Articles by News Desk

Arvind Kejriwal all set to take oath as Delhi CM After registering a resounding victory in the Delhi Assembly Elections 2020, Arvind Kejriwal will be taking oath on February 16th along with his other fellow cabinet ministers. AAP won 62 seats out of 70 in the elections, while the remaining 8 were won by BJP. India’s oldest political party, Congress, could not win any.  The party has claimed that since its win in the Delhi elections, over 1 million people have joined the party. Data collected by Axis My India poll analysis agency through a survey conducted immediately after the…

40% progress in road-cum-Metro rail flyover The BMRCL (Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd) has made 40% progress in the road-cum-Metro rail flyover on the 3.2 km stretch between Ragigudda, JP Nagar and Central Silk Board on Marenahalli Road. This section is part of the Bommasandra - RV Road line in Phase 2 of Namma Metro. BMRCL says that the most complex activity was the launching and fixing of wings to the spine segment of the road flyover, which is now completed. This is the first road-cum-rail flyover in the city. The Rs 330 crore structure has a four-lane flyover at…

Bengaluru is a globally recognized city for its IT and startup industry thus providing livelihood for millions of people across the country and also has been the growth engine of the state. Ironically, the civic condition of Bengaluru is in a mess, inadequate infrastructure, traffic congestion, air pollution, water crisis are all the issues that needs to be addressed and fixed. When we ask tough questions then everybody is passing the buck to the other.  Someone has to address the elephant in the room. B.CLIP Alumni Association has conceptualized “BANGALORE 2.0” a campaign towards building a “Better Bengaluru” through which…

This edition of Kaikondrahalli Kere Habba enters its sixth year. Kere Habba is a sunrise to sunset event that celebrates the gorgeous Kaikondrahalli Lake. It hosts a variety of sessions ranging from fitness to traditional art and crafts, for adults and children alike - all talking the same idiom of ecology and environment. The day starts with a bird walk at 6am followed by a 5 km run on the jogging track around the lake. Special medals made of lake reeds will be awarded to all registered participants and finishers of the run apart from 5 lucky draw prizes. Kere…

As the rejuvenation of Bellandur and Varthur lakes is underway, the NGO Bangalore Environment Trust (BET) has written an open letter to the state government, requesting course correction. The expert committee on lake rejuvenation had recommended that both the lakes be desilted, but BET's letter points out that it'd take 53 years to remove the toxic silt-cum-slush in Bellandur lakebed, and 20 years for Varthur lakebed! This is because toxic waste has flown into the two lakes, unimpeded, for the last 50 years. BET's calculations are based on a recent study by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). More importantly, the…

Bangalore’s World-Famous Semi-Deluxe Writing Program is an 8-weekend long creative writing course that features leading Bengaluru writers as faculty. Taught in the form of lectures, workshops, assignments, discussions and a whole lot of writing, the 2020 edition of the program will begin in June 2020, and has 30 seats. The program is brought to you by course directors and acclaimed writers Anjum Hasan, Eshwar Sundaresan and Zac O’ Yeah in association with Shoonya. When Anjum Hasan, Zac O’ Yeah and Eshwar Sundaresan got together in the last decade to plot a creative writing course, considering that aspiring writers would frequently…

On February 10th, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, issued a suo moto statement in the Lok Sabha on the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus Disease in China and some other countries, and the subsequent actions taken by the Government of India. Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that cause illness in humans and animals. Rarely, animal corona viruses can evolve and infect people, and then spread between people as has been seen with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2014. China reported an outbreak of Novel…

Citizens, industry bodies slam BESCOM’s tariff hike proposal Citizens and industry representatives slammed BESCOM’s (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company) proposal to increase electricity tariff by Rs 1.96 a unit in the coming financial year. At a public hearing held at the KERC (Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission) on Friday, the advocacy group B.PAC (Bangalore Political Action Committee) said the Commission should ask BESCOM to "submit realistic projections” and streamline power procurement at low costs, instead of passing on the increase in purchase cost to consumers. As per B.PAC's analysis, BESCOM has not shown any improvement in key metrics such as power purchase…

Treatment for CoronaVirus only at Government hospitals The State Health Department has issued a directive that incidences of coronavirus will be treated only at Government hospitals and no private hospital should admit or offer treatment to patients with symptoms of the virus. The Department has said that this step is being taken to keep a strict vigilance and to avoid the potential risk of the suspected people being exposed to the general public. There are currently 1351 passengers from China who are under surveillance and they have been put on quarantine for 28 days. Source: The Times of India City…

Do we really know our city—beyond our favourite parks and gardens, theatres and cafes? Are we searching for ways to carve better spaces but unable to drive a concrete action plan? Do we act together or alone in trying to shape the space we all call home? ComplexCity is our celebration of urban diversity and plurality. It is a tribute to the city and its people. An invitation to every urban inhabitant to share their experiences of the city with one another. An acknowledgement and appreciation of and respect for every effort towards city building, and a commitment to continue…