Articles by Shamala Kittane Subramanyan

40% of all the Cauvery water that gets pumped into the city - from a distance of about 140 km and to a height of 500m, at a cost of Rs 300 crores a year is said to be unaccounted for. This is either wasted as a result of leaks or is stolen or not recorded because of faulty meters, thus making it ‘Non-Revenue Water (NRW)' or ‘Unaccounted For Water (UFW)'. BWSSB has woken up to this alarming reality and is trying to address a part of the problem through a project funded by the Japan Bank of International Co-operation…

"We are a pure science research institute that focuses on biological sciences but we are also probably the only institute that recognises the need to diversify. We have students from engineering and technology backgrounds taking up Ph.D courses with us," says Dr. Mukund Thattai, Professor (Computational cell biology) capturing the essence of the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, an offshoot of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). NCBS. Pic courtesy: ncbs.res.in Students have to appear for an entrance exam held by TIFR which is a common exam for about seven institutes : TIFR, CDFD, NBRC, CCMB, NCCS,…

High mountains, deep mines and pristine particles - that's where you'll find yourself or lose yourself to the basic sciences of "Astrophysics and Astronomy" and their endless possibilities. "For the purpose of research, the collection of particles that reach the Earth from outer space needs to happen either at high altitudes or deep beneath the Earth's surface," says 70-year old astrophysicist Dr. Palahalli Vishwanath as he reminisces his work days spent at the best of locations that he would perhaps never have visited had work not taken him. And if that sounds exciting, then you should probably find out more…

"It is close to four years now and there has not been a single repair work of the road," says Anil Kumar, but the RTI activist is not complaining! "It is strong, inspite of the many floods since 2008 when it was laid" says Kumar. A conversation with Kumar makes it apparent that it is not just the roads themselves but the monitoring of the entire process that residents need to be aware of in order to ensure that a good road is laid. In 1995, Ejipura was a new ward that lacked many basic civic amenities. A group of…

A vibrant bunch of people appear out of the mist, on a Saturday morning in Cubbon Park! On Feb 23rd morning, it was definitely a celebration of meeting people, spontaneous friendships and a common passion/interest that binds us all - cycling. Pic: Shamala Kittane Subramanyan "She has been riding with me since she was two and a half years old." says Prabhakar ‘Go Green' Rao, a father to a ‘happy-to-go-to-school' daughter. His daughter Pranalani Rao is now seven years old and seems absolutely comfortable on the bike. A beautiful father-daughter relationship, great cycling-together memories to treasure. Pic: Shamala Kittane Subramanyan…

"I am sure I have answers to all your questions but I can't guarantee satisfaction," said a candid N Sivasailam, MD of Bangalore Metro Rail Company Limited (BMRCL), in his opening remarks. He was conversing with Dr Ashwin Mahesh at a discussion on the Namma Metro at IIM, Bangalore, as part of a series on ‘Practice in Public Spaces', on January 30th. The first session of the series ‘Practice in Public Spaces’. K Jayraj sets the agenda. N Sivasailam is seated on the front row (in a black jacket). Pic: Shamala Kittane The discussion series was initiated by K Jayraj,…

Trees are as much a part of urban infrastructure and planning as roads and buildings, and most town and country planning acts worldwide include well thought-out provisions to nurture and protect trees. But Bangalore had clearly not been in sync, as was evident from the conclusions at a recent meeting of the Environment Support Group (ESG) on the 26th of January, 2013.The meeting included people from various backgrounds - students, professionals, civic representatives and had been convened with a view to seeking public opinion and consent to amend the KPTA (Karnataka Tree Preservation Act, 1976). Among those attending were D…

25 students of class VI and VII, Kumaran's School, wrote to the Consumer Services Manager of the snacks company Frito-Lay, telling him what they thought of the packaging that the chips came in. They each posted a Lays chips packet back to the company along with the letter. This was done as a part of their school nature club extracurricular activity. They called this campaign "SEALED: Yours Truthfully" which taught them about the EPR (Extended Producers Responsibility) Law. Post cards by students of Kumarans School (State Board) to Frito-Lay. Pic: Shamala Kittane The recently amended Plastics (Manufacture, Usage and Waste…

"BBMP wards are becoming unmanageable with a single commissioner and resources thinly divided," said Dr A Ravindra, Former Chief Secretary and Urban Affairs Advisor to the Chief Minister, Karnataka. He was delivering the key-note address at a seminar on ‘Reorganizing Bangalore into two or more Municipal Corporations'. The panelists at the seminar. Pic: Shamala Kittane The seminar was organised by the Indian Institute of Public Administration, Bangalore on January 19th and was attended by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, K. Dharmarajan (Chairman of Committee of Experts constituted by Govt. of Delhi to draft a new Delhi Municipal Corporation Law), D Venkatesh…

"We've waited 16 years and it's with several attempts that we've been allotted the site. We've also also availed of bank loans for construction of houses and have been regularly paying property taxes to BDA", was an appeal made by a plot owner to the then chief minister B S Yeddyurappa. This appeal was made by a number of BDA site allottees in December 2010, requesting Yeddyurappa to cancel denotification of the land on which their sites stood, in JP Nagar VIII phase.Click here to see the map Bangaloreans swear by BDA sites and it would not be an exaggeration…