BBMP moots controversial Pet Dog Licensing Bylaw again

BBMP has again drafted the Pet Dog Licensing Bylaw, which had been withdrawn in 2018 following opposition from dog lovers.

According to the draft Pet Dog Licensing Bylaws 2020, a flat-owner can rear only one dog, and a person living in an independent house can keep only three. Owners need to fix a microchip and sterilise their pets. But the rules have been relaxed for those who rear abandoned, rescued and local breeds after getting the necessary certification. Dog owners who don’t have license will have to pay a fine of Rs 1,000.

D Randeep, Special Commissioner (Animal Husbandry), BBMP, said that the bylaw was yet to be approved by the BBMP Council. Revenue generated from licence fees and fines will be used for the animal birth control (ABC) and anti-rabies vaccination programmes for stray dogs.

However, animal lovers are not quite happy with the draft bylaws. A member of Compassion Unlimited Plus Action (CUPA) opposed it on grounds that it would discourage breeders as well as people who want to adopt pets.

Source: Indian Express | Bangalore Mirror

Deadline to remove metal frames of hoardings

BBMP has set a deadline of 15 days for removing metal frames erected to display advertisements. Although hoardings had been banned, 1,806 metal frames remain in the city. The most number of frames are in East zone (818) followed by South zone (344).

BBMP Commissioner B H Anil Kumar has issued a circular asking officials to follow safety measures while removing the frames, which will be sold in auctions at the zonal level. He has directed Joint Commissioners to form teams of BBMP ward engineers and revenue officers to monitor the removal.

Meanwhile, the High Court directed the state to furnish information about cases and FIRs registered against unauthorised hoardings. The court was hearing public interest litigations seeking their removal.

Source: The Hindu | Bangalore Mirror | Deccan Herald 

Curbs on protests condemning Delhi violence

Fifty members of Campus Front of India (CFI) were arrested for staging a dharna in front of Raj Bhavan Thursday to protest the violence and police failure in Delhi. The police restrained them and took them away.

A senior officer said that the protesters did not have permission to stage a dharna, were obstructing free flow of traffic, and sloganeered, ignoring warnings. The Vidhana Soudha police will file an FIR against them.

The police also denied permission for another demonstration at Town Hall, citing “prevailing situation and security concerns in Bengaluru”. The protest, titled ‘Bangalore Stands with Delhi’, was to be held on February 26.

Condemning the police action and violence in Delhi, the organising committee of Bilal Bagh has decided to hold candlelight vigils every night from 1 am to 2 am. CCTV cameras have been installed at the protest site, which has been active round-the-clock now for over a fortnight.

Source: The Hindu | Indian Express

BBMP to buy 15 more mechanical sweepers

BBMP has initiated talks to buy 15 mechanical sweepers. These will be bought not through tenders, but through a government-owned e-commerce portal called Government e-Marketplace (GEM) where orders can be placed directly, according to Randeep D, BBMP Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management). The government’s approval would be sought later.

A few weeks ago, BBMP had bought 17 of these machines for Rs 23 crore. Currently BBMP has 25 machines overall, each of which can clean 40 kms of roads. While they can keep roads dust-free and curb air pollution, many complain that BBMP doesn’t handle the machines efficiently.

Source: Bangalore Mirror

Police programme for women safety

Bengaluru City Police (BCP) has kickstarted ‘Be Together Bengaluru,’ an outreach programme for women. It was launched in partnership with Durga India, an NGO battling sexual harassment in public spaces.

BCP has identified eight locations in the city as unsafe for women at night – Silk Board, Dairy Circle, Koramangala BDA Complex, Koramangala Regional Passport Office, Veera Yodhara Udhyanavana, Grape Garden, Madiwala Market Street, and Spurthy Hospital in Tavarekere. The goal is to make these places safe for all, said DCP (Southeast) Isha Pant.

She shared the list on social media and invited citizens to take part in various programmes that would be held at the locations simultaneously every night, from 7 pm to 10 pm. The activities – such as discussions, games, aerobics and musical performances – will be held till March 8.

According to BCP data, about 761 FIRs were filed in 2019 under Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code, dealing with offences related to assault or criminal force on women.

Meanwhile, ‘Shaurya Vahini’, an experimental initiative with women police personnel on car and bike patrols have been deployed in BCP southeast division. Ten policewomen will drive pink Hoysala patrol cars. About 25 women police constables and head constables have been trained to ride bikes and Hoysala cars.

Source: Indian Express | Deccan Herald

Revamped ‘MyBMTC’ app has 50,000 users

The revamped ‘MyBMTC’ app, identifying BMTC buses on each route along with the estimated time of arrival (ETA), has become a huge hit. The app, similar to those developed by taxi aggregators, now has 50,000 active users. It is available on Android and iOS platforms.

The app was developed by Nihar Thakkar, a 16-year-old, partnering with BMTC. It has been downloaded more than 76,000 times since its relaunch in December.

The ‘Trip Planner’ feature of the app is very popular. The app also shows the nearest bus stop, along with approximate distance from the user. The initial version did not have maps, but the updates now offer this; user interface and other factors have also been updated. There are also plans for Kannada language updation of the app.

Source: Indian Express

BBMP to rename its schools, colleges after Kempegowda

BBMP schools and colleges will be named after Kempegowda, the founding father of Bengaluru. Manjula N Swamy, Chairperson of BBMP’s Standing Committee on Education, said they are conducting special coaching classes to ensure better results in SSLC and PUC exams.

Earlier, there were 204 BBMP schools and colleges, with 50,000 students. But now there are only 159, with just 17,500 students, due to the lack of modern teaching methods.

Source: Deccan Herald

Rough start for BIFFES

The 12th edition of the BIFFES (Bengaluru International Film Festival) opened chaotically at Orion Mall on Thursday. Although people could book their passes online at BookMyShow.com, they had to collect physical copies at the venue. More than 500 people made a trip to Orion Mall on Wednesday to collect the passes, but could not, as BookMyShow had not opened its counter.

This year, the national anthem was not played before the screening of every film. Sources said that PVR Cinemas, where the festival is being organised, has discontinued the practice as some film enthusiasts from Kodungallur had moved the apex court, which had said that playing the national anthem before movie screenings is not mandatory.

This year, the number of viewers is overwhelming. The number of registrations has crossed the 11,000 mark, whereas it had not gone beyond 7,000 earlier.

Source: The Hindu

122-year-old Gandhian passes away

Sudhakar Chaturvedi, centenarian Vedic scholar and Gandhian, estimated to be 122 years old, passed away on Thursday. He was deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi and later the Arya Samaj movement. In several interviews, he had said that he was an eyewitness to the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Source: The Hindu

[Compiled by Revathi Siva Kumar]