Articles by News Desk

Joint Commissioner- East Yatish Kumar inspecting and penalising shops that violated plastic ban. Pic courtesy: SWM volunteers team Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has put its foot once again to show that plastic ban is here to stay, unlike many earlier instances of plastic ban notifications that were ineffective. With the National Green Tribunal postponing the hearing of petition against plastic ban to July 15, 2016, BBMP has released a notification that orders heavy fine on violators. The revised fines are listed below: Fines for manufacturing and sale of banned plastic items Criteria Fine for first time offense Fine for second…

The Metro is a convenient mode of transportation. But, once an individual gets off the metro, he/she needs to figure how to complete the last leg of the commute. Getting an auto can be a hassle and walking might also not be convenient. Instead, what if they could cover the rest of the distance on their own bicycle? While that sounds like a great idea, think about this: Are cycles even allowed on the metro? BMRCL only allows foldable cycles that fit through the baggage scanner. So, a majority of cyclists cannot take their cycles on the metro. Cycling enthusiasts…

Party Website dmk.in About PWF anbumani4cm.com bjptn.org dmdkparty.com tncc.org.in Announcement Manifesto Location AIADMK Manifesto DMK Manifesto PMK Manifesto BJP Manifesto Governance - Lokayukta ✓Set up Lokayukta (after centre passes Lokpal bill) ✓Set up Lokayukta ✓Set up Lokayukta ✓ Set up Lokayukta ;Set up Lokayukta Act in the very first session of the newly constituted assembly. The CM and other ministers will be brought under the act Governance - Right to Services Act ✓Right to Services Act to ensure effective delivery of government services ✓Right to Avail Service law to promote transparent governance. ✓Right to Public Service Act TBD ✓Right to…

The National Green Tribunal has delivered a landmark judgment against the massive SEZ project coming up on the wetlands of Agara and Bellandur lakes. The Tribunal has imposed a penalty of Rs 130 crore on Mantri Techzone and Core Mind Software Services, along with passing other important orders related to the case. What's more, they have also pronounced orders to regulate construction near lakes. A picture of the construction on the lake bed as on April 6th 2016. Pic: Shree DN Presenting a detailed report: NGT fines Bellandur SEZ developers; orders demolition of encroachment. Today, with this judgment, as citizens…

The Takshashila Institution, on May 3rd, launched India’s first post-graduate programme in public policy for working professionals. The 48-week programme is delivered using Takshashila’s networked learning platform that allows people from any academic background to take the course from anywhere at their own pace. Students will learn and interact with some of the foremost policy thinkers, analysts and practitioners and be eligible for careers with top industry, NGO, politician and media partners. The course starts in September 2016 and admissions open in the first week of May. Nandan Nilekani with the students and staff of the Graduate Certificate in Public…

They don't go to theatres to watch cinema. They can save no money with the earnings they make. They have many occupation-related health issues, yet their medical expense is just about 12,000 per annum! This is the fate of finances /revealed by a recent survey on garment workers. Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) is an independent trade union of garment workers in Karnataka. Centre for Workers Management (CWM) is a research organisation working on issues of labour standards and labour rights in the formal and informal sector in India. Both these organisations worked together to do a study on…

Before we get into our stories for the week, two quick announcements... We are organising a two-day workshop for teens - Journalism for Young Citizens - at Atta Galatta on May 3rd and 4th. For more information and to register, click here. Several Bangaloreans are running at the TCS 10K in support of Citizen Matters, to raise funds for coverage on specific topics. See Shilpi for Lakes and Thej for Open Data. Pledge your support today! Property Tax No update yet on extension of deadline for 5% discount on property tax; if you are paying today, here is the guide:…

enter for Education Environment and Community, in partnership with Cycle For Cause, is organising a cycle rally, to celebrate World Earth Day and World Environment Day. Kicking off from Bengaluru on Earth Day, which falls on April 22nd, the group hopes to cover 30 district headquarters in Karnataka, including places in North Karnataka like Bidar, Raichur and Gulbarga, before returning to Bengaluru on World Environment Day, which falls on June 5th. During the course of the trip, the group is looking to promote reforestation by engaging with local organisations, colleges, individuals and government departments. The plan is to plant 60,000…

Summer Workshop: Journalism for Young Citizens Following the success of our Journalism Workshop for Citizens, we are happy to announce a special 2-day students' workshop on May 3rd and 4th, in partnership with Atta Galatta, the Koramangala bookstore. The workshop is ideal for young people (14-17 years), and will introduce them to the basics of news gathering, writing, photography. Encourage your teen or a young friend to sign up and gain insights into how the city works and how to use journalism to engage and solve problems. More info » Limited seats available, so register quick! This week’s highlight Time…

A special announcement In partnership with the team from DataMeet, Oorvani Foundation launches OpenCity.in - an urban public data portal. OpenCity.in is a repository of city-related public data. We invite citizens and RWAs to share the public data they may have on topics like civic, health, environment etc. Data can be local or city level, like budgets, programme of works, expenditure reports, RTI responses, DPRs etc. The site is currently in alpha, and volunteers from across cities will be adding more data. For more information, contact opencity@oorvani.in. This also brings us to Reason #3 about why you should support our…