Articles by News Desk

A portable, comfortable work-surface for underprivileged kids. An alternate short distance public transport. These were among the entires that broke new ground at the National Student Challenge (NSC) 2012 organized by the Bangalore based Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) on 5th and 6th December. NSC is an all India annual challenge that aims to involve the youth of the nation in tackling issues related to India's urbanisation. Launched in July this year, NSC 2012 falls under the broader banner of Transform Urban India, an initiative that seeks to engage practitioners, policy makers, academicians and students working for urban development.…

The last couple of months have been exasperating for citizens who wanted their names in the voters' list. There have been random name deletions, false names and addresses in the roll. Now the High Court has ordered the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka, to ensure suo moto that errors in the list should be fixed. Court ordered on December 11th, that CEO should publish the final corrected list on January 28th.As per this, public will not have to run around to get their details corrected; election officers will have to verify the entire list themselves.The order came in a PIL…

It isn't often that you hear voices on the radio talking about Bengaluru's public matters, concerns for the city and the interesting changemaking work going in the city. Even on occasions where you hear a little, it is not at the level of depth you will read in a newsmagazine. Vasanthi Hariprakash.Pic courtesy: NBF. On December 2nd, Sunday, between 9am-10am, M A Saleem, the city's traffic police commissioner and P Manivannan, the head of BESCOM were on the air. They were speaking and responding to questions from noted radio and television journalist Vasanthi Hariprakash. Vasanthi has been hosting this series…

With the special summary revision of photo electoral rolls, on till December 4th, 2012, citizens can enroll in the voter list online too. To check your name on the voter roll or for information on how to register as a new voter, see bangalore.citizenmatters.in/vote2013Who can become a voter?Any person who is:a citizen of India18 years of age or above on the qualifying date (1/1/2012)ordinarily resident in Bangalore.This includes a student in a University, Institute etc.not disqualified to be voter e.g. not of unsound mind etc.I am not able to find my name in the voters listDue to the use of…

The 4th Edition of Namma Bengaluru Awards (NBA) was announced today. An initiative of the Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF),   the Namma Bengaluru Awards are meant to celebrate exceptional individuals and organizations – nominated by citizens for making Bengaluru a more sophisticated, humane and dignified city, truly one of the top world cities!As the 4th Namma Bengaluru Awards are announced today, a panelist who helps identify and pick the winners each year spoke of why the awards matter. A retired IAS officer, K Jairaj, said “Being on this panel is exciting because we discover those in the shadows; ordinary people who do extraordinary things. They toil…

Coinciding with Rajyotsava day this year, The Handmade Collective –III aims to bring back into focus the local crafts, foods and lesser known side of Karnataka. A side where the traditional and the modern stand side by side, the Cantonment and the City-facing sides co-exist in Bangalore, but more importantly aims in bringing back the sense of community that Bangalore was so famous for. Integrating Hase chitra with tribal arts from Mexico From delicate Kasuti Embroidery of North Karnataka on trendy clutch purses to Bright Channapatna Lacquerware on modern household products like kitchen towel holders and bedside lamps to Khadi…

‘We care for Jayanagar, a voluntary group, organised a waste management awareness session, at Jayanagar 9th Block, on October 9th. Local Jayanagar East (Ward 170) corporator, Muni Sanjeeviah also attended. We care for Jayanagar is a group of residents from various apartments and neighbourhoods of Jayanagar including Adarsh Residency and Chitramala apartment (Byrasandra). Modeled after the "We care for Malleswaram" group, they help local residents get started with responsible waste management practice. We care for Jayanagar volunteers. Pic courtesy: Usha Shetty Residents presented information on various aspects of waste management. Suma Rao presented information on what is considered as waste,…

It was the Joy of Giving Festival Week from October 2nd to 8th all over the the country. Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) volunteers from Bangalore South Zone felt it was a good idea to put up a sale and generate some funds for the activities of CMCA. Volunteer Chaya with customers. Pic courtesy: Ravikala Baliga Apart from the usual gift items, there were loads of hand painted diyas, dupattas, sarees, wonderful homemade eatables like chaklis, kadale puri, cakes, chocolates, etc. on sale. Needless to say, it all disappeared in a jiffy and there was a demand for more!!The…

The Bangalore Mizo Association, an association formed by Mizo's living in Bangalore, celebrated Vangpui Kut. The festival was held to spread the message of peace, unity and friendship among all communities living in Bangalore. Vangpui Kut has been a regular feature in Bangalore and it is only this year that the organisers have made an attempt to open its doors to friends, colleagues and well wishers from other communities in Bangalore, keeping in mind the recent crisis that had caused a massive exodus of North Easterns from Bangalore. Mizo dancers performing Cheraw, a traditional bamboo dance. Pic courtesy: Trigam Mukherjee…

On 7th October, the HSRx Federation organised a walkathon to the Somasundara Palya lake. More than 300 residents were there to demand that the lake be saved from encroachment and restored to its natural state. The walkathon started from Somasundara Palya circle (via DHL, Smart Retail store, EB power grid, turned left near Parangipalya Road and ended at the lake. Related articles: Haralukunte Kere getting filled with construction debris HSR federation interacts with MLA ABiDE member Dr Ashwin Mahesh said with more problems to be fixed in our neighbourhoods, they can be solved only by increasing the number of problem…