Articles by Seema Prasad

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has released its 2017-18 annual report online last week in its entirety. The report details BMRCL's efforts to keep up the pace of construction and other issues. Six new stretches of the Metro cover 72 km and 61 stations. Two extensions of the already existing purple line on the west and east sides, two extensions of the already operational green line on the north and south sides, and establishment of the new Yellow Line and Red Line form six stretches totally. While the civil contracts have been awarded for all the depots costing Rs…

As the #MeToo movement from the West settled on Indian shores, brewing up a storm in Bollywood and the Indian media industry, the corporates were not left behind in the exercise of ousting perpetrators of sexual harassment this year. Companies are now mandated to compulsorily disclose sexual harassment cases in their annual reports.  A study of companies listed in Nifty shows, in the FY 2018 alone, 601 cases of sexual harassment have been reported. Wipro recorded 101 cases, ICICI bank follows with 99 cases, and Infosys with 77 cases in 2018. Companies hire external firms to implement the POSH Act, manage redressal…

Ganesha Chaturthi is celebrated with great aplomb throughout the country. Meanwhile, efforts to avoid the immersion of idols made of Plaster of Paris in lakes which causes irreversible damage to the aquatic life and the lakes is underway in Bengaluru, the city of 1000 lakes, which has managed to retain some lakes. Like every year, the BBMP has sent out circulars on the environmentally friendly measures to take, while the Central Pollution Control Board has issued orders to the state government. This has resulted in eco-friendly celebrations gaining popularity in Bengaluru. Seed Ganeshas are gaining popularity. A typical seed Ganesha…

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Manjunath Prasad has said that properties in 110 villages added to BBMP in 2007, which are on B-Khatha list, will be regularised. These properties will be de-linked from the Akrama-Sakrama scheme, on which a public interest litigation is going on in the Supreme Court. It is not clear how many properties will benefit from this, and whether it will be vacant sites alone, or if it will include the built up properties as well. The statement comes in the backdrop of the Karnataka government's move to amend the Karnataka Land Revenue Act, 1964. This will regularise…

Two years ago when the Centre for Smart Cities, the same think-tank that came up with the idea of elevated corridors, formulated a proposal to concretise 29 Bengaluru roads, it was with the vision to build sustainable road infrastructure. Like many ambitious government plans, the execution of the project by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) continues to be stalled by obstacles not taken into consideration during planning. The work has been held up in the absence of clearances from traffic police and due to the onset of monsoon as reported by the media extensively. However,  tender documents related to the project clearly show…

On the occasion of India's 72nd Independence day, when Bengaluru should have observed the plastic ban effected two years ago on March 11, 2016 through a gazetted notification, bulk manufacturers of the national flag remained unaware of the environmental impact of using common polyester fabric to make these flags. Despite the Ministry of Home Affairs issuing a notice advising state governments to keep a strict vigil on the usage of plastic flags this year, the purpose was defeated, primarily because most vendors did not grasp the real implication of making and selling polyester fabric flags. The manufacturers, distributors, and shops often…

Residents of South City apartments in Bengaluru were in for a rude shock this February when Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company Limited (BESCOM) served them a notice demanding penalties up to Rs 54 lakh. Similar notices were also sent to Purva Highlands apartment complex. The Vigilance Police Commissioner (BESCOM) from the Hosakote branch said that two months ago, a huge gated community on Doddaballapur Road, with over 3000 flats had everything from a spa,  a beauty parlour, an ATM to Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), fire hydrants and club house facilities on their apartment premises. Hence, it was charged under LT-5 tariff referred to…

On June 27, Bengaluru’s National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) formally launched its digital academy, virtually, with the government's participation. Along with NIMHANS director B.N Gangadhar, who was at the office of the Union Health Minister JP Nadda in New Delhi, 500 doctors from 15 states logged in. "It was a formal event. We announced the course, launched digital books and shared the link to the website. We also discussed the agenda, and the benefits of distance education in this sector," Gangadhar said. Mental illnesses present an ever-growing cause for concern across the world. Statistics that emerge from…

An auto stops on Tannery road. Five adults seat themselves in the back. One adult, with a toddler on his lap, shares the seat with the driver. The overcrowded auto carries them forward, navigating narrow roads. It swiftly drops them in a location and picks up more passengers going to a nearby destination. This is a common practice across Bengaluru today where there is insufficient last mile connectivity. The concept of shared autos prevalent in Chennai and Hyderabad has slowly entered Bengaluru over the years, but this informal system is relatively unheard of and seldom spoken about. Auto drivers who…

Solving their civic-woes has been a challenge for the 12 lakh residents living in the 110 villages on the outer circle in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits, in Bengaluru. Not only has the struggle to get drinking-water been unfruitful, the lack of drainage network lets the sewage accumulate in open drains and lakes, causing irreversible long-term ecological and health problems. There is, however, about to be a slight change in their plight. The infrastructural work to lay underground drainage facilities in the five zones — Mahadevapura, Byatarayanapura, Bommanahalli, Dasarahalli and RR Nagar — officially commenced on March 15,…