Articles by News Desk

Azaan row Bengaluru City Police has seized microphones from many religious establishments, on the charge that they defied court orders on noise pollution. The police have booked cases and will monitor the prescribed decibel levels. Notices had been issued to 301 shrines, including temples, churches and mosques, with strictures to stick to KSPCB (Karnataka State Pollution Control Board) guidelines. Many right-wing Hindu organisations had launched drives against azaan in mosques, vowing to counter it by playing Hanuman Chalisa and bhajans through loudspeakers. The Imam of Jamia Masjid, one of Bengaluru's largest mosques, said they have installed a decibel meter to…

Chennai Corporation zones to increase to 22 The 15 zones in the city demarcating Greater Chennai area will be increased to 22 zones in order to align with the assembly constituency boundaries. According to the Commissioner of the Greater Chennai Corporation, Gangadeep Singh Bedi, the aim of increasing the number of zones is to ensure that civic issues be addressed faster and in a uniform manner. In addition, the move aims to boost political representation in different areas. According to Bedi, since zones span over a large area, it has been challenging for city officials to address civic issues uniformly.…

BBMP presents Rs 10,480 cr budget The BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) released its budget copies to reporters late on Thursday night without prior notice, probably to avoid taking questions and clearing doubts. BBMP has projected for 2022-23 a total revenue collection of Rs 10,484 crore from various sources, including property tax, state and central government grants. It hopes to collect Rs 3,680 cr from property tax and cesses. The expenditure is estimated to be Rs 10,480 crore, higher than the budget of the last financial year. The budget document accounted for a positive opening balance of Rs 5.58 crore.…

Property tax set to increase in Chennai The state government has ordered local bodies to revise property tax following the recommendations of a committee appointed to study the issues. As a result, property tax in Chennai could be set to rise by up to 150%. The notification for the same was issued by the Municipal Administration Secretary. The committee's recommendations for Chennai include that the taxes in core areas be hiked by between 50% to 150%. The tax rates in the suburbs merged with the Chennai Corporation in 2011 is set to be hiked between 50% to 100%. Commercial buildings…

Wearing masks no longer mandatory in Mumbai On March 31st, Mumbai saw 42 news COVID cases and no casualties. The gradual decline in cases led the state executive comm to ease all COVID restrictions in Maharashtra. The state government has relaxed all curbs and checking for vaccination and social distancing will stop. Wearing masks is now voluntary and no longer a finable offence. For districts that still have a high number of cases and low vaccination rates, stricter curbs may be implemented as they do not meet the criteria to relax all restrictions. However, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has…

Changes in door-to-door waste collection system proposed The door-to-door waste collection system may undergo drastic changes. BBMP may deploy one garbage contractor for every three wards, instead of one per ward. The Palike may also increase the garbage contract period for a minimum of three years, and introduce four-wheel tippers that are mostly electric or CNG-enabled. There will be no separate vehicles for collecting wet and dry waste; instead, each tipper will have separate compartments for wet and dry waste. The proposed changes will be discussed in the next board meeting of the BSWM (Bengaluru Solid Waste Management) Ltd. Once…

Chennai experienced its hottest day of the year this week On Tuesday 22nd March, Chennai residents experienced high humidity and searing heat.  The weather stations in Nungambakkam and Meenambakkam recorded a maximum temperature of 37.6 degree Celsius and 38 degree Celsius respectively, around 4 degree Celsius above average for the day. According to experts from the Meteorological Department, the extreme heat has been triggered by the Westerlies and Northwesterlies from the land. In addition, there was a deep depression that crossed Myanmar, which could have contributed to the heat. Sea breeze was also obstructed on Tuesday by a trough that prevailed in…

Cases of tuberculosis decline, but vigilance high On March 25th, an official from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that Mumbai reported 60,000 cases of tuberculosis (TB) in 2021, compared to over 43,000 in 2020. But, despite these numbers, there seems to be a marginal decline in cases of TB since before the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2019, when cases were at 60,440. The BMC was vigilant of TB cases during the pandemic since those suffering could have been overlooked despite their increased vulnerability to the virus. Services for TB patients were kept running through the pandemic years, and officials…

Bandh against hijab order partial, peaceful Several parts of the city were deserted on Thursday in response to the bandh called by Muslim groups to protest the Karnataka High Court’s ruling on hijab. Establishments owned by Muslims on Commercial Street, Shivajinagar, Yarab Nagar near Banashankari, Mosque road, JC Nagar, Central Business District (CBD) and Chamarajpet were closed and people’s movement was low. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant oversaw security arrangements in Kadugondanahalli, DJ Halli, JC Nagar and RT Nagar police station limits. The bandh passed off peacefully. Before the High Court pronounced its verdict on Tuesday morning, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of…

New Stormwater drains worth 28 crores to come up in parts of the city The tenders for constructing new storm water drains (SWDs) in Chennai have been floated under the Singara Chennai 2.0 funding and by the Greater Chennai Corporation. These drains are to be constructed in central areas of the city such as Nungambakkam, Virugambakkam, T Nagar, Gopalapuram. Prior to this, tenders for SWD projects in Kodambakkam, Teynampet, Adyar and Santhome were floated by the GCC. The SWM projects in the central areas will be constructed in Radhakrishnan Salai, Kannadasan Street, Virugambakkam Street, Kaliamman Street and Reddy Street.  All…