Bengaluru’s Lok Sabha Elections 2024 voter turnout
Bengaluru voted, braving the searing heat, in the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 on April 26th. Voting started at 7 am and concluded at 6 pm. In comparison to the 2019 elections, the city saw a lower voter turnout. According to a tentative report posted on the X account of Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, Bengaluru saw a 53.10% voter turnout this year; in 2019, it was 54.1%.
Among the four constituencies, the highest voter turnout was in Bangalore Rural at 67.29% while Bangalore Central saw the lowest voter turnout at 52.81%. Bangalore South recorded a 53.15% voter turnout while Bangalore North saw a 54.42% voter turnout.
There were complaints about deleted voter names and errors in the voting list in Chickpet and Akkipet in Bangalore Central. In an audio complaint it was alleged that the ballot button was not working in the control unit when casting votes in booth number 17 in Shantinagar, which falls under the Bangalore Central constituency. The District Electoral Officer, however, said that there was no case of non-activation of the ballot button.
Officials and surveillance teams were put on extra alert before polling to prevent influencing voters by offering them money, liquor, and other items. To ensure free and fair elections, 8,984 polling booths were set up, of these, 2,003 booths were classified as critical, 253 areas as vulnerable, and 30 zones as expenditure sensitive.
Namma Metro trains operated for an extended period on election day. The last train from the Nadaprabhu Kempegowda station (Majestic) in all four directions left at 00.35 am on April 27th.
Source: Deccan Herald, The Hindu, The Hindustan Times
Read more: Lok Sabha Elections 2024: What Bengaluru residents and civic groups want their MPs to address
Sankey Tank dry, NGO gives 50,000 litres to slums
Sankey Tank, a well-maintained lake in north Bengaluru, is hit by drought. Most of the lake is dry and some places have water that is just a few feet deep.
Meanwhile, several slums are getting water, thanks to ‘Active Bengaluru’, a non-profit organisation. It is supplying 50,000 litres of water to residents of slums in North Bengaluru, including in areas like Thanisandra, Hegde Nagar, and Saraipalya, every alternate day.
About 6,000 public borewells have gone dry and members of ‘Active Bengaluru’ supply water in four water tanks, with 2,500-litre capacity each, on mini-tempos. From March, till date, over 12 lakh litres of borewell water have been supplied. Residents have to call an emergency number and based on the number of calls received, a vehicle is sent. In each tank, about four taps are fixed, and residents are asked to take water.
Source: The Hindu, The New Indian Express
HC tells state to protect bike drivers
The Karnataka High Court directed the government to crack down on autorickshaw drivers who attack, or harass Rapido bike captains, or drivers. The Bike Taxi Welfare Association filed a petition against some autorickshaw unions and members to protest unlawful interference in the operations of bike taxis.
On the other hand, autorickshaw drivers argue that bike taxis are operating illegally and that the bike taxis’ low-cost model has “devastated’ their own livelihoods. Some autorickshaw drivers also book Rapido rides to warn the captains. However, a single-judge bench asked the government to take prompt action against anyone found harassing bike taxis.
Source: Indian Express
Read more: Lok Sabha 2024: A people’s manifesto for urban areas
Weather-related issues
The city faced scorching temperatures of 37.6°C, a staggering 3.4 degrees above the April average. It is just slightly behind 39.2°C faced in 2016.
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Mausam: This official app of the India Meteorological Department gives a weekly and daily forecast on temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset.
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Source: Weather.com, Deccan Herald
Challenges regarding RWA laws
Residents at Yelahanka asked for clarifications on laws managing resident welfare associations (RWAs). Apartment buyers and forums said that the government should either improve the existing laws to clear confusions, or bring in a new law.
Dr Sunil Kumar Hebbi had been attacked by members of a Yelahanka flat and a case was booked against assaulters. He had earlier said that the RWA was illegal as it was registered under The Karnataka Societies Registration Act (KSRA) of 1960. He said it was not a relevant act and the RWA was not empowered to collect money for the upkeep of the apartment. The District Registrar of Cooperative Societies had reportedly blocked the corpus fund of the association.
A deputy registrar of cooperative societies said that associations have to register under The Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act (KAOA), 1972, and not under KSRA, 1960, or The Karnataka Co-operative Societies Act (KCSA), 1959. Other residents said that multiple acts and court rulings have complicated the matter.
Source: Deccan Herald
[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]