Articles by News Desk

'Multiple City' is a collection of writings on Bangalore, edited by Aditi De, independant writer, columnist and editor. It includes a selection of Bangalorean experiences - with verse, translations, fiction, and non fiction accounts and as Aditi says "celebrates the spirit of Bangalore". Aditi De at the book reading of Multiple City (pic: Meera K) During the book reading at Crosswords book store, Aditi mentioned about how she got into compiling this anthology; a friend from Penguin publishers had asked her what she thought of Bangalore and she wondered if Bangalore could be considered a city at all. The stories…

Environment A memorial to a tree Officials of Lalbagh have come up with an idea to construct a memorial to a dead historical tree. If all goes well, Lalbagh will have a pigeon park around this memorial. The garden, which has a number of historical trees, recently lost a 95 year old Neelgiri tree. A beautiful memorial is now planned in its place. (Vijaya Karnataka, Tuesday, 30 December) 320 trees on Sheshadri road chopped Sheshadri road, once considered a cool place to walk, wears a barren look now, as around 320 trees were chopped for road widening works. Officials carried…

Business Now- an agency to safeguard vacant sites! Safeguarding a vacant site is a big task in Bangalore, especially if you live outside the city. The demand for land is so huge that encroachments have become common. So who will take care of your site if you are not in Bangalore? Vruddi Infrastructure Private Limited will! It is an agency that is providing this innovative service... for a nominal fee the agency will maintain your site and give you monthly updates. For details contact; 42994399, 42434445. (Udayavani, Monday, 22 December, Namma Bengalooru)Government Cops get trained for policing, opt for teaching!…

Government Minister and bureaucrat unaware of each others' names. Minister for Animal Husbandry Revu Nayaka Belamagi is known for his innocence. He is uneducated but respected by people. Speaking at the inauguration of a national seminar on animal husbandry, the minister said that he could speak neither English or Hindi. He was unaware of the correct name of his own department's Principal Secretary Shamim Banu. The latter too just addressed him as 'Honourable Minister' in her speech. This strange ignorance was a matter of discussion in the seminar. (Vijaya Karnataka, Monday, Dec 15) ATS chief on long leave In this…

Government to strengthen ATC The ATC (Anti Terrorism Cell) squad is slated to get a new face with government deciding to strengthen this cell in the wake of increasing terrorist activities. Government approved a proposal to appoint 750 specialised personnel to the squad. A number of initiatives are taken to make working with ATC more attractive for the police, which they have so far been looked upon as as a punishment rather than prestigious. (Prajavani, Friday, Dec 5)Vidhana Soudha in danger? The state government does not seem to be bothered by terrorist activities in the various parts of country. Its…

Ambedkar Community Computing Center (AC3) is a centre set up in the slum area of Sudharshan Layout by members of Ambedkar Youth Sanga, Stree Jagruthi Samithi (a women's organization fighting for women's rights and child rights, for increasing the wages of house maids, et cetra), volunteers from AID (Association for India's Development) and by volunteers of the free software movement.Mani, a student at the Ambedkar computer centreMore information on AC3 can be found here.The idea of setting up the centre was to equip the children in the nearby areas with the basic computer skills, using quality software which is available…

As Mumbai was held hostage for over 60 hours, the world watched in silence. The three-day bloodbath claimed over 190 lives, wounded over 300 and left thousands across India scarred for life. Citizens across the country were outraged and angered at the inefficiency of those in power and the ignorance of intelligence information. Peace rallies, candlelight vigils, slogan-shouting and much more. The silence was finally broken.Music at Cubbon Park Bandstand meeting to show solidarity with Mumbai terror attacks (pic source : MS Prasad) The whole of India grieved with Mumbai and continues to do so. Including Bangalore. Peace marches, candlelight…

Arts and CultureOnly three witness Kannada programmeKannada Bhavana,adjoining the Ravindra Kalakshetra is the venue for numerous programmes pertaining to Kannada and Karnataka. To commomorate ten years of the building, a seminar on liberalisation, economic scenario and its effects on culture was organised last week. However there were just three people in audience. Organisers were taken aback with this poor response.(Prajavani,Sunday, Nov 30) Business Rice levy: burden on traders or common man?The price of rice has increased by Rs 4- 5 per kg as a repurcussion of the government's decision to levy rice traders. Traders have passed their burden on to…

Business International passengers drop by 40 per cent at BIA Recession in US and European countries has its impact on BIAL. The number of international passengers in Bangalore has dropped by 40 per cent in the last six months and flight operations have dropped by 1.5 per cent. This has made life miserable for taxi operators as well as ticket booking agents. Many agents are likely to go bankrupt if the situation continues for another six months. Jet Airways has stopped flights between Bangalore and Chennai. Other companies too are likely to follow suit. (Udayavani, Saturday, Nov 22) Crime Boy…

Business Big demand for cows of Indian breed These cows were the center of attraction at the Krishi Mela conducted in the UAS campus. They belong to the pure Indian breed called 'Devani'. Due to their high resistance to diseases and capacity to work hard, they are in much demand. However the Devani cows are not available in large numbers and the National Diary Development Corporation is now engaging in developing this breed. There was demand for more than 500 Devani cows during the farm fest. (Vijaya Karnataka, Sunday, Nov 16) KSRTC launches courier service KSRTC has hit upon yet…