Articles by Amrith Jogi

Consumer   Consumers again in the receiving end Despite nose diving inflation, prices of essential goods remains high. But consumers now have to deal with another problem. Most producers of consumer goods retain old prices of commodities, but reduce the weight without consumers' knowledge. Weight of a soap is reduced by 13 grams and the weight of edible oil from a well known company has been reduced from 910 to 850 grams. Most of the time, consumer pay little attention to these details. An amendment to the Act of Weight and Measurement allows producers to decide on weight of the…

Environment Snakes creep from drainage pipes into houses Snakes in Bangalore seem to find a new place to stay. They have started visiting houses through drain pipes. There are about 50 such incidents reported so far this summer. Till now worms, cockroaches, scorpions were entering through pipelines. It is now the turn of snakes. Scorching heat is said to be the primary reason. Snakes look for cooler places and ultimately end up inside houses. Environmentalists guess that about 65 per cent of snakes in Bangalore house in drainage pipes. ( Vijaya Karnataka, Wednesday, May 13) Crime Police look for the…

Education Rush for PU admissionA good pass percentage in SSLC results has created a rush for PU (Pre university) admission. Students and their parents are queueing at city colleges for admission. Serpentine queues has resulted in traffic blocks in certain places as well. There is also an increase in the number of students with high grades. Demand is higher for select private colleges. Though education department has fixed Rs. 15 as the application form fee, there are complaints that some colleges are collecting upto Rs. 200. ( Vijaya Karnataka , Wednesday, May 6 )High schools too will get gradesGovernment high…

Government Government makes preparations for BBMP elections After a series of elections, Bangaloreans should be prepared for one more. Government has started the preparations for BBMP elections now. High Court, in its revised judgement, has instructed government to hold elections before the end of July this year. The government has already violated the court judgement before. It will not dare to repeat the same mistake again. The notification for BBMP elections is expected to come out next week. ( Prajavani , Wednesday, April 29 ) Vidhana Soudha gets life again After a couple of months of brief lull, the centre…

Business No demand for photographers Photographers who click pictures for tourists near Vidhana Soudha, Lalbagh, Cubbon park and other places are leading a life of uncertainty these days. The number of tourists during this summer is decreasing. Adding to their woes, digital revolution has reduced the demand for photographers. With digital cameras, people themselves can take pictures. Photographers accept the fact that their income is going south. (Prajavani, Saturday, April 25) Recession ups demand for smaller flats Real estate is the worst hit due to global economic recession, and Bangalore is no exception. The demand for flats is nosediving. Those…

Culture 40 'pallakki's, one festival One or two 'pallakkis' or chariots that carry the idol of God, are common in every festival. However Kodandaramaiah rathotsava in Hulimavu on Bannerughatta road is different. There will be about 40 pallakkis in just one festival held on Wednesday, 15th April. Kodandaramaiah temple is a historic, century old temple. There are many other temples in its neighbourhood. A pallakki from each temple will parade in this grand fest. Devotees of each temple compete with each other to make their pallakki attractive. The procession of pallakkis will continue throughout the night. (Prajavani, Monday, April 13)…

Business Mango festival from April 15 Lalbagh is busy organising festivals these days. After grapes and brinjals, it is now the mango festival, to start from 15th April. Organised by horticulture department, the festival signals the arrival of the mango season. Untimely rains during November and December last year had a negative impact on the mango crop. However, the second one was a bumper crop, and mangoes are already available in the Bangalore market. The festival will continue till June end. (Vijaya Karnataka, Tuesday, April 7) Crime 2000 faces in city Rowdies Gallery Now it is official. There are more…

Business A 24/7 office sans doors in Namma Bengaluru! RMS (Railway Mail Service) works as a chain between people who use the postal service. Every office has a working schedule which entails shutting down for a certain period in 24 hours. But the RMS office at the central railway station in Majestic remains open 24/7. Interestingly this office does not have doors at all. Employees of RMS work round the clock. The lights of the office goes off only during power cuts. Mail distribution workers take care of the office in shifts. (Prajavani, Monday, Mar 30) Flower market fragrant with…

Business India's first urban bank celebrates102nd anniversary The first ever urban bank of India is the Bangalore City Cooperative Bank. It is now celebrating its 102nd anniversary. In these days when cooperative banks are going bankrupt, this bank's achievement sounds incredible. It works more for the welfare of its members and customers rather than for profit. The bank has its head office in Chamarajpet and has 12 branches in different parts of Bangalore. It intends to open branches in rural areas as well. (Prajavani, Saturday, Mar 21) Court Retired judge in Bangarappa soup Retired district judge and present member of…

Business IIM-B grads no longer hot property IIM Bangalore graduates were sure to get plum jobs in foreign countries until recently. But this year only 25 students have got jobs in foreign companies thanks to global recession, as against 75 last year. Many students were not keen on joining MNC banks. Compared to the 2008 batch, the salary levels are low this year. (Kannada Prabha, Wednesday, Mar 11) Civic Forcible inspection by gas agency agents Residents of many parts of Bangalore are now hounded by agents of different gas companies. Agents of cooking gas companies like BP and HP have…