Articles by Navya P K

Last year, state government got flak for promoting the teaching of Bhagavat Gita in schools. Activists and educationists had branded this as ‘saffronisation' of education. But, for decades, Hindu organisations have been promoting Hinduism in schools throughout the state. Prominent of these is Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an organisation that actively promotes Hindutva. VHP holds exams, competitions, sloka classes etc for schools in the city. Ramakrishna Mission in Ulsoor, and ISKCON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness), are other organisations that have similar programmes. However, such work has continued without getting the ‘saffronisation' tag. Culture comes from religion VHP has been…

After a long tussle with the state government, Rajvir P Sharma of BMTF (Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force) won, when his transfer order was revoked last week. State government had ordered his transfer on August 14th, after he chargesheeted many BBMP officers. Rajvir P Sharma won the case in CAT on September 7th. Pic Sankar C G Sharma had filed a case asking for his transfer to be revoked, at the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), a court that looks into service disputes of government officials. On September 7th, CAT ordered in favour of Sharma, saying that he could complete his tenure…

BBMP spends hundreds of crores annually on projects like road widening and flyovers, while allocating very low amounts for education, health, welfare etc. Dalit Bahujan Movement (DBM), a city-based group for SC/ST welfare, has been demanding useful schemes and funds for the community. Venkatesh M, an activist formerly with  state-level Dalit organisations, formed DBM in 2007 with the specific aim of getting government funding and schemes for SC/STs. It was in late 1970s that the central government initiated separate funding for SC/STs. Government announced the Special Component Plan (SCP) for SCs and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) for STs. Under SCP/TSP,…

After the High Court ordered the stay on signal-free corridor work in Koramangala, citizens have now formally been asked to suggest alternatives. A sub-committee, comprising six citizen representatives and a few government representatives, have been asked to submit alternate plans by August 25th.This sub-committee was formed by, and has to report to, a government-appointed committee. According to the court order, the government-appointed committee should hear concerns of citizens and submit a report to the court on September 15th. Court will then make a final decision on the project on October 5th.The first hearing of the government's committee - headed by…

Recently, BBMP passed a resolution to include Electronic City (Ecity) under its jurisdiction. But on the other hand, state cabinet is already contemplating giving industrial township status to the area.On July 31st, BBMP passed the resolution to include Electronic City phase 1, 2 and 3 under its jurisdiction. State government has to approve the resolution now, for it to be effective. If approved,industries and commercial areas that are notified as part of Electronic City, will go to BBMP. Dr Amita Prasad, Principal Secretary at state government's Urban Development Department (UDD), says that BBMP has not yet sent the resolution to…

Citizen Matters launched its book ‘Living in Bengaluru' on August 4th. The book is a guide to make living in Bengaluru easier. It is a compilation of FAQs and how-to articles written by Citizen Matters' professional journalists and experts. The articles include guides on buying property, getting khatas, ID cards etc., tips for saving time on these tasks, and other tips on saving water, fuel etc.R K Misra, member of ABIDe Task Force, released the book at Reliance TimeOut book store in Mantri Mall, Malleswaram. Vatsala Dhananjay, well known property lawyer and author of a chapter in the book, was…

On July 31st, Seema (name changed) was attacked by the driver of the auto in which she was travelling. Seema's fault was that she took a picture of the number plate of the auto so as to file a complaint against the overcharging driver. The incident occurred in front of Eva Mall in Brigade road.In the Facebook page of Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP), Seema wrote that the driver had asked for Rs 60 to travel from Eva Mall to Austin Town, while the actual fare would be around Rs 20. The incident happened at 7 pm. Soon after, she called…

Seema Vijay, 29, hardly goes out of her house alone after 7pm. Seema stays in the posh JP Nagar 2nd phase, next to JP Nagar Cultural Association. But after 7, the roads here are dark and isolated, and harassment is common. Women rarely walk around alone at night here.There is a playground near the club, which has only added to women’s woes. Though a ‘public’ place, only boys and men use the ground. In the evenings especially, women stay away from this area as they are harassed and commented on by men hanging around in the ground. There have been…

Ramakrishna B V, 75, is one of the 16 nominated councillors in BBMP now. In April, just before Mayor election, he was in news for alleging that the candidate (current Mayor) D Venkatesh Murthy had encroached Civic Amenity (CA) sites.Ramakrishna is Joint Secretary of Abhyudaya, a Federation of South Bangalore-based RWA. He had retired as Production Engineer in HAL, and is also President of Radha Krishna Layout RWA now. He, along with other nominated councillors - all BJP supporters - had taken oath on July 2nd and were part of the budget discussions. According to Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, state…

Last year, BBMP initiated a plan to install Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) pits in roadside drains, parks etc,. to improve ground water levels. Rs 30 crore was approved for installing pits across the city, from emergency funds. Emergency funds are allocated as per BBMP Commissioner’s discretion, and is separate from funds specifically given for RWH in the budget. But going by BBMP’s plans, much of this amount might simply be wasted. An RWH pit built along a drain in 27th Main, Jayanagar 9th Block. File Pic The project is supposed to be implemented as per the design made by RWH expert…