Articles by Ganga Madappa

  The BMTC on its website states that its vision is to ‘Make BMTC sustainable, people-centered and (a) choice mode of travel for everyone’. But does it really follow through on its vision? With its recent announcement that bus fares are being increased by 15%, BMTC certainly stands a chance to remain sustainable, but its ability to be ‘people-centered’ and a ‘choice mode of travel for everyone’ remains questionable. In an article published on Citizen Matters in February 2014, the Bangalore Bus Prayaanikara Vedike (BBPV) stated that a pourakarmika who earned Rs. 5,000 a month, shelled out 15% of her…

Looking to move into a new house in Bengaluru? Then you need to apply for an electricity connection with BESCOM. This guide will take you through the steps that you need to follow to get a domestic LT connection (applicable for less than 25 KW or less than 500 square metres of built-up area). BESCOM or the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company is in charge of distribution of power to the districts of Bangalore Urban/Rural, Kolar, Tumkur, Ramanagar, Chikkaballapura, Chitradurga and Davanagere. So if you have moved into a new house in any of these areas or you are shifting house, you…

In the backdrop of Lok Sabha election campaigns, politicians from namma Bengaluru seem to be gearing up to see who will shine in the limelight. And with the obvious popularity that the internet and smartphones enjoy, not all our politicians need to go campaigning on feet to meet voters. All they need is a computer or a smart-phone to do the work for them. While there are still some who prefer to receive physical copies of minutes, only because they don’t know how to read emails (poor little fossils), there are others who are literally all over the place. Facebook,…

The JD(S) manifesto starts off with a note that says that JD(S)’ contributions to the city of Bengaluru have not been small and for the next 5 pages goes on to enlist the contributions that H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy have made. Only then does it move on to its plans for the city.  The key points in the manifesto are as follows: Tackling of Corruption in Governance: Lokayukta, land transactions to be made transparent, change in licensing system, citizen involvement in supervising governance Creation of Metropolitan Planning Committee: To manage Bangalore and regulate the growth of…

Pic: http://cnarayanaswamy.com/ C Narayanaswamy, the Congress candidate from Bangalore North, seems to be a very busy man. Each time we called his number, we were told, ‘Sir is campaigning’ or ‘Sir is in a meeting’. We finally managed to catch up with him in a telephonic interview at 11 pm in the night. The 66-year-old candidate truly sounded tired at the end of a long day, his voice almost hoarse. Nevertheless, he patiently spent about 10 minutes talking to us about why he would make a good candidate and why good leaders are important for the society. Why should people…

Traffic at the Marathahalli - Sarjapur Outer Ring Road   Consider these recent headlines from our local newspapers...  March 2 2014:  A 37-year-old architect and urban planner was killed when a BMTC bus collided head-on with her car March 16 2014:  Two people were killed after a speeding truck rammed into the motorbike they were riding on Kundalahalli Main Road April 8 2014: A 30-year-old call centre employee died on the spot when he sustained serious head injuries in a hit-and-run accident on Hosur Road In the past 3 months alone, Bangalore has been witness to 1309 accidents which have…

On March 11, a reputed newspaper published an article — ‘It's no lottery: BDA doubles flat rates’. The article stated that applicants who had been allotted 2 BHK flats by the BDA as part of its low-cost housing scheme, had started receiving notices from the BDA, informing them that they had to pay Rs 10 lakh over the original cost price of Rs 7.5 lakh, and those who had been allotted 3 BHK flats should expect to receive notices to pay an additional Rs 15 lakh. The article obviously caused a furore among those who had been allotted flats so…

BDA Flats in Nandini Layout (1 BHK EWS Quarters). Pic: Ganga Madappa Namma Bengaluru, with its burgeoning population, is witnessing a sea change in the kind of housing that is available for its citizens. Even in as recently as 2005, those looking to invest or set up base in Bangalore, preferred to buy a site and build their house from scratch. The reality now is different. While people will probably always prefer to own an independent house, the lack of space has made it necessary for them to look upwards. The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) in 2012, in line with…

Are you aware of the ill-effects, especially on health, caused by the increasing number of mobile towers and resultant radiation levels in Bengaluru and other cities? Is there any government body to regulate the installation of cell towers? Are citizens allowed to know the actual level of radiation in a given area? In the backdrop of these questions, Surakshit Vatavaran has recently initiated an e-petition on Change.org to the Prime Minister of India for the establishment of a regulatory body to monitor cell tower installations and radiation levels.  You can find their petition here.   Subhashree, Managing Trustee at Surakshit…

Great (Global) Backyard Bird Count this weekend! Bangaloreans, put your plans for this weekend on hold and participate in the Great Global Backyard Bird Count (GBBC)! Or maybe, you could carry on with your plans, so long as you participate in the Great Global Backyard Bird Count! The Great Global Backyard Bird Count is an annual census of sorts, tracking species and number of birds across the world. Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, it was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds. In the past 14 years, tens…