Articles by News Desk

  Bengaluru this week November 26th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     There is no disconnect between you as a citizen and the content we publish on Citizen Matters. We're part of your community; we're co-travellers towards a better Bengaluru. Do more than just read, be a stakeholder, make a difference, donate today! To know more about our #EnableChange campaign, visit: oorvani.org.in/support-us. In this edition, read about the protest by citizens of Whitefield against the bad infrastructure, and why citizens are rallying behind Upa Lokayukta Justice Adi. Also read about what…

A battery of senior officials of the Bangalore Metro came to a Public Hearing called by Ranganathaswamy, Asst Conservator of Forests (Bangalore South) and Tree Officer of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. The officials came armed with power points demonstrating that the Metro is a major progress from ancient forms of transport. They showed pictures of how humans have made a transition from bullock carts to cycles, overloaded jeeps, buses, trains and onto the slick comfort of the Metro. They were, thus, attempting to make a case that the extension of the Metro lines on Kanakapura Road and Mysore Road involving…

Residents of Whitefield who are tired of the poor infrastructure facilities in the area, will take to streets on Monday, November 30th, 2015. They have launched Save Whitefield campaign to protest against the government authorities’ apathy over improving infrastructure in the area and make it livable. A Facebook Page Save Whitefield says: “On 30th November, we all march out of our homes and workplaces to be part of a peaceful protest from 10 am to 1 pm, to bring the city, media and authorities’ attention to the civic and infrastructure woes of Whitefield and neighbouring areas in East Bangalore.” The…

  Bengaluru this week November 20th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     In this edition, read about what concerns the workers in the plastic industry have with respect to the government's move to ban plastic. Also read about why Bengaluru has been seeing rains the past week and what the weather will be like in the coming days. On the occassion of CV Raman's 45th death anniversary on November 21st, read the fourth article in our series on the scientist. Do check out our youngest blogger’s post about videogames. Also read…

  Bengaluru this week November 16th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     As you may be aware, Oorvani Foundation has rolled out its second fundraiser campaign for Citizen Matters. You know that we depend on your support to continue doing the in-depth, unbiased reporting that we do. Your contribution will go a long way in ensuring that we continue to cover the stories that really matter to Bengaluru and the community at large. Do consider making a donation. Any amount, big or small, will help catalyse change in the city. To…

File pic. Pic: Kedar Nadella Over the last year several Indian cities have witnessed rapid growth of app-based, on-demand cab services such as Uber, Ola, TaxiForSure etc. These services have prompted debate among policy makers, users and other stakeholders on their efficacy, reliability, sustainability and impact on environment, and on black and yellow taxi/regular cabs/public transport. This can be seen in the recent launch of the City Taxi Scheme 2015.   EMBARQ India is conducting a detailed research study to understand the impact of such services. This research can guide regulators/government to frame policies for the sustainability of aggregator models…

  Bengaluru this week November 6th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     By this time, you will have received a mail announcing Oorvani Foundation’s second fundraiser campaign for Citizen Matters. If you are a regular reader, you know the kind of stories that we publish. To help us continue in the same vein, we hope that you will support our work by making a contribution. For more information on our #EnableChange campaign, click here. In this edition, read about Bengaluru’s many illegal coaching centres, the scams that have plagued BBMP in…

Heap of plastic burnt at one of the illegal garbage burning sites in Seegehalli. Pic: BWRCA's FB page The State Ministry of Forest, Environment and Ecology has invited objections / suggestions from public on the draft notification for plastic ban in the State. The government issued draft notifications on October 28 that seeks to ban various plastic based products. The draft notification proposes to prohibit the manufacture, supply, store, transport, sale and distribution of plastic carry bags, banners, buntings, flex, plastic plates, plastic cups and plastic sheets, irrespective of thickness. However, the draft notification gives exemption to manufacturing plastic carry…

A snapshot from the rally. Pic: Beedhi Vyaparigala Okkuta Two hundred street vendors of HSR Layout Street Vendors’ Union and representatives of the Bruhat Bengaluru Beedi Vyapari Sanghatanegala Okkuta (A Federation of Street Vendor Unions in Bangalore) took part in a rally in HSR Layout to raise awareness on waste management and proper disposal of waste. The ‘Swacchata Andolana’ was an initiative of the Union and the Federation (with support from the BBMP). In addition to disbursing material on waste management awareness, they are cleared three blackspots in the area, i.e. a garbage dump on 27th main, one at Agara…

  Bengaluru this week October 29th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     As a local community media, Citizen Matters makes a small, but significant difference to the lives of Bangaloreans - by reporting about the news that really matters, by featuring the change makers in the city, by giving you a forum to communicate with other like-minded people. We will be launching our biannual fundraiser in a few days and we hope that you will continue to support Oorvani Foundation to enable change. With you by our side, we can continue…