Articles by News Desk

The News Desk at Citizen Matters puts out Press Releases, notifications and curated information useful to the urban reader.

Shaheen Bagh: Mediation ends with Road 9 opened Following talks between Supreme Court appointed interlocutors and anti-CAA protesters at Shaheen Bagh, road number 9, a one-way route connecting Noida with Kalindi Kunj, was opened to allow one-way traffic from the Shaheen Bagh-Jamia Nagar locality and Ashram towards Noida through the Kalindi Kunj bridge. While it may not completely resolve traffic problems, it’s being considered a positive start. Hearing pleas against the blockade of roads for protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Shaheen Bagh, on February 17th, a Supreme Court Bench had appointed Senior Supreme Court lawyer Sanjay Hegde, advocate…

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HC cracks a whip on illegal buildings along ECR in CRZ-1 and II A Madras High Court bench comprising Justices M Sathyanarayanan and R Hemalatha have instructed the State Coastal Zone Management Authority (SCZMA) to carry out a detailed survey and identify the total count of unapproved buildings on ECR from Uthandi to Mahabalipuram. The bench had issued lock and seal notices to over 700 building owners a few years ago for violating the norms. Chennai Corporation has been directed to submit a report detailing the action taken against the owners. Further, the Justices ruled that GCC should develop a…

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The city with a population of over 12 million has nearly 8 million vehicles on road as of 2020. The draft revised Master Plan for Bengaluru – 2031 states that the modal share of public transport in total overall trips is only 48% as against 82 % for Mumbai.A city such as Bengaluru which has only 42 Kms of Metro serviced  that too for limited locations and a negligible suburban rail service, an efficient bus transport system is the only most significant public transport system available in the short and medium term. Since the arrival of metro services in the…

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SAP offices closed after H1N1 cases  After a couple of employees in the German software group SAP were tested positive for the H1N1 virus in Bengaluru, sources in the Indian arm of the company said Thursday that they had shut down all national offices for sanitisation. SAP India offices in Bengaluru, Gurgaon and Mumbai have been temporarily closed and employees have been asked to work from home. As per WHO (World Health Organisation), H1N1 symptoms include fever, chills and sore throat, like seasonal influenza. However, it is characterised by higher fatality rates among healthy young adults, as well as greater…

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India sustains 16 percent of the world population with only 4 percent of the world’s water resources. With the rapid growth and expansion of metro cities like Chennai and Bengaluru in South India, providing safe drinking water is one of the biggest challenges that the region faces today. One of the major challenges to tackling water stress is the ongoing mismanagement of resources that has led to the overexploitation of water resources, particularly groundwater.  It has been predicted that in South India, climate change would affect water resources in terms of, increase in both drought-like situations and flood events, change…

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Makeover for city’s streets under the Mega Streets project The Corporation of Chennai has adopted the Complete Streets Framework under which close to 110 kms of the city’s arterial roads are set to get a makeover. The project aims to upgrade the city’s streets to aid better walking, cycling and improve access to public transport. Through these measures the civic body hopes to create accessible public spaces for all. The project will revamp roads spread across 426 sq km of the city. There will be greater importance to various forms of non-motorized transport and making streets fit for the same.…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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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…

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