Our Podcast - The Talk in The Town gathers perspectives of small city actors on the relationship between citizens and policies, how this relationship can be made stronger, and how citizens can inform policy making.
Meet our guest for the 4th episode of season 3 of our podcast "The Talk in the Town," Mr. Debashish Bhattacharyya from Kolkata, who has been an anchor in driving the citizens of Kolkata to campaign against the systematic elimination of trams in the city of joy.
Mr. Bhattacharya is the President of the Calcutta Tram Users Association (CTUA), a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and modernization of Kolkata’s tramways.
He is among the strongest pro-tram voices in Kolkata, which is also the only city in India where trams still exist but are facing existential threats. A retired scientist, Bhattacharya has been at the forefront of advocating for the tram system, emphasizing its environmental benefits and potential to alleviate traffic congestion.
Our conversations
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Our platform, Nagrikal, endeavours to be a pioneer in bringing public policy to citizens and city governments, especially those in small cities. Limited knowledge has been emerging from smaller cities - whether in policy priorities of the national and sub-national governments; discussions at international forums; research by academia; or common knowledge of the citizens. Nagrikal is a platform for Behind-the-scenes actors to share their experiences and lessons so that they be channeled into policies.
Through the Nagrikal:
We seek to provide information about governance in a collaborative and commentary style instead of ‘knowledge’ being disbursed.
We maintain our focus on small towns, which are often left out of the policy discourses.
We bring to light a variety of perspectives from different actors interacting with policy, from policy makers to administrative officials, politicians and various stakeholders.