Articles by News Desk

Blood donation is a simple, yet profound gesture - donate to an anonymous recipient, and who knows, someday an anonymous donor will save the life of someone close to you! Donate blood regularly, and be assured that there are no side effects as long as you follow the Do's and Dont's given below. Essential Information regarding Blood Donation Age and weight of eligible donors : 18-60 years, 45 kg or more Hemoglobin : will be checked on the spot, must be 12.5 or higher Quantity drawn : Donors upto 50kg - 350CC for single bag, will be used as whole…

Xerxes Desai. Pic: Christopher Lopaze On 27th June 2016, Bengaluru lost one of its most eminent citizens when Indiranagar resident Xerxes Sapur Desai breathed his last in the city. He was at the helm of Titan Companies Ltd from the 1980s till his retirement in 2002 and is the man widely acknowledged to be the driving force behind catapulting the brand to international renown. A man of great passion and energy, Desai is known for having transformed Titan into a nimble, agile organization and a very ‘happy’ place to work. He imbibed a culture which encouraged innovation, one of not…

You may have read the news about the passing of Xerxes Desai, the founding Managing Director of Titan. Two years ago, our then intern from the University of Washington Chris Lopaze interviewed Desai for India Together. He also shared his thoughts about Bengaluru and urban issues, that we published today. He talked about how the IT industry impacted Bangalore and proposed professionalising city management. Read: Remembering Xerxes Desai. Xerxes Desai was also a well wisher and patron of Oorvani Foundation. He encouraged the work we do at Citizen Matters - and was always ready to share valuable insights, and advice.…

File photo. Pic:Christopher Martin Lopaze As the month of fasting—Ramzaan, draws to a close, a sense of humility serenades me. Ramzaan is a month when one is called upon to abstain from not just food, but anything that corrupts the mind and soul. However, when one goes without food and water for 14+ hours a day for 30 days, in the least, it reminds one how blessed we are to be able to afford a basic meal. It is 'hunger' that teaches one the value of 'food'. About a month ago, over a quiet meal, my husband Manivannan and I…

Remember the tragic incident that happened two yeas ago, where a nine-year-old child fell into a gap in the footpath during heavy rains, was carried by the gushing storm water and was found dead in a lake three kilometres away? The incident evoked sharp criticism and responses. A Public Interest Litigation was filed on the issue. The High Court asked the BBMP to repair all the deathtraps on footpaths and clear the encroachment. It's almost two years since then. Has the attitude of the administration changed? And has there been enough precaution this rainy season? Citizen Matters did a reality…

A Memorable Morning at Neelankarai It was 5.25 a.m on June 19th. We were walking towards the Beach from East Coast Road. I'm part of Just Volunteer, an independent volunteering group and along with 30 volunteers from my team, I was on my way to the 7th Edition of the Chennai Coastal Cleanup organized by the Chennai Trekking Club. This was to be my 3rd Cleanup participation since 2014, when I had joined the 5th edition as an individual volunteer. The excitement was palpable the minute we reached there and we met the zonal leads. The briefing sessions were precise…

Chennai Coastal Cleanup booty: ­30 plastic spoons, nylon rope, 4 torn chappals and more! My daughter and I chose the Marina Light House location, along with a few children from her school. We are not newbies to clean­ups, having participated in various such activities in and around Kotturpuram, including the Chitranagar and Suryanagar slums. But the challenge of the beach is that things are buried deep in the sand and it's tougher to dig out the trash! In the middle of our activity we had these memorable moments... Mr Dhanraj who, as far as we could tell, lives on the…

Citizens working with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to fix garbage management issues in the city are on fire. Reason: Subodh Yadav, Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) has been transferred. Yadav has been transferred to Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) as Secretary. The order does not mention a replacement for the position vacated by Subodh Yadav. Here is the full transfer order. 'Bring back Subodh Yadav' There is an online petition floated asking the Government of Karnataka to bring Subodh Yadav back as Special Commissioner, to continue what he was doing.  It is not clear why Subodh Yadav was chosen…

Dear Reader, Hello again from Citizen Matters team! We’re back with our newsletter, to bring you news and analysis from this week. Before you get into the main newsletter, do read this piece by a citizen activist and a writer Srinivas Alavilli from J P Nagar, where he describes his learnings from a hands on experience of clearing the storm water drains in his area. The highlight: Bengaluru needs more athletic training centres Yet another athletics coach trains kids at Kanteerava Stadium. Pic: Akshatha M It's a city that has 1/6th of the state's population, yet Bengaluru cannot produce high…

RERA for Karnataka is an open, public group, devoted to the welfare of home-owners of apartments, villas or plots. We seek to improve the legal framework and its implementation, by working for quick and proper implementation of RERA and reforms in existing laws. We are also seeking reforms in the procedures and policies of agencies, such as KSPCB, BWSSB, BESCOM, BBMP, BDA etc to make the rules fair and more practical to comply with. Objectives To work for speedy and effective implementation of the RERA in the state of Karnataka. To drive reforms in various acts related to apartment ownership…