Articles by News Desk

We all depend on groundwater. The single largest source of water that Bangalore has created apart from Cauvery, is actually a hole in the ground! We are pulling water that has been down there for hundreds of years, that is somebody else's right as much as it is ours. Some use Cauvery water or groundwater to flush the toilets, while some others are not getting water even to drink. Where does ground water come from? We all live above common aquifers – spaces between soil particles and cracks, fissures and faults in the rocks. The spread of aquifer is independant…

The garbage dumped in an area that falls in between S K Garden and Jayamahal has remained untouched since 15 May 2013; The Congress councillors of both wards are busy shifting the blame on one another. What do garbage contractors do when they need to dispose of the garbage lying in a border area, in between two wards? Do nothing, leave the garbage where it is. The easy excuse is, it is not in their limit. One such case was reported in Benson town, at a road that lies between S K Garden (ward 61) and Jayamahal (ward 63). The…

Two weeks ago, when there were clear indications of a Congress victory in Karnataka, senior party leaders were not sure about how the state’s chief minister was going to be chosen. Many told the media that the ‘High Command’ in New Delhi would decide. Siddaramaiah Siddarame Gowda, 65, better known only by his first name, must have been considering his chances against veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, currently a minister in the UPA government, and select others. The ‘High Command’ then sprang a surprise. Instead of ‘selection’ which everyone with an opinion was conjecturing wildly about, New Delhi surprisingly chose election. A…

After the Karnataka elections, many political analysts said that people of Karnataka are not for corruption; the BJP lost the state because of corruption. But did they? At least in Bengaluru, this argument does not seem to hold any ground. It is true that the rest of Karnataka voted out the corruption-ridden BJP. Outside Bangalore, the party got just 28 seats out of 196, and lost its deposit in 110 constituencies - a defeat unimaginable and unexpected by its leaders. But in Bangalore, BJP lost just five seats, down from 17 to 12. The Congress party suffered two upsets (Narendra…

Are you the one who would love to revel in the old melodies and take up a journey to that logn-forgotten world of nostalgia? Then visit Voice of India exhibition, you will find a lot of stuff that's the treasure trove of the bygone era that keeps you hooked.Archive of Indian Music, a not-for-profit trust founded by Vikram Sampath, that seeks to digitise and preserve old and rare gramophone records of our country, has organised the audio exhibition 'Voices of India,' at Alliance Francaise on Queens Road. The expo started on 10 May 2013; the inaugural of Archive of Indian…

Election reporting is an interesting area. One gets to see the real faces of candidates and their followers, besides coming across a bunch of funny experiences. Here's a collection of such experiences from the Citizen Matters team.It was about 6.30 in the evening. Around 40 people were going around shouting slogans for Shobha Karandlaje, in Rajaji Nagar. She would reach there in another half an hour.Except a handful of middle-aged men leading the pack, no other supporters seemed as loud or dramatic as supporters usually are. About half of them were women. The men seemed young and sophisticated, some with…

The people's mandate for Karnataka is clean and clear - they do not want to watch the episodes of resort politics, horsetrading and 'óperations' to continue. The Congress party has been given the mandate to rule the state for next five years - but it's no way an approval of the massive scams erupting at the Central government level. It is just that people have taken a chance to see if Congress is a 'lesser evil' for the state.In Bangalore, the number of Congress MLAs has gone up from 10 to 13 - an increase of just two seats. Anekal,…

It is perhaps the result of the persistent efforts of various civic groups to prompt people to vote. It might also be the increasing frustration among people about the lack of good governance. Whatever may be the reason, this election has proved different for Namma Bengaluru. The city recorded an overall 58.27% voter turnout in the assembly elections - a percentage unheard at least in last 10 years - a humongous 10% more than 2008 elections. People queuing up at a polling booth in Whitefield early in the morning. Pic: Anantharaman R, Kadugodi resident. Passion flows on the net, and…

What time are the booths open?Polling starts at 7am and ends by 6pm. How to find your polling booth?  To find your name on the rolls and print the details, do the following:Go to http://ceokarnataka.kar.nic.in/vernacularSearch_New.aspxSelect the district (usually Bangalore, or Bangalore Rural), your constituency, and put your name, relative's name, gender, and hit search.If your entry exists, it will come up on the screen. Click the details link on left hand side of the entry line and you will get a blue popup box that displays all your details including booth location.Using your mouse, mark the entire box. Copy and…

The Deputy Chief Electoral Officer P T Kulkarni has confirmed that people whose names are the voters' list this month can vote on 5 May, even if they have not received the voter ID card. This comes as a relief to the citizens who have registered and found their names on the roll, but do not know whether they will be turned down at booths for want of EPIC cards. "Those who don't have EPIC can vote with any of the 21 documents that we have specified, as was the case in the last elections also. Instructions have been issued…