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Manoj Sharma

Manoj Sharma

Manoj Sharma is Metro Features Editor at Hindustan Times. He likes to pursue stories that otherwise fall through the cracks.

Articles by Manoj Sharma

Deaths in Delhi, Noida expose civic neglect: Can citizen audits make cities safe

Police retrieve a motorcycle from a large ditch dug by the Delhi Jal Board at Professor Joginder Singh Marg in Janakpuri, where a biker died after falling into the pit. (Vipin Kumar/HT)

Updated on Feb 09, 2026 12:54 pm IST

India’s urban blind spot: An ungoverned city beneath

The Pragati Maidan tunnel in central Delhi gets waterlogged, leading to traffic jams. (Sanjeev Verma/HT photo)

Published on Jan 12, 2026 06:02 am IST

Can a cooperative model fix public mobility?

The number of public buses per person in India remains among the lowest globally, and even Mumbai and Delhi fall short of recommended fleets. RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO

Published on Dec 31, 2025 11:15 pm IST

The megacity dream that isn’t

The merger of 27 urban local bodies has expanded Hyderabad to a whopping 2,000 sqkm, making it India’s largest municipal corporation by area. (Shutterstock)

Published on Dec 15, 2025 06:04 am IST

Inside Vizag’s silent and steady ascent

Beach Road is Visakhapatnam’s social spine, lined with museums, cafés, and seafront hotel. (R Narendra/HT Photo )

Updated on Nov 24, 2025 05:14 am IST

The broken promise of India’s heritage

The 110-year-old Butler Palace—built in 1915 for Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler—is being restored by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) into a cultural hub. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

Updated on Oct 27, 2025 04:47 pm IST

Why cities struggle to preserve their stories

In a country with few museums dedicated to telling the story of its cities, Mumbai’s Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, housed in a Victorian building in Byculla, stands apart. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Published on Sept 29, 2025 05:00 pm IST

The long road to the runway

Persistent traffic snarls on NH-48, the main road link to Delhi airport has led to a rise in the footfalls on the Metro lines. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Updated on Sept 01, 2025 03:28 pm IST

Ring Roads: The allure and cost of asphalt loops

Hyderabad’s 158-km Outer Ring Road, finished in 2018, sparked a real estate boom. (Shutterstock)

Published on Aug 11, 2025 05:22 am IST

Dreams of a midnight metropolis

Indian megacities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru have attempted to create a formal night-time economy in other parts of the city — but with little success.

Updated on Jul 28, 2025 06:32 am IST

Bengaluru’s bold new blueprint for metropolitan governance

Bengaluru faces several challenges, including traffic congestion, water management, and unplanned growth. (Shutterstock)

Updated on Jul 16, 2025 02:39 pm IST

Buses vanish, trains overflow: Public transport in India’s cities is buckling

In Mumbai, trains designed for 2,500 passengers routinely carry more than 5,000 during rush hours. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Published on Jun 16, 2025 05:40 am IST

Skywalks as social spaces? Rethinking their role in city life

Nehru Place skywalk in Delhi (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Updated on Jun 02, 2025 05:36 am IST

Capital alerts: Delhi’s long tryst with sirens, from World War II to today

An air raid siren was installed at ITO on May 9. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Published on May 12, 2025 05:53 am IST

‘Homogenisation creates cultural amnesia’

Dikshu C Kukreja is a leading Indian architect and the managing principal at Delhi-based C.P. Kukreja Architects, one of the country’s most reputed architectural firms. (HT Photo)

Published on May 05, 2025 05:56 am IST

The rise of Anywhere City

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw the creation of Special Economic Zones, accelerating the construction of steel-and-glass towers. Mumbai, India’s financial capital, led this transformation. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Published on May 05, 2025 05:48 am IST

Driving urban mobility, hostility: An auto story

Data shows that there are an estimated 1.5–2 million autorickshaws operating across Indian cities. (HT Photo)

Published on Apr 14, 2025 05:42 am IST

Rethinking streets: Why cities need to make room for buskers

Indian performers, in contrast to cities across the world, remain caught in a web of outdated regulations and inconsistent enforcement. Even in Bengaluru, known for its cultural vibrancy, artists struggle to find a place where music and urban life can coexist. (Samir Jana/HT Hindustan Times)

Published on Apr 07, 2025 06:02 am IST

Marking history: How new blue plaques can promote heritage conservation in India

Heritage building plate installed by MCD outside the Hardayal Municipal Heritage Public Library in New Delhi. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Published on Mar 10, 2025 05:08 am IST

Where’s my bus? Stranded in the transit information void

People wait for buses at a stand in ITO, Delhi, without sufficient information about possible delays. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Updated on Feb 24, 2025 05:28 pm IST

Revving Trouble? What India’s two-wheeler boom means for urban mobility

In 2024, Delhi alone added 448,767 two-wheelers, pushing the total number of motorcycles and scooters on the streets of the Capital past 5.7 million, from 5.2 million in 2023, according to official figures. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

Updated on Jan 27, 2025 05:28 am IST

The names we keep: India’s unchanged urban memory

New Delhi’s colonial-era shopping arcade, Connaught Place, was renamed ‘Rajiv Chowk’, but the name has never caught on, say traders. (Sanchit Khanna/HT)

Updated on Jan 13, 2025 03:00 am IST

India’s many Chandni Chowks

Chandni Chowk market in Delhi on December 6. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Updated on Dec 16, 2024 04:48 am IST

Crowdfunding lights up Kolkata heritage: A blueprint for urban renewal in India?

The Illuminated Reserve Bank of India Museum building in Kolkata. (Samir Jana/HT Photo)

Updated on Nov 25, 2024 05:28 am IST

Cycle quest in Indian cities going off-track

A cycle track at Nehru Nagar is encroached upon by a street vendor. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Updated on Nov 11, 2024 03:55 am IST

Battling paan stain: The never-ending struggle against spitting in public spaces

Ahead of the 10-year celebration of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) on October 2, NDMC whitewashed CP’s red-splattered pillars and corners, only for many of them to turn crimson again in just a few days. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Updated on Oct 14, 2024 05:02 am IST

Creating safer pathways to schools

A Safe School Zone is a designated area extending up to 300 feet around a school, where enhanced safety measures. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Updated on Sept 30, 2024 05:26 am IST

The traffic light conundrum: Do they improve mobility or slow it?

A view of traffic signal at Janpath Road crossing in Delhi’s Connaught Place. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Published on Sept 16, 2024 04:22 pm IST

Traffic lights: A boon or bane for city mobility?

Proponents of signals argue that they not just help regulate traffic flow, but also reduce accidents, and promote democratic streets. (Keshav Singh/HT)

Updated on Sept 16, 2024 05:44 am IST

Women’s safety in building plans a must, say experts

Multiple experts have raised safety concerns about isolated parking lots. (Representative photo/Shutterstock)

Updated on Sept 02, 2024 05:26 am IST

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