Articles by Navya P K

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) is set to take on the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) on yet another case of lake pollution. The severe pollution of the DRDO lake near Bagmane Tech Park in CV Raman Nagar came to the notice of KSPCB officials during one of their routine inspections. One part of the lake seems close to perfect - a look at the lush greenery, the clear blue sky, and the ripples that disturb the calm waters when a bird fancies a swim occasionally, can make your day. Meanwhile, the other part of the…

Jayanagar General Hospital is soon to undergo a makeover in a bid to provide better care, better facilities and to have more people use its services. The 300-bed hospital, one of the biggest in the city, is currently underused. On an average, only 60-75 per cent of the beds in the wards are occupied and there are only 600-700 patients who visit the OPD (Out Patient Department) daily. A development plan, spearheaded by a team consisting of Jayanagar MLA B N Vijaya Kumar, Principal Secretary (Health) Ramana Reddy, Health Commissioner D N Nayak, Associate Professor at IIM-B (Indian Institute of…

He has been in the hot seat of the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Security) for nearly two-and-half years. IPS officer Praveen Sood has much to say about the city's motorists. Focusing primarily on maintaining discipline on the road, the traffic police department under his leadership has gone all out on nabbing offenders. With the help of technology and a non-compromising stand in enforcing the law, the department attempts to compensate for its severe staff shortage. Praveen Sood in conversation with Citizen Matters about the technology used to monitor traffic, while demonstrating traffic flow in a major intersection in…

“The best way to promote sports is through communities. If we can support the needy through such initiatives, even better,” says 16-year-old Shaurya Saluja, organizer of a five-day squash camp in the city. A 12th standard student at Indus International School, Saluja believes that such camps will make the otherwise less-known sport popular. Shaurya Saluja. Pic courtesy: Shaurya Saluja. The camp will be held at Shobha Lakeview Club at Sarjapur Outer Ring Road on July 23, 24, 25, 30 and 31. Satinder Bajwa, Harvard University Head Squash Coach and mentor of eight-time world squash champion Jansher Khan, is holding the…

Vasu Dixit, Bangalore-based music composer-vocalist-guitar player for the folk-fusion band Swarathma, has recently turned music-director with his first movie Bengaloored. The 90-minute English movie directed by Swaroop Kanchi features Kannada actors and has received good reviews both for its music and performances. From humble beginnings in 2002, Swarathma has grown to be one of the major fusion bands in the city now. After regrouping in 2006, the six-member band’s first music album, also called Swarathma, was released in 2008. Their second album was Soundpad Sessions, a project by UK Producer John Leckie, in which they were featured as one of…

Amidst all the excitement of the FIFA World Cup, Bangalore had its own mini world cup tournament last week, with players representing France and Spain fighting it out in the finals on Sunday. The KIPSTA Cup football tournament ended with two ‘France’ teams - Rootsports (representing Bangalore based sports management firm Root Sports) and BSSF (Bangalore School Sports Federation) - winning the cup in the Senior and Under-15 categories respectively. The runners-up in the two categories were ARM Technologies Pvt Ltd and SPT (from SPT Sports Academy) respectively. Kipsta cup U15 team in action. Pic: Navya P K. A small…

Even though Bangalore does not have many professional clubs, the game is increasingly becoming popular, according to observers. “Over the last decade there has been lot of exposure to football through the broadcast of international matches on TV and internet. There are many sports camps and private academies now and people are taking to these,” says Sunil Kumar K, Player at Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) Football Club and former Captain of the State Football Team.Ramesh B, an upcoming player, says, “Earlier even though I had interest in the game, I couldn’t get much exposure and faced difficulties. Three years back…

Dr Shyamala Mani, Associate Professor at the Centre for Neurosciences (CNS), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), was conferred the Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Academiques (Knight of the Order of Academic Palms) by the French Government on June 14th, 2010. The award, given to individuals for their contribution to academia and education, was awarded to Dr Shyamala for her research on neonatal lesions and the effects of malnutrition on the fetal brain. Dr Shyamala Mani. Pic credit: cns.iisc.ernet.in. Originally hailing from Vellore, Dr Shyamala completed her graduation in Psychology from Delhi University and then went on to complete her Master…

Next time, if ever an emergency occurs in your area, you need not be a silent spectator because of the sole reason that you are not trained to tackle such situations. Civil Defence (CD), an organisation that is not so well known but is increasingly becoming popular in the city, enables citizens to actively respond in case of emergencies. CD is a government organisation functioning according to the Civil Defence Act, 1968. Civil Defence Act, 1968The act provides the basis for the formation of Civil Defence Corps, which it empowers to take any action - not amounting to actual combat…

The first year of BJP administration in the state has been marked by lack of democratic process and increased corruption and violence, according to a report by DAKSH, an independant civil society group. The report assesses the overall functioning of Karnataka state government from June 2008 to November 2009.  The detailed master report was released in January 2010 while the summary report was available a month earlier. The report was compiled from data obtained through RTI applications, annual reports of government departments, newspapers and reports by various national agencies and NGOs. Daksh 2009 Review of the Karnataka Govt. The Daksh…