Mula-Mutha - Question of Cities

Pune’s growth story reminds us that nature does not send an invoice

As Pune amalgamates larger non-urban areas into the city limits, expanding in all directions, the frenzy of development has also meant fast-depleting natural areas. The frequent floods and harsh summers are alarms that can no longer be ignored. As the…

Why Pune’s riverfront development is a bad idea

The controversial project, spanning 44 kilometres of the Mula, Mutha and Mula-Mutha, aims to construct embankments, walkways, plazas, access roads, gardens and plant trees along the riverbanks. It is more about creating land for construction than cleaning and rejuvenating the…

Pune was peths, rivers, and pleasant summers

All cities change but, for Pune, this has meant the fading out of some favourite spots of old residents -- its natural habitats, animals and birds -- the communities along its rivers, pleasant summers and welcoming monsoons. How could a…

Green movements as guardians of Pune’s nature

Individual efforts and collective actions by Punekars to save Pune’s ecological heritage in the past few years have brought hope to the city. A bevy of green movements, democratic and participatory, have used creative events and legal means to protest…