Articles by News Desk

Urban mobility is one of the toughest challenges that cities face. Being able to get around urban areas quickly, conveniently and with little environmental impact is critical particularly in large cities. With a rapidly growing population, the mobility problems of Bangalore are only increasing. The National Urban Transport Policy aims at promoting Integrated Land Use Planning, Bus Rapid Transit, Non-motorised Transport etc. Implementation of these policy measures calls for innovative urban transport planning and adoption of modern and smart technologies. SCIF is conducting a workshop to discuss the challenges presented by the ever-increasing demand for mobility in Bangalore. The workshop…

Come June 5 and there is a flurry of activity in the name of environment. An item on the CSR list ticked, some community sentiments evoked and soon the environment is a closed chapter for many. But at Adamya Chetana Foundation, greening the city is no one-time event. In its project Green Bengaluru 1:1 started this year, the group aims to ensure one tree for every person. “Where we ideally need seven trees for one person, we now have one tree for seven persons,” says Tejaswini Ananthkumar, who is the founder of the organisation along with husband Ananthkumar, the BJP…

After a long delay, the BMTC has finally launched the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to help commuters. The ITS  is expected to help passengers track BMTC buses, and the BMTC monitor bus movement. Read: All you should know about BMTC’s ITS. Decoding illegal hoardings in Bengaluru One can find ad hoardings everywhere - on buildings, storm water drains, skywalks and parks, even private residences. But no one knows the numbers, and no one knows how to stop them from coming up, or make money out of them. What’s going on behind the scenes? Read: Advertising hoardings worth crores actually get…

In some Apartment Complexes, it is a practice to charge two different rates of Monthly Maintenance Charges (MMC). While the owners residing in the society are charged a certain basic rate, the owners of the tenanted apartments are charged an extra amount. This additional amount is referred to as Non Occupancy Charges (NOC) - not to be confused with No Objection Certificate. They are also interchangeably called as Tenancy Charges or Tenancy Differential.   This practice is usually the cause of acrimonious relations between the Management Association and the owners who have rented out their property. The situation remains controllable…

As part of my Masters Thesis, I am conducting a survey to understand the changing socio-economic profile of the city, the dynamics of this transitionary period, spatial expansion of Bangalore city and citizen participation in governance. The survey results shall be used purely for academic purposes and the personal details will not be shared with any other agency or person. Please help by participating!

In the past month, Citizen Matters raised a little over 2.31 lakh. This was made possible by five people, who we are so pleased to have collaborated with. Here’s our thank you note to them: Our champions at the TCS World 10K. A big thank you to all the folks who pitched in this time around too! Your contribution will ensure that we continue to stay afloat. We will be keeping the payment gateway for our summer fundraiser open for one more day. If you’d like to contribute past the 11th hour :), please click here. This week’s highlight: Planting…

Before we get into our stories, two quick announcements. Citizen Matters now in Chennai… Any readers from Tamil Nadu gearing up to vote in the upcoming Elections? We have alpha launched our portal for Chennai, with all the news on the Elections. Who's contesting from where, what are political parties promising in their manifestos, how to find your polling booth… All this and more in the Chennai edition of Citizen Matters: chennai.citizenmatters.in. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. Please share the news with your friends and family from Chennai! Help our 5 runners reach their target! You…

On account of operation of Metro East-West (Byappanahalli to Nayandahalli) corrider, a BMTC press note states that BMTC will operate the following feeder services from 16/05/2016 for the benefit of the passengers travelling in Metro. Sl. No Route No From To Route Total No of Buses Time  Freq. 1 SVR-MF-1 Swamy Vivekananda Metro Station Swamy Vivekanankanada Metro Station Byappanahalli,Mettro Station, Tin Factory, Hoodi, Garudacharpalya, ITPL, Sathyasai Hospital, Kundalahalli Gate, Marathahalli Bridge, Doddanekkundi Bridge, K R Puram Railway Station, Benniganahalli    8   15 Min 2 SVR-MF-1A Swamy Vivekananda Metro Station Swamy Vivekanankanada Metro Station Byappanahalli Metro Station, Benniganahalli, K R…

Read: What exactly is wrong with BBPAG, and why are people protesting? In the backdrop of growing criticism over the formation of Bengaluru Blue Print Action Group (BBPAG), Citizen Matters spoke to some of the members of the Action Group. They spoke about their previous experiences in committees and the relevance of the Action Group over the constitutional body - Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC). Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD Biocon and President B.PAC I think every Vision Group has been able to drive change and achieve a few milestones. Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) did have a strong influence on the…