BEST must be praised. And helped.

Mumbai’s public transport service BEST slashed its fares by more than half last month. Within a month, 10 lakh new riders are using the service every day, a rise of 60%. However, increased ridership has taken a toll on BEST’s revenue. Lest the losses pile-up, it’s important to help BEST meet the shortfall. A win-win would be to make vehicle owners fund it. Because if more commuters leave their personal vehicles back home, traffic congestion would reduce. Leading to lower pollution.

Answer to Mumbai’s traffic woes is AC local

Highest Average Air Quality in Mumbai in 2017 was 186, a 40% increase over previous three years. In 2018, WHO ranked Mumbai as 4th most polluted megacity in the world, up one rank over previous year. WHO goes on to declare that 9 out 10 people in Mumbai breathe unhealthy air. On most days, Mumbai […]

Traffic reduced, but pollution…

The odd-even experiment in Delhi has left the taxi owners very happy. Eligible private cars too have been happy, as both driving time and stress were significantly down. But pollution, the real reason for this cameo, has remained the same. Why Five reasons, mostly obvious. Reserve force. A popular grocery store in Malviya Nagar market […]

About plastic smiles, and bottled water

Last week, when I returned from a short, 2-nights-3-days Pondicherry holiday, it struck me we’d used 11 bottles of water! This, despite not consuming any bottled water in the restaurants we ate. I wondered, aloud: “What happens to the plastic bottle after it’s been trashed into the dustbin?” It gets picked-up, is sorted and […]

Sad, a tree can’t bark

A fully grown tree, once cut, fetches up to Rs.25,000. If all the fully grown trees in the country were to be cut, and sold, we can generate enough money to feed several crore poor households for at least a year. The money generated will also give a major boost to our GDP. A novel […]

Meet another endangered specie: the Footpath

I live in Bangalore. I’d happily leave my car at home and use public transport. The bus service is excellent. There are plenty of air-conditioned buses plying all around the city. Economically priced, comfortable to travel, these buses stop wherever you hail them. The city also celebrates a bus day on 4th of every month […]