Articles by News Desk

1,697 citizens from Chennai took an oath to embrace source segregation yesterday (May 12th), during a door-to-door campaign conducted by Citizen Consumer and civic Action Group (CAG), in collaboration with Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC). The campaign was conducted in three locations in Chennai -- Anna Nagar, Adyar and Royapuram.   The day began with a gathering of people at three different venues. Besides the regular walking population, Anna Nagar Tower park bustled with residents, volunteers, conservancy workers and corporation officials for the event. The Kasturba Nagar Community hall in Adyar and Anna Park in Royapuram also saw good crowds, comprised…

Thirst for water rises as storage levels are near empty As the much-expected relief to the impending water crisis through Cyclone Fani failed, the city is back to battling with acute water crisis. The storage in the four reservoirs has already hit rock bottom and is expected to last only for the next 15 days. Metro water has now started tapping the agricultural wells on the city outskirts to meet the demand. This apart, Metro water has also started other measures like erection of new borewells, additional filling points and extending the operation of tanker lorries. In addition to new…

Fani ravages Odisha towns and cities, goes soft on Bengal Cities in the east coast braced themselves for heavy rainfall and winds as severe cyclonic storm Fani was to cross Odisha and West Bengal. Bhubaneswar went into lockdown with the cancellation of flights and train services as well as suspension of road transport as the storm battered the city. The category 4 cyclone made landfall on May 3 at the seaside town of Puri and left a trail of destruction in the district. Bhubaneshwar airport too sustained damages to key equipment. The All India Institute of Medical Sciences building also…

  BWSSB water supply hits peak limit of 1453 MLD Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) reveals that it has been supplying water at the peak limit of 1453 MLD (Million Litres per Day) since March. The city's consumption has reached an all-time high with the advancing summer and the depleting groundwater levels. The Board says it cannot supply more water even if the demand shoots up. The supply will be within the limit of 1453 MLD until the Cauvery Phase V project is completed in 2023. This is the first time that the city's supply has hit the…

Cyclone Fani unlikely to bring heavy rains to Chennai The depression in the Bay of Bengal has intensified into a severe cyclonic storm that is about 880 kms from Chennai according to the IMD.  Named Cyclone Fani, it is expected to make landfall in Odisha, bypassing Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The IMD forecast squally winds with speeds over 50-60  kmph between April 27 and 30 in the regions along the east coast, with fishermen warned not to venture into the seas which are expected to be rough. Though Cyclone Fani might bring little respite from the heat, it may…

  HC to state: Set up expert body to prevent tree felling for Metro  A committee of environment, science and technology experts should be constituted to examine if metro rail projects can be undertaken without felling trees, directed the Karnataka High Court to the state government. This committee should examine every method to save trees; only if this is impossible, should trees be cut, said the court. The division bench comprising acting Chief Justice L Narayana Swamy and Justice P S Dinesh Kumar passed the interim order on a PIL filed in 2018 jointly by Dattatraya T Devare and the…

Namma Bengaluru Awards Trust hosted its flagship event – ‘The 10th Edition of Namma Bengaluru Awards’ (NBA) in Bengaluru today. The awards, which aim to honour the ‘real heroes’ of Bengaluru, recognised six extraordinary Bengalureans for their exemplary contribution towards making the city a better place. Namma Bengaluru Awards was launched in 2009, by the initiative of MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar. In this award system, the citizens of Bengaluru themselves identify and nominate their heroes. Following nominations, an eminent jury of Bengalureans shortlist candidates after a series of meetings, which include interviews of nominated individuals, before deciding the final recipient of…

This summer, apartment communities in Bellandur have struggled with water scarcity as their borewells dried up and private tankers cut down supply. In a recent workshop organised by the RWA network Bellandur Development Forum, the communities here decided to take initiative themselves to improve groundwater levels in the area. Several communities have started digging recharge wells in their own premises, at their own cost. One of these is Mantri Espana. Seven recharge wells are being dug in the premises of this apartment complex. The complex has had a rooftop rainwater harvesting (RWH) system for many years. This, along with their…

During the Karnataka elections, 1512 flying squads, 1837 static surveillance teams, 320 excise teams and 180 commercial tax teams were activated. These flying squads, SSTs and Police authorities have seized cash worth Rs 16,80,30,371, liquor of 18,403.5 litres worth Rs 64,67,863.86, drugs weighing 143.1 Kg and worth Rs 7,52,700 and other items worth Rs 3,85,01,566. They have also booked 1976 FIRs till date. The Income Tax department, itself has seized cash worth Rs 17,69,98,570 and other items worth Rs 7,03,08,780. The Excise Department has seized 9,38,376.06 litres of liquor worth Rs.36,85,81,311 and 14.977 kg drugs  worth Rs.4,48,000. They have booked…

  Voter turnout reduced  Compared to the 2014 Lok Sabha election, voter turnout has dipped in all four Bengaluru constituencies, as per figures released by the Election Commission at 9 pm on Thursday. Of the three urban constituencies, Bangalore South's turnout was the highest, at 54.2 percent. However, this turnout was 1.55 percent lower than that in the 2014 election. Turnout was the lowest in Bangalore Central, at just 50.84 percent. This was 5.27 percent lower than that in 2014. As usual, the voter turnout in Bangalore Rural was higher than that in the urban constituencies. The turnout here was…