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ISLAMABAD: Major Indian cities, including Jaipur, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi, face mounting challenges in urban infrastructure, pollution, and civic management, which highlight worsening liveability and environmental crises, according to multiple media reports. Across these cities, everyday civic and environmental challenges are visible on the streets, affecting residents&rsquo; safety, health, and overall quality of life. Here&rsquo;s a closer look at the challenges facing each city. JaipurJaipur continues to grapple with everyday urban problems that directly affect liveability.&nbsp; The Times of India reported on Dec. 27 that several pedestrian foot overbridges at major junctions, including Collectorate Circle, Narayan Singh Circle, and Tonk Road, are severely neglected, with nonfunctional escalators, foul odors, and closures that force pedestrians to risk crossing busy roads, raising serious safety concerns.&nbsp; In a separate article on Dec. 26, The Times of India highlighted how an illegal Thursday market in Mahesh Nagar swells the streets with unregulated vendors, choking narrow roads and hindering emergency access near Maya Devi Hospital. Residents complained that repeated pleas to the Jaipur Municipal Corporation have gone unaddressed.&nbsp; A recent BBC report, &ldquo;Toxic air, broken roads and unpicked rubbish - why India&#39;s big cities are becoming unliveable&rdquo;, highlights issues such as choked traffic, foul air, and heaps of uncleared rubbish facing many Indian cities, including Jaipur.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;In Jaipur, you will find the most sublime examples of centuries-old architecture defaced by tobacco stains and jostling for space with a car mechanic&#39;s workshop, the report states. BengaluruBengaluru&#39;s infrastructure and environmental quality remain key points of criticism in the Indian media.&nbsp; According to Bangalore Mirror on Dec. 29, air quality in the city deteriorated throughout 2025, with average AQI figures climbing sharply compared with previous years and the city seeing its worst pollution in five years, frequently entering unhealthy categories late in the year.&nbsp; Local media also report daily civic challenges beyond pollution: The Times of India on Dec. 25&nbsp;noted that Bengaluru&#39;s streets remain deadly for pedestrians, with nearly 28% of road fatalities involving pedestrians due to poor infrastructure such as broken footpaths, illegal pavement parking, and inadequate crossings, even as authorities plan repairs.&nbsp; In Bengaluru -- often called India&#39;s Silicon Valley for its many IT companies and start-up headquarters -- there were public outbursts from citizens and billionaire entrepreneurs alike, fed up with its traffic snarls and garbage piles, the BBC report highlights. MumbaiIn Mumbai, the civic administration&#39;s response to environmental degradation is under scrutiny.&nbsp; The Times of India on Dec. 25 reported a strong rebuke from the Bombay High Court to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for failing to enforce dust mitigation guidelines at construction and concrete sites, ordering daily surprise inspections and broader publicization of air quality measures to curb ongoing pollution problems.&nbsp; Although tall buildings and rapid development often feature in discussions, media criticism focuses on governance failings, particularly how rapid growth has outpaced effective implementation of environmental controls and infrastructure maintenance, forcing court intervention and highlighting systemic weaknesses.&nbsp; In Mumbai, the financial capital, citizens staged a rare protest against the worsening pothole problem, as clogged sewage lines dumped garbage onto flooded roads during the extended monsoon, the BBC report mentions. DelhiDelhi&#39;s air pollution continues to dominate headlines.&nbsp; Independent reporting by NDTV and associated data on Dec. 29 show the city&#39;s AQI frequently falls within &ldquo;severe&rdquo; bands.&nbsp; Moreover, a New Indian Express analysis published on Nov. 29 noted that Delhi had become the most polluted major city in India over the past decade based on longitudinal air quality&nbsp;data, with persistent unhealthy air quality exacerbated by seasonal smog, vehicle emissions, and crop-burning effects across the Indo-Gangetic Plain.&nbsp; According to the BBC report, in Delhi&#39;s annual winter of discontent, toxic smog left children and the elderly gasping, with doctors advising some to leave the city. Even footballer Lionel Messi&#39;s visit this month was overshadowed by fans chanting against the capital&#39;s poor air quality, the BBC report said.&nbsp;

India

Urban centers, including Jaipur, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Delhi, face mounting challenges in infrastructure, pollution, and civic management, which highlight worsening liveability and environmental crises, according to multiple media reports.

India’s major cities grapple with pollution and failing infrastructure: Reports

ISLAMABAD: Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has condemned the uprooting of Muslim families in two localities in the Indian city of Bengaluru, Karnataka, terming it &ldquo;bulldozer raj&rdquo;.&nbsp;Vijayan, who belongs to the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI), in a post on X on Friday (December 26) stated: &ldquo;The bulldozing of Faqir Colony and Waseem Layout in Bengaluru, uprooting Muslim families who have lived there for years, exposes the brutal normalization of &ldquo;bulldozer raj&rdquo;.&rdquo;&nbsp; &lsquo;Anti-minority politics&rsquo;Lamenting the situation, he stated, &ldquo;Sadly, the Sangh Parivar&rsquo;s anti-minority politics is now being executed under a Congress Government in Karnataka.&rdquo;&nbsp; &ldquo;When a regime rules through fear and brute force, constitutional values and human dignity become the first casualties.&rdquo;&nbsp; Vijayan stressed, &ldquo;All secular and democratic forces must rally together to resist and defeat this insidious trend.&rdquo;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 345px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2004545028744692212&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=5157be1bb5ef009d41645d0ce50a08cf30f5b118&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2004545028744692212">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>According to an Indian media report, a demolition drive at Yelahanka last week pulled down more than 200 houses in Waseem Layout and Fakir Colony.&nbsp; The operation was reportedly carried out by Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited.&nbsp; The report said the houses were removed to clear what were described as &quot;encroachments&quot; on land marked for a proposed waste processing unit. &lsquo;Bulldozer justice&rsquo;In a Facebook post, Vijayan referred to the reported bulldozing of Fakir Colony and Waseem Layout, where Muslim families had been living for many years.<img src="https://paktv-assets-7d41fab8.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/22de3f69-0b66-4464-9455-07520bf3a67a.jpeg" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib fr-fil"> He said the incident reflected a form of minority-targeting politics seen earlier in north India and warned that such practices were now spreading to the south of the country. The chief minister alleged that entire families were forced out of their homes in harsh winter conditions and pushed onto the streets, leaving them with no choice but to flee. He expressed surprise that what he described as &ldquo;bulldozer justice&rdquo; was carried out under a Congress-led government in Karnataka. Social justice&nbsp;The chief minister questioned how such forced evictions could be justified by a party that claims to stand for social justice.&nbsp; He added that governments should take responsibility for protecting the poor, ensuring housing, and preventing people from being driven out of their homes through the use of force.

According to an Indian media report, a demolition drive at Yelahanka last week pulled down more than 200 houses in Waseem Layout and Fakir Colony; the operation was reportedly carried out by Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Limited. 

Articles tagged with "Bengaluru"

India’s major cities grapple with pollution and failing infrastructure: Reports

Kerala CM condemns uprooting of Muslim families in Indian state of Karnataka