Articles by News Desk

Art exhibition on Mumbai's monsoon Making a comeback after 16 years, the month-long Monsoon Festival has landed in Mumbai this year. The art exhibition is currently on show at two venues: at Method Bandra till October 16th, and the Tao Art gallery in Worli till October 23rd. Chock-full of art in diverse mediums, from paintings, drawings, photographs, to poetry, sculpture and vintage prints, the festival depicts the 'love-hate' relationship Mumbai has with the season. It attempts to capture the lived but un-documented aspects of the downpour, the relief and distress it brings, and the home-grown culture around it. The exhibition…

Bengaluru witnessed one of its worst floods in September this year. The city received more than 800mm rain, since June. Heavy rains led to flooding of many parts of the city in the east, southeast, and northeast, inundating neighbourhoods and houses and damaging vehicles. Tractors and boats were used to evacuate people from homes in flooded neighbourhoods. Bengaluru's IT corridor was among the worst affected. Large swathes of the city were flooded, normal life was disrupted, and the apathy of the authorities raised many questions.  In search of answers Several reasons have been cited for the flooding: from rapid and…

City drops 15 ranks in Swachh Survekshan Ranked 43 out of 45 cities (among those with a population above 10 lakhs), Bengaluru has slipped by 15 spots in Swachh Survekshan, 2022. Last year, it was 28th among 48 cities. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs released the list of cleanest cities on October 1st, evaluated on three parameters scored at 7,500 for service-level progress, certification and citizens’ voice. The BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) has scored 2,892.98. Almost Rs 1,500 crore was spent on solid waste management per year. Sources said that delays in the preparation of reports, disputes…

One mohalla clinic opens under 'Mission Healthy Dharavi', 12 more to come The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) opened one mohalla clinic at T-Junction this week under 'Mission Healthy Dharavi' initiative. The civic body plans to open 12 more of such portable clinics in Mumbai and will keep them operational from 3 pm to 10 pm. The initiative aims to provide access to primary healthcare to working class population by ensuring the clinics are functional when they get home from work. The portable clinics will be easy to dismantle and can be carried around to avoid congestion in the area. Source:…

Traffic restrictions in T Nagar for Deepavali Given the expected traffic congestion ahead of the Deepavali shopping in T Nagar, the Greater Chennai Traffic Police have announced new traffic arrangements from October 8th to 24th. Accordingly, commercial and goods vehicles will be permitted only between 11 pm and 7 am. Meanwhile, vehicle parking will be allowed at the Chennai Corporation School, Prakasam Salai; Ramakrishna High School, Bashyam Salai and Ramakrishna High School, Dhandapani Street. Paid parking facilities will also be available. Besides, the autorickshaws will be restricted on the routes including those from Thiyagaraja Street-Thanikachalam Salai towards Panagal park; from…

Students in city protest against NEP At a convention in Freedom Park on Wednesday, AIDSO (All India Democratic Students Organisation) said that about 40,000 students have collected and will send almost 35 lakh signatures to the Prime Minister and the state Chief Minister, demanding the scrapping of the NEP (National Education Policy), 2020 . AIDSO opposed many NEP features, including four-year degree courses and students simultaneously studying two degree courses, saying it would commercialise education. Experts slammed the government for rolling out the NEP without consulting stakeholders. They added that instead of focusing on developing infrastructure and addressing dropout rates in…

3,000 sq m of potholes filled this year, says the BMC In response to the numerous complaints about the state of Mumbai's roads, the BMC claimed it has filled 3,000 sq metres of potholes with rapid hardening concrete this monsoon. Prior to the monsoon, each ward is given Rs 1.5 crore to fix bad patches of roads. The BMC then gives them Rs 50 lakh for filling holes that appear during the rains with cold mix. The wards had asked for 3,004 metric tonnes of the mix earlier in March, but falling short of need, an additional Rs 5 lakh…

Korattur canal in Chennai choked by encroachment Restaurants, tea stalls and car wash garages are encroaching the Korattur Canal that runs from Korattur to Puzhal along the Water Canal Road in Chennai. Activists complain that the encroachments and garbage have polluted the canal such that it cannot be seen anymore.  They have urged the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to join hands with the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) and restore the canal instead of constructing stormwater drains in the location.  However, Corporation officials state that the canal in Korattur is a temporary storage structure, and there is a necessity…

Government tables Language Bill The government, on September 22nd tabled the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Bill, 2022 to provide for reservation to Kannadigas in industries and other establishments as per the state industrial policy. A non-complying company will not be eligible for any government concessions. The proposed legislation will also make Kannada mandatory for employees of banks and other financial institutions. Failure in using Kannada for official and administrative transactions would be considered as dereliction of duty. Source: The Indian Express 57% dissatisfied with government: Survey The Bengaluru Citizens’ Perception Survey, released by the B.PAC (Bangalore Political Action Committee) on…

Greater Chennai Corporation urges residents to pay property tax Only 6.88 lakh (52%) of the total 13 lakh assessees in the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) limit have paid property tax for the first half of the financial year 2022-23. The deadline for remitting the tax without penalty is September 30th, beyond which the civic body would levy fines. A sum of around Rs 570 crore has been collected so far, with the civic body expecting a collection of Rs 650 crore by the end of the month. Notably, around 63% of those who have paid the taxes so far are…