Articles by Pushpa Achanta

On a hot Saturday in April, BBMP demonstrated its responsive side. Earlier that morning when my husband told me about a dead ox body opposite our building at Benson Town, I thought he was joking. A little later, I was shocked when I actually noticed the ox lying along the roadside. Brushing aside questions of "Who, why, when and how", I presumed that one of our proactive neighbours would have reported the issue. But when I rang the BBMP's 24 hour helpline (22221188 and 22660000) around 10.15 am to check, I realised that no complaint had been lodged. Curious children…

An insensitive and ignorant society labels them eunuchs, hermaphrodites, kojja, ali, ombathu, and so on. But they prefer theterms hijra, kothi, jogappa, panthi, mangalamukhi, gay, lesbian, intersex, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, etc. Often ostracized by their loved ones for daring to be open and different, they are among society's most marginalized and traditionally excluded. Further, the state and its representatives harass and discriminate against them denying them fundamental rights and benefits like housing, education, employment, healthcare, identity cards. However, for over a decade, the sexual minority community has been demanding humane and dignified treatment and basic entitlements. Additionally, alternate sexual persons…

If you have been in Cubbon Park opposite the Bangalore Press Club entrance between 2.00 PM and 4.00 PM on the month's last Saturday, you have probably noticed a group of around fifteen or twenty people discussing the RTI Act (Right to Information) and relevant laws. This could be the free RTI clinic that several Civil Society Organizations (CSO's) in Bangalore like the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM), Urban Research Centre (URC), Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), OpenSpace, Mahiti Hakku Adhyayana Kendra (MHAK), Anti Corruption Forum (ACF) et al, have been organizing jointly since…

It was a largely peaceful polling day for Bengaluru on Sunday, March 28th, and lakhs of citizens came out to vote in the first BBMP elections since 2001. Three and a half years after the erstwhile city council was dissolved by the state government in late 2006, and several litigations later, the State Election Commission pulled out a major effort to conduct the city polls at very short notice.Presiding, polling officers and police personnel throughout the city were helpful and knew their procedures. Arifulla Shareef, election observer for Rajajinagar assembly constituency told Citizen Matters that most complaints were about people…

CIVIC and the Federation of Civil Society Organisations of Sagayapuram, a coalition of Residents Welfare Associations (RWA's) in the ward, organised a debate for candidates of Sagayapuram (Ward no 60) and the residents of the area on March 24th at the Medico-Pastoral Association on Pottery Road from 4.30 - 6.30 pm.The ward is reserved for Scheduled Caste. The meet saw only around forty residents and two candidates participate.  Richards Town, Lazar Layout, Bagalur Layout and Sagayapuram come under Sagayapuram ward. Contestant Marimuttu addresses meeting particpants. Pic: Pushpa Achanta As no contestant was available even half an hour after the scheduled…

Celebrating the International Women's Day centenary, the Network of Women in Media, Bangalore (NWMB), Network of Women in Media, India's (NWMI) local chapter and the Bangalore Press Club, co-hosted a lively and thoughtful exchange on the Changing Role of Women in Media for nearly thirty media professionals, social activists, freelance writers and students on 13th March 2010 from 3.00-5.30 pm. Tanushree Gangopadhyay, (veteran journalist previously at Deccan Herald, Indian Express and other national publications) and Anita Cheria (independent writer on human rights issues) NWMB's present joint coordinators, welcomed the participants and moderated the discussion respectively. NDTV anchor Vasanti Hariprakash, (formerly…

"Every day is women's day" said Manjula Devi P N, a JP Nagar 3rd phase resident, employee of Corporation Bank and a volunteer with the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled. Living with polio, this post graduate, bureaucrat's wife and mother of two started spending time with the children and others at Samarthanam in 2004, having decided that she must give back something to society. She spends a few hours every week mentoring youth, reading to children or assisting them with their lessons.Keenly interested in the issues of the mentally challenged, she also helps in raising funds for Samarthanam by talking…

Heard that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been spending thousands of crores of rupees on 'development' projects? And awarding contracts to various private consultants? But, who are they? Bangalore based Anti Corruption Forum (ACF - a group of social activists who have good experience and knowledge of the RTI Act and many other legislations) decided to find out. According to information ACF has obtained, a total of 97 consultants throughout India have been appointed for the 'development' work out of which 18 are from Bangalore. The ACF filed an RTI application with the BBMP in December 2009, requesting details…

...to question whyshe needs permissionto answer nature ...to wonder aloudwhy 'adults' oftendiscuss kids' issueswithout consulting them...to inform 'leaders'that their needsare critical too...to remind eldersthat they maybecitizens of tomorrowbut are around now!   Inspired by what I saw and heard from and about the young during the Civil Society Summit 2010, a commemoration and re-examination of 60 years of the Indian Republic and its constitution, held in Bangalore from 24th-26th January. 

Early last week, I heard of the consultation with children and other stakeholders to frame guidelines on play spaces in Bangalore's parks that BBMP had approached Kilikili to help develop. I was glad that this event included kids but expected adults to hog the limelight. So, it was a pleasant surprise to see that the latter, namely, Kavita Ratna and Roshni Nuggehalli from the Concerned for Working Children, Prarthana Unkalkar of iVolunteer Bengaluru, Usha Bala from the Association of People with Disability, Kavitha Krishnamoorthy and Kanika Mittal of Kilikili, Joy Srinivasan from Makkala Jagriti, Amrutha, a consultant for children with autistim and other…