Articles by News Desk

At the public hearing conducted by Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) on February 6th, several civic groups objected to BESCOM's proposed hike for electricity tariff for the financial year 2016. BESCOM had earlier filed an application proposing a tariff hike of 80 paisa per unit across all consumer categories. B.PAC represented by TV Mohandas Pai, Vice President, Dr Hari Parameshwar, Head of Regulatory affairs and Revathy Ashok, CEO and Managing Trustee, and Aam Aadmi Party - Karnataka (AAP), represented by Ravi Krishna Reddy and Shanthala Damle, submitted their objections to KERC. Eliminate cross-subsidy variation; government should bear cost for farmers:…

  Bengaluru this week February 5th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   Before we get into our stories, here is a short summary of what happened in the city: Oil marketing companies have revised the prices of petrol and diesel prices. Bangaloreans now have to pay only Rs 62.01 for petrol and Rs 50.06 for diesel. A curious case of file change in BBMP has taken place, where a file with bills worth 35 crores was supposed to be cleared, but another file that had bills worth Rs 147 crores got cleared.…

The Climate Change cell of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has launched a series of public consultations to solicit opinions, suggestions and feedback from environmentalists, civil society, and other informed individuals and groups, to prepare a report on recommendations that can be made to the state government. The first of the public consultations took place in Mysore and Madikeri on January 28th and 29th respectively. February and March will see consultations at 10 other cities and towns in Karnataka, including Bengaluru. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) had prepared an assessment report and had warned…

The BBMP Council in its monthly Council meeting on January 28, 2015, passed several resolutions renaming / giving new names to the parks, roads, lakes etc in the city. The BBMP projects sanctioned in order to repair or maintain these public properties will hitherto have these names. Here is the list of old names and new names: List of public place New names Park at Ward No. 168,Jayanagar 4th Black , 7th Main Road Brindavana Park Kaigondaralli Lake in Ward No. 150 Swamy Vivekananda Parisara Dhama Road stretching from 8th Main Road to Veerabhadreshwara Theatre Shakthi Ganapathi Nagar, Ward No.…

  Bengaluru this week January 29th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     City news that matters Before we get into our stories, here is a short summary of what happened in the city. BBMP has begun the construction of an open air theatre under Domlur flyover at a cost of 40 lakhs. The theatre can accommodate up to 500 people and will also have a Bangalore One centre. BMRCL is in talks with the Forest Department to acquire 4.97 hectares of forest land near Devika Rani Roerich estate on Kanakpura Road…

The Flower Show organised by the Horticultural Society at Lalbagh for the Republic Day, as usual, stole the hearts of visitors. The main attraction this time was Red Fort, which was created using three lakhs flowers. Musical instruments made of flowers set up around the Band Stand were an added attraction. This time, tickets were sold online for the show. However, long queues were seen in front of Lalbagh, as people did not see any advantage in going for online ticketing. The show this time had air surveilance through drones, which proved efficient, when a fire was reportedly spotted by…

  Bengaluru this week January 22nd 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   Wish you a Happy Republic Day in advance. Here’s something from our archives to celebrate the special day - read this article on the National Anthem.  City news that matters Before we get into our stories, here is a short summary of what happened in the city. Bangalore University is going to be split. State Cabinet gave its nod to the process on Wednesday. Bengaluru’s first crematorium for pets and other animals is all set to open in February near…

Her story is of grit and determination. The tag of physical disability did not deter her from reaching her goals. She was often at the receiving end when the society suppressed and discriminated her for being a dwarf. However, nothing could hamper her spirit and the dream to achieve big. It is the life story of Lakshmipradha Srinivasan, a doctor who hails from Palakkad in Kerala and a resident of Bengaluru. She was a victim of Achondroplasia which has resulted in dwarfness. Today, at the age of 34, Lakshmipradha’s height is 3’9 ft, which is considered as an abnormal growth…

  Bengaluru this week January 16th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   Wish you a belated Happy Pongal/Sankranthi! Citizen Matters got off to lovely start this week with business magazine, Livemint doing a feature on us. We were described as ‘a local news outlet for Bengaluru’. Read more here.  City news that matters Before we get into our stories, here is a short summary of what happened in the city. Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar wants HAL airport re-opened, on which he has written a letter to Civil Aviation Ministry. However, the agreement…

Anirudh Rajashekar, a student from MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, alongwith IIM Bangalore’s New Real Estate initiative, is conducting a study to map out water tanker prices in Bangalore to understand the dynamics of the water tanker industry. Their hope is to provide policy recommendations that might improve water access in Bangalore. If you live in an apartment, you can fill this short 15 minute survey to your resident association officer or a member of your management committee. The results of this survey can have a major positive impact in the way water is distributed and managed in Bengaluru.…