complex have been advised to keep away from dark areas, to ensure that children and pets are not allowed outside without the presence of an adult, and to keep…

Bengaluru world's 6th most congested city Bengaluru was ranked the sixth most congested city in the world by the TomTom Traffic Index 2023. TomTom is a Dutch technology firm. This is an improvement from the second rank in 2022, when travel for a 10-km drive took 30 minutes. But in 2023, the time was brought down to 28 minutes for 10 kms, with the congestion level at 63%. The ‘worst day’ last year was on September 27th, when it took 33 minutes to cover 10 kms, mainly on the Outer Ring Road, where a number of private vehicles from tech…

Panel on Ennore gas leak directs CIL to pay compensation The seven-member technical committee constituted by the Tamil Nadu government to look into the ammonia gas leak in Ennore in Chennai has directed the Coromandel International Limited (CIL) to pay a fine of ₹5.92 crore to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). The panel confirmed that the leak that occurred on December 26 and affected many local people, was from an under-sea pipeline belonging to the fertiliser plant. The technical committee also recommended that the existing pipeline should be replaced by a new one that has automatic control and…