Articles by Prachi Pinglay-Plumber

Prachi Pinglay-Plumber is a freelance journalist based in Bengaluru.

Another year goes by and most of us, who are not directly affected, are watching the world in turmoil helplessly from a distance. Whether it is extreme violence and massacre of human rights in Gaza or the tepid COP 28 commitments for climate action. Closer home, there is a record number of suspensions of members of our parliament and passage of bills without debates, raising disturbing questions about India's democratic structures. And then in Mumbai, one has almost gotten used to the fact that the city has not had the municipal elections so as to expect our elected representatives to…

Read more

It has become a norm now. We go all out for festivals. We need to fulfil our desires to celebrate and conform to practices laid down by ancestors or traditions that simply happened over time. And then, in hindsight, we take stock of everything - the money we spent, the bills we ran, junk we ate and the waste and pollution that we contributed to. We promise ourselves every year to do better next time. Until the cycle repeats over and over. This Diwali was no different. Not to mention the World Cup fever that only added to the feelings…

Read more

Mumbai was once known for local tournaments of games such as Wrestling, Kabaddi and Kho kho, which required minimal infrastructure and were popular among city's youth. They provided opportunities for the players to succeed at state, national level as well. Lack of open spaces has many repercussions. Particularly worrying is shrinkage of spaces that are dedicated for playing - playing any sports such as Football, Cricket, Hockey, Kho kho. Playgrounds help the younger generations stay fit, active, build team spirit and channelise their boundless energy positively. Organisations and people have dedicated themselves to save the green cover, preserve mangroves and…

Read more

Mumbai is the financial capital of India, a city of dreams with an underworld beneath its dark belly, and Bollywood that glitters over it. It’s a congested, over-crowded city that feeds everyone who comes with hope and hard work… so on and on… Mumbai and neighbouring Thane is all this and more. Beyond what is obvious, the city is also its millions of common people that work tirelessly to make a living and keep the city moving. Citizen Matters focuses on those people and issues that matter to them, to make every city a little bit better. For most of…

Read more

In March 2020, when the pandemic set in and lockdown was first imposed, spread of the virus, lack of adequate medical care, the lack of vaccines and loss of livelihoods of millions of citizens were the primary concerns among the government and the people. However, as time progressed and the radical changes to lives, livelihoods and lifestyles became more pronounced, increasingly, the discussions – both at a personal and at policy level – turned to the pandemic's impact on mental health. Add to that the several reports about skewed access to education and problems related to online education among children…

Read more

Since the first case of COVID in January 2020 and the national lockdown from March 2020, there has been a barrage of guidelines, rules and regulations for every sector and every aspect of our lives. Yet, preschools and daycare centres, a lifeline for working parents, were totally overlooked. Preschools have neither figured in any notification nor in any help package. A staggering number of such centres in the city have closed down. The staff, owners, parents and most importantly the children, have all been adversely affected. Informal estimates from discussions with preschool owners indicate that over 4000 preschools and daycares…

Read more

Ranjitha R and Varun Madhugiri, parents to three and a half-year-old twins, recall with wry humour what it has been like since the first lockdown was announced in March 2020. The daycare centre the twins went to, closed. For this working couple, the next year and a half was about juggling work, domestic chores, parenting, teaching and managing the pandemic. They have now come to accept the new normal, albeit reluctantly. There are good days and bad days, but there is no rhythm to it. Like all parents, they are noticing behavioural challenges with their children, besides their own rising…

Read more

Ketan Kothari, his wife and his neighbour, are visually-impaired and above 45 years of age. When they tried to approach various centres for vaccination in western suburbs of Mumbai, they ended up going to three centres and got turned down for various reasons. The centres were too crowded with high risk of contracting the infection, no special facility for people with disabilities or simply did not have vaccines. Kothari is one of thousands of disabled/specially-abled people, who are facing a number of difficulties while coping with the pandemic and now with vaccination. From accessing the web portals for registrations to…

Read more

Donna Fernandes, founder of Vimochana, an NGO that works for women’s rights, is harried for the past few weeks. She's been trying and get a shelter, ration and compensation for a victim of domestic violence. Working in this field for forty years, she finds that the issues that plague society and affect women victims, remain unchanged. Like `the more things change, the more they don’t'. Take for instance, the Nirbhaya Fund, set up by the Central government after the December 16, 2012 gang rape in Delhi. The fund was to help survivors of violence and improve infrastructure to support women…

Read more

Gayatri is pursuing her Masters in Law at the University Law College in Bengaluru. After finishing her graduation, she thought that doing a masters degree would help her job prospects and career. Coming from a family of daily wage labourers, Gayatri wanted to uplift her three siblings too. Covid-19 arrived, affecting her in more ways than one. To start with, she hasn’t been able to pay her fees of Rs. 46,250. Unsure of whether to ask for funds from public donors, she shared her problem with a few student activists. Gayatri is not alone. Several students in the city --…

Read more