Ecology - Question of Cities

‘Maharashtra had 1,500 landslides in 2021, so 1,500 lessons but nothing learnt’

The Wayanad landslides bring back memories of last year’s landslide in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, on the Sahyadri range of the Western Ghats that straddle down to Kerala. Almost 30 percent of Maharashtra is landslide-prone. The recurring landslides have put the…

Mithi: More than a rainwater drain for Mumbai but tell that to the authorities

The quiet Mithi River turned hostile on July 26, 2005, flooding the city in the record 944 millimetres rainfall that day. Pinched and bent in places, narrowed by encroachments, treated like a sewage stream, the Mithi became the focus of…

Why Mumbai should look beyond Chitale Committee report

In the aftermath of the July 2005 flood, the fact-finding committee submitted its report within nine months. The Madhav Chitale Committee report was widely hailed on two counts – for showing Mumbai’s grave deficiencies in flood management and suggesting a…

Reimagining Mumbai: From flood-prone to sponge city

Over the years, reckless development has destroyed the city’s ecology, increasing the risk of floods. Mumbai’s lakes, marshes, and salt pans used to absorb monsoon rains and mitigate floods but they have been built upon or covered with concrete. As…

Rain anxiety trumps the ‘spirit of Mumbai’ for millions

For many in Mumbai who lived through or know of the devastating flood on July 26-27, 2005, every monsoon brings back the nightmare. Those living in informal settlements, the homeless, the millions of commuters, show great anxiety about a possible…

Why Mumbai has failed to become flood-ready

The city of dreams is wading through a flood of problems. The rain photos are the same every year — people negotiating knee-deep water, traffic jams, stationary trains in submerged waters. The rainfall has intensified over the years, increasing the…

Climate disasters are connected to the way our cities are planned

Cities have completely ignored their natural areas. If mapped and made available on a public database, people can be empowered with the knowledge about them and can decide to protect them. Mapping a city’s ecology can radically change the way…

Guwahati’s green cover is declining but is key to its climate resilient future

The rising temperatures in Guwahati underscore the need for trees and green areas to combat climate impacts, but the city does not have dedicated projects to preserve or enhance them. There has been an 87.8 percent reduction in dense and…

Ladakh: The meltdown in the cold desert as people fast for nature

The 21-day fast by engineer, educator and activist Sonam Wangchuk in March drew attention to the fragile ecology of Leh-Ladakh and the rights of local people over nature as development projects made a beeline after Article 370 was read down…

For better cities, map and integrate all open spaces into urban planning

Gardens, promenades, boardwalks, wetlands, salt pans, beaches, promenades, green connectors amid a city’s concrete, are vital open spaces which make it more liveable. The most iconic open spaces combine a multitude of urban functions: ecological, social, public health, public safety,…