-The Indian Express An IIT Delhi report offers important pointers on how to ensure a smooth drainage system in the capital using its natural waterways. This is the time of year when Delhiites suffer floods and often do not know what to do and who to blame, because the multiple government authorities are busy pointing fingers at each other. Monsoon used to be the season when my generation, as children, used to...

-The Indian Express Floods and water-logging show that urban planners have paid scant respect to hydrology Rains have been good this monsoon season so far. But instead of welcoming the bounty, urban India seems to be wallowing in misery. Guwahati is flooded. People in Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Hyderabad are beset with water-logged streets and traffic snarls. Even half an hour of rainfall is enough to make a lot of places go...

-The Indian Express Disaster-conscious planning as part of the urban agenda is helping India better prepare for natural calamities. Chennai 2015, Srinagar 2014, Uttarakhand 2013, Mumbai 2005. These disastrous floods remind us that without proper planning, unusually heavy rains in densely populated areas can brew a deadly cocktail for disaster. The issue is not just India’s alone. In our rapidly urbanising world, making towns and cities safer is emerging as one...

-The Indian Express Unusually heavy rain has exposed the city’s broken urban planning, revealed its stolen natural waterways, and exposed its tolerance of illegal construction. The catastrophic flooding in Chennai is the result of the heaviest rain in several decades, which forced authorities to release a massive 30,000 cusecs from the Chembarambakkam reservoir into the Adyar river over two days, causing it to flood its banks and submerge neighbourhoods on both...

-The Hindustan Times New Delhi: Despite the Supreme Court's intervention and attempt to clean the Yamuna in Delhi, the level of pollution in the river remains toxic with the water not even fit for bathing. According to a recent survey report submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) before the top court, on most months, the river Yamuna is clogged with additives such as pesticides, garbage, grease and effluents. The report, submitted...