City: Delhi / NCR

In the informal settlement of Seemapuri in Delhi, Rihanna sees her mother leave for work early every morning, come back around noon to make and serve food for the family, and then go back to work till 4 pm. “My mother is a waste segregator,” explains Rihanna, and this is her daily routine, come rain, hail or the gruelling sun of a Delhi summer. Many women in Seemapuri are engaged in waste work and have a similar routine.  Settlements such as Seemapuri often lack essentials such as water, electricity, and proper sewerage systems. Inside homes, the kitchen is typically the…

Located in the historic neighbourhood of Mehrauli, is the Hauz-i-Shamsi, a reservoir dating back to 1230 CE. It was built by the third sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, Shamsuddin Iltutmish of what is referred to as the Slave Dynasty. Every year, this ancient water body stands as a silent witness to the 'Phool Walon Ki Sair' festival at the adjoining Jahaz Mahal, which is decorated with fresh flowers to celebrate the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (syncretic Hindu-Muslim culture). For the rest of the year, it brings joy to many people who live around it in homes that stand cheek-by-jowl in the narrow, serpentine lanes of Mehrauli…

As temperatures soar in Delhi, residents are left grappling with the intense summer heat. But does the Heat Action Plan (HAP) 2025, released by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, provide real relief? The government claims that the plan is designed to address emergency response and long-term mitigation, and includes measures such as water coolers, cooling shelters, regular temperature updates and health advisories. The question remains—will these steps be sufficient to protect vulnerable communities from the escalating heat? Here are the key highlights about the plan and what it misses in addressing.    Early warning systems and targeted relief measures   The…

Samina, aged 31, looks out of her rickshaw at the grey Delhi air, worried. She’s pregnant, due in a month or so, and the baby is shifting again. One hand on her stomach, she often protects it from bumps, and the other hand holds the bar. It is during bus rides like this that she wishes she hadn’t forgotten her pollution mask. A long time resident of Delhi, she has read the news, she knows that the air is not safe for the baby. Increased chances of premature labour, low birth weight, the list goes on. Delhi’s air pollution levels…

22,January 2025, New Delhi: Young Leaders for Active Citizenship (YLAC), along with City Sabha, Raahgiri Foundation, and Safetipin, announced the launch of the Delhi Sustainable Mobility Charter, or the Dilli Charter, under the Sustainable Mobility Network — a citizen-driven initiative to reimagine Delhi’s transport system and demand actionable solutions for improving urban mobility, combating air pollution, and fostering inclusivity. Delhi is home to over 33.8 million people—a bustling, historically rich and complex city. Lately, however, this home has increasingly become uninhabitable for many. From suffocating air pollution to rising heatwaves, crumbling transport systems, and unsafe public spaces, the very essence…

Delhi's vibrant colours pale as the city gasps for air each winter. Pollution levels soar, with the AQI often exceeding 500. In 2015, the Delhi High Court dubbed the city a ‘gas chamber’ due to its escalating pollution, demanding urgent action from both State and Central governments. With the air quality dipping each year, Delhi implements various measures to combat this crisis. One is the odd-even rule, which the government tried for a few years with limited success.   This year, in response to rising pollution levels, the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) was enforced, introducing specific rules based on pollution…

The extreme levels of air pollution reported in Delhi over the last week are shocking, but have not really taken anyone by surprise. It has become a yearly ritual in India’s capital. November has seen the average air quality index (AQI) hovering around 500 in the recent weeks, at ‘severe plus’ category, prompting the government to invoke several emergency measures.  While most people consider stubble burning a major cause of air pollution, a CSE analysis has revealed that vehicular pollution is the top contributor among combustion sources to Delhi's deteriorating air quality.  “Explosive motorization, choking congestion and inadequate public transport…

According to a recent World Bank report, India presently accounts for a meagre 1.8% of the global forest cover. Even more concerning is the fact that an enormous ‘46,759 acres of forest-land have been sanctioned for mining’ across the country, over the course of the last five years, by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) itself. According to many ace climate scientists and researchers, our planet has already hit “the tipping point”. In this backdrop, the people’s struggle to save Dwarka Forest, one of the last remaining natural forest lands in a choking capital city, is a…

After centuries of life as nomads, the Banjara have had enough. They now want to settle down, live in proper houses, and send their children to school. And they want doctors, dentists, and technology specialists in the family, not just artisans, cobblers, or make-do handymen. Speak to the nomadic tribal families living on a rented plot of land near the Aravalli International School in Sector 81 of Greater Faridabad, and their aspirations for the future ring out clearly.  The Banjara, one of India’s largest ethnic groups —  with a population between 8.5 crore and 10 crore, and known across the…

Every afternoon in Delhi’s Yamuna Khadar, a daily ritual unfolds as the residents, mainly migrant workers from Bihar working as waste collectors, anxiously wait for the arrival of the Delhi Jal Board's (DJB) water tanker. The tanker stops at the far end of a kutcha road lined with shanties and heaps of garbage.  Usually, children aged 5 to 6 enthusiastically run to announce the arrival of the tanker. Soon after, women arrive, balancing large containers in their arms and around their waists, while men on bicycles hastily make their way to the main road. For the people here, this water…