Articles by News Desk

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike and Janaagraha’s #MyCityMyBudget annual campaign, meant to involve citizens in the making of the city’s budget, was kicked off on Tuesday.  The thrust of this year’s campaign is to improve public toilets, end public urination and ensure pedestrian-friendly footpaths.  The campaign that will  be live for a month, seeks inputs from citizens for the next BBMP Budget. Citizens can submit their proposals at: https://www.ichangemycity.com/mcmb2020. BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad said that inputs are welcome through email, apps, forms and even through the budget van. He recalled that in the year 2017-18, the campaign received 22,000 suggestions…

Hyderabad civic polls: TRS slips as BJP makes major gains The results of the much-hyped and keenly contested elections to the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation were declared on Friday. The ruling party of the state, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), suffered a dent in performance with its secured wards going down from 99 to 55. The BJP made significant gains, raising its tally from 4 to 48. Despite being the single largest party, the TRS will need the support of other parties to retain the mayoral post as it falls well short of the 65-member mark. The voter turnout for the…

SWD project in south Chennai to start in two weeks In two weeks, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) will begin construction of the stormwater drain (SWD) network in south Chennai. The project is funded by the World Bank. The SWD network in north Chennai is likely to commence next year. A minimum sum of Rs 2,600 crore is likely to be used for developing the drains, eco-restoration of waterbodies and interlinking of tanks in Tiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram, Ambattur, Sholinganallur, Perungudi and Alandur zones. Residents have been up in arms against the proposed project. Several sections of ECR did not witness…

HC directs holding BBMP polls without delay The High Court of Karnataka directed the State Election Commission to hold elections to the 198 wards in the BBMP with speed and efficiency. Towards this, the SEC should publish the election programme within a maximum period of six weeks from the date of publication of the final reservation notification, it said. The court directed that the final notification on caste-based reservation for the 198 wards (based on the draft notification issued in September) be published within a month. By this order, the ruling party's amendment to increase the number of wards in…

Bengaluru has seen its share of mobilised violence. Mobilised violence refers to violence perpetrated by a group of people to achieve an identified objective. There are significant socio-political, historic and economic factors that engender mobilised violence, but the inadequacy of the legal system and absence of sensible policing also play a role in preventing it. Existing legal approaches have failed to curb mobilised violence. While some laws aim to address it by imposing restrictions on hate speech and the formation of associations or assemblies, they are often broadly constructed, vague and invariably misused. The discretion conferred by these laws to…

Indira Canteen contractors not paid for seven months Contractors of 198 Indira Canteens, including mobile canteens, find it difficult to operate as the BBMP has not paid their bills for more than seven months. The contractors include Chef Talk Food and Hospitality Services Pvt Ltd, Rewards, and Adamya Chetana. Udaykumar of Rewards used to operate 88 canteens, but is now managing 50, according to the new tenders which came into effect on August 1. The government subsidy (for three meals per day) was earlier Rs 37, but has been reduced to Rs 30.3 (Rs 9.8 for breakfast and Rs 10.25…

Cyclone Nivar ravages city Cyclone Nivar made landfall near Puducherry on November 25th. It brought heavy rain and strong winds to Chennai. Ram Nagar in Velachery, parts of Madipakkam, Puzhuthivakkam, Pulianthope and KK Nagar are some of the localities that witnessed severe inundation as a result of the cyclone. Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) Commissioner G Prakash stated that high tide was one of the reasons behind inundation in the city. While Chennai’s flat gradient reduces the speed of water draining, the high tide makes it difficult to pump out water from areas with water stagnation.  The commissioner further added that…

Farmers reach Delhi The farmers from Punjab, protesting against the Centre's controversial farm laws, reached Delhi on 27th November. After more than five hours of confrontation between the police and farmers, the former were instructed to let the farmers in. The "Delhi Chalo" protests are being organized by the All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee and various other outfits of Bharatiya Kisan Union. The farmers planned to reach Delhi through five highways connecting the national capital. In Haryana, the police authorities used water canons and tear gas to disperse the farmers but failed to do so. The farmers in retaliation broke…

Cyclone Nivar brought with it heavy to extremely heavy rainfall across the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu with winds going upto speeds of 130 km/h as it made landfall near Puducherry on the night of November 25th. The cyclone rapidly gained strength in its last few hours and was categorised as a "severe cyclonic storm”. With repeated warnings from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) to brace for the cyclone, many districts shut down completely and suspended transportation services to ensure safety. Cities in the region, including Chennai, experienced heavy rain and flooding.  Link with climate change With the cyclone having…

Cyclone Nivar is the first cyclonic storm to hit Tamil Nadu since the devastating Cyclone Gaja in 2018. The cyclone is expected to cause heavy to extremely heavy rainfall and strong winds. The cyclone is set to make landfall between Karaikal and Mamallapuram around midnight of November 25th (and early 26th). The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has stated that the wind speed of Cyclone Nivar will be at 100-120 kilometre per hour (KMPH), gusting up to 140 KMPH in Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and Tiruvarur districts. The tentative path of the cyclone set to make landfall between 25th and 26th. Pic:…