Articles by News Desk

  Bengaluru this week August 7th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     As political parties in Bengaluru prepare for the upcoming polls, so are we at Citizen Matters! For each zone we have mapped ward details, past council details, number of voters, etc. In each ward page, we will be adding details about the state of the ward -- the demographics, infrastructure details, the tenders and development works executed, issues raised by citizens and more. We are also adding details of contesting candidates as we get info. We hope this will…

Citizens Voluntary Initiative for the City (CIVIC), a non-governmental organisation in Bengaluru, has come up with a manifesto for all the BBMP candidates contesting elections in 2015. The manifesto is also endorsed by many other civil society organisations, including Child Rights Trust, Dalit Bahujan Movement, ESAF Bangalore and others. The  manfiesto asks for many important issues, including a suggestion that Bengaluru not be divided but only restructured. Read the full manifesto below:     // Related ArticlesHow much property tax do you pay? What are you getting in return?Feeling Bengaluru's pulse with Citizen Matters pre-BBMP poll survey!If you are contesting…

Citizens of Mahadevapura and East zones, including Bellandur and Whitefield area are up in arms against the system that surrounds them. They pay taxes every year, but the infrastructure around them is broken. They have to fight with the system everyday for everything: good roads, clean water, garbage disposal, pollution, traffic problems and more. There is a good amount of citizen activism in the area where there is a presence of well-educated people employed in various corporates. However, the issues don’t get sorted as quickly as they should. This brings us to the question: how did a part of the…

  Bengaluru this week July 30th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     Are you interested in contributing your bit to civic journalism for Bengaluru? Oorvani Foundation is looking for a volunteer to proofread material published in Citizen Matters every day. You need to be proficient in English, and be able to spend 30 minutes to an hour every day. If you are interested, drop us a mail to edit@citizenmatters.in and we will get back to you. Thanks! Also, in case you are yet to take the BBMP pre-poll survey, please do…

A meeting conducted on June 26, 2015, between the government and the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) decided that the government will help the telecom service providers get a “speedy clearance” for laying Optical Fibre Cables (OFCs). According to this meeting, the applications received were to be cleared within 15 days by the Chief Engineer, BBMP (OFC), who will also have to provide security to the digging staff through police, if requested. There will be no criminal charges or penalties levied on telecom companies, for the damages if any, if restored within 96 hours of a notice. There is no mention…

  Bengaluru this week July 23rd 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     If you are yet to take our pre-BBMP poll survey and share feedback about your local corporator, please do so. If you prefer to give your responses in Kannada, you can do so here. In other news, one of our past interns, Maitreyi Ananth had written about the India Under-23 team’s journey to London for the World Under-23 Ultimate Championships. We’re delighted to inform you that the team won the 'Spirit of the Game' award at the championships! Kudos!…

  Bengaluru this week July 16th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     In this edition of Bengaluru This Week, look out for our BBMP Elections Special - there’s a survey you can take, and for corporators, a way of reaching out to voters. Also check out our report on the BBMP Restructuring Committee’s suggestions for splitting Bengaluru. In addition, you can also read about the Mestripalya Lake in Koramangala which after decades is still awaiting water, why doctors ask for a commission while referring patients, and much more. Happy reading! Here…

Gone are the days of indefinite wait—the BBMP elections are here again. We would like you, our readers, to fill this survey, to help us understand how you perceive the local governance in your area. This will also help us in preparing citizens’ report cards for the existing corporators. Here's an extra pointer to see who won in last election, in which ward. The map is prepared by Bengaluru-based techie Thejesh G N. You need to log on to your gmail id if you want to enter the survey. You can fill the survey only once. If you are unable…

It’s back! And it’s bigger and better! (And cleaner!) The 1st Bengaluru Underground Festival (held in August 2014) was a unique first-of-its-kind Underground Festival to reclaim Bangalore’s filthy subways. The good news is that the subways have stayed clean and usable for a year now (despite lots of cynicism from lots of people), and it’s time to celebrate again! What is it? Bangalore is following in the footsteps of New York, London, Paris and major world cities, by transforming its underground pedestrian underpasses, or subways, from the stinking, dingy dangerous places that they have always been, to vibrant public spaces…

Pic courtesy: Information Department, Govt of Karnataka Video conference between courts and jails Acting Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court Justice Subhro Kamal Mukherjee inaugurated the pilot of high definition video conference between courts and jails at Bengaluru as a part of Digital India Week. The pilot launch includes two courts — City Civil Court and 1st Additional Court Bangalore and district court, Mangalore and six district jails, namely, Mysuru, Dharwad, Kalburgi, Belgavi, Vijayapura and Bellary. The project will provide high definition video conferencing facility to all jails and courts in the state of Karnataka, which is perceived to be…