Articles by Navya P K

In Part I and Part II of the series, Citizen Matters had explained how the Manipal ETA Infotech is constructing a multi-crore project near Agara lake, consuming the wetland and lake drain, and how the authorities like Ministry of Environment and Forests have approved the project. Part III explains the traffic-related problems the project has brought in. Studies - including those submitted by the builder - show that the Sarjapur Road is going to be completely choked once the project by Manipal ETA Infotech comes up. The project will have parking facility for over 14,400 vehicles. The entire complex is…

Citizen Matters had earlier reported about a 72-acre SEZ-cum-township coming up in Agara village, near Koramangala 1st block. The project, named Manipal ETA Infotech, had got approval saying that BWSSB will meet its water needs. Citizen Matters had exposed that BWSSB’s NOC (No Objection Certificate) was only for a tiny area of the project, even though NOC is compulsory for the entire area. Also, the BWSSB said it did not even know about the project in its full size. The project site. Pic: Meera K. The project is a joint venture between Mantri Developers and Century Real Estate, with Century…

In Part I of this series, Citizen Matters blew the lid off the IISc report that revealed the encroachment of a major Rajakaluve by the SEZ project by Manipal ETA Infotech Pvt Ltd. This part will explain the random changes made by the BDA in the status of the project land, resulting in a change of status, from being a ‘valley zone' to an industrial area. The site has seen some rapid changes in the last decade. In ‘95, BDA had classified this land as largely residential and park area. In 2005, BDA started revising its master plan. In the…

Bangalore's water crisis has been averted for now, with a newly-formed committee appointed to look into the water supply to the city. One tmc ft (thousand million cubic feet) of water will be diverted from Hemavathi river to the KRS dam; currently there is one tmc ft of live storage existing in KRS dam as well. "Together, this two tmc ft water will meet the requirement of Bangalore till monsoon. The water requirement of Bangalore is 1.2 tmc ft per month," says a senior BWSSB officer, on condition of anonymity. The committee to oversee the process, was appointed after a…

While water-strapped Bengaluru is waiting for the mercy of rain gods to bless the Cauvery belt to quench its thirst, water mafia is busy drawing water from just about anywhere: their own bore wells, bore wells of others, lakes and water bodies - wherever one can see water.  As this article goes into publication, the city water board has just announced that Cauvery water supply for Bengaluru will stop in four days. Few know that the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) issued an order in November 2012: No more borewell digging in Bengaluru for commercial purposes. If implemented correctly, this…

Rajaji Nagar was among the first few ‘planned areas' in the city. The size of this constituency is about 5.5 sq km. After remaining a traditional, residential area for long, there has been haphazard development here. Many residential areas have commercial developments now; unplanned growth and illegal buildings is an issue.This area has many educational institutions, hospitals and temples. Rajaji Nagar Industrial Area houses many large and small industries.The constituency is BJP-dominated - six out of seven wards here have BJP corporators. The wards here are Dayananda Nagar, Prakash Nagar, Rajaji Nagar, Basaveshwar Nagar, Kamakshipalya, Shivanagara and Sriramamandir. Of these,…

Most KJP election candidates in the city are ex-BJP workers. But in Sarvagna Nagar, the party is fielding Michael B Fernandes, who had been with the JD(U) until recently. Fernandes, 78, is a trade union activist, and is the brother of former union minister George Fernandes. His wife Donna Fernandes is the founder of Vimochana, a city-based women’s rights group. Fernandes is a physics graduate from Madras University, and is a retired engineer from ITI Ltd. A former corporator, MLA and MLC, Fernandes has been active in politics for the last 53 years. He was elected as a corporator for…

K R Puram constituency has areas that were newly added to the BBMP. Hence the civic issues here are also many, compared to core city areas. HAL Airport and DRDO division come under this constituency. So do ITPL, Tin Factory and ITI (Indian Telephone Industries).K R Pura is a large constituency covering nine wards - Horamavu, Ramamurthy Nagar, Vijnana Pura, K R Pura, Basavanapura, Devasandra, A Narayanapura, Vijnana Nagar and HAL Airport. The constituency is BJP-dominated. Eight out of nine wards here have BJP corporators; only Basavanapura has a Congress corporator. The main issue here is water shortage. Until recently,…

Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can also reach us through Twitter or Facebook! Bengaluru This Week Get our free weekly newsletter. Name Email Bengaluru This Week archives. Bengaluru's Mayor D Venkatesh Murthy is contesting the assembly election this time from Shanthinagar. Murthy has been a corporator thrice, and had been the city's Mayor till April this year.Murthy gave this interview to Citizen Matters at a hotel in Domlur last week, where he was holding a meeting with BJP activists on his campaign strategy. Murthy was quick…

Shanthi Nagar constituency includes many of the posh areas in the city. A large part of the Central Business District - including MG Road, Brigade Road, Richmond Town etc - comes under this constituency. In addition to malls, this constituency also has traditional markets like Johnson Market. Shanthi Nagar bus stand is also located in this constituency. Even then, there are many basic infrastructure issues here. There are many slums that do not even have basic facilities like toilets or water. The constituency comprises seven wards - Jogupalya, Shantala Nagar, Domlur, Agaram, Vannarpet, Nilasandra and Shanthi Nagar. In these wards,…