Articles by Shree D N

Broken commodes decorated along the compound wall that separates Railway land from BBMP land and footpath... coconut fronds thrown casually everywhere... the parked vehicles meant for carrying the dead, a garbage pickup point which never seems to be empty... the ground attacked continuously by garbage burning and stagnant water and turned black... add to this the unbearable stench of dead and decaying animals that makes you run for life, and you know you are in the backyard of Malleshwaram — on 11th main, Railway parallel road. Unused Railway land has become a dump filled with weeds. The unkempt garbage-filled land…

Voting percentage for Bangalore was 56.47, 55.7 and 55.69 for Bengaluru North, Central and South respectively, while the state average was 67.28%, in parliamentary elections. What does this project? While everybody is cribbing about Bangalore’s voter percentage and “urban voters’ apathy,” it may not be what it looks like. For example, have you seen anyone around you who did not vote? If not, who are these 44 people out of 100 who did not vote in Bangalore? Don’t you think there is more to the voting percentage story? In 2010, Citizen Matters had written about the reality behind voter turnout…

The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan premises in the heart of Bengaluru looked like a fortress on Sunday, April 6 2014. While cops were on vigil and the main gate was closed to unauthorised people, a team of volunteers was busy verifying the entrants with the RSVP list. After the Bangalore South candidate meet fiasco which was hijacked by language debate, Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) became extra-cautious on who should be let in. Even the seating was properly arranged, with volunteers guiding people where to sit depending upon who they were. This did not go well with all. Some TV reporters…

Prithvi Reddy in his office Pic: Shree D N He is the brain behind Aam Aadmi Party for Karnataka. He is also in the AAP's National Executive Committee. Prithvi Reddy gets candid with Citizen Matter’s Shree D N and Nikita Malusare on the AAP’s plans for this election season and his take on the roller coaster ride that their stint in politics has been this far. Can AAP change the election game? I think so. Whatever was believed as winnability in elections - caste, money, muscle power - has been proved wrong in Delhi elections. Delhi election showed us that…

It was a cool Sunday morning, but the volunteers and activists of Bharatiya Janata Party were seen running around with excitement near Chowdaiah Memorial Hall in Malleshwaram. Even as the curious crowd waited inside the hall for D V Sadananda Gowda (better-known as DVS by those who want short names) to arrive, the now-famous NaMo song, ‘Modi aanewala hai...’ was played on the projectors kept on both sides of the stage. Following this, a five-minute corporate film on the man of the day, DVS was played. When it was half-way, DVS, with his trademark end-to-end smile on his face, entered…

The residents of Bellandur, Koramangala and HSR Layout in Bengaluru, who have been fighting over the months to get the government to stop the mega project coming up on the wetland lying between Agara and Bellandur lakes, finally are resorting to a massive protest, to make their voices heard louder. The protest will be held on Sunday, March 23, 2014, at 10.30 am. The project is said to be violating the conditions set by the Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board, namely not altering the sloping pattern, not encroaching the drains etc. Despite this, the project developers Mantri Techzone Pvt Ltd…

Even after the elections are notified, all the parties have kept their list of candidates in suspense. However, here is some gossip from the political corridors for you! Enjoy reading! What is Congress doing? Congress is experimenting in Bangalore North with ‘primaries’ where internal voting will be done by the party members and the winner will contest the elections. Primaries will be held between Rajeev Gowda, B L Shankar and others, on March 8. Rajeev Gowda is an ex-IIMB professor, who also headed IIMB’s Centre for Public Policy. B L Shankar is a veteran politician with relatively clean history and…

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBBMP) on February 17th 2014 presented a Budget of Rs 7773.08 crore for 2014-15. However, there are not many new projects, while the emphasis is made on paying pending bills and continuing spill over works. Debt-ridden cash-strapped BBMP had come under fire in last July for presenting an imaginative Budget of Rs 8498 crore. Out of the expected Rs 8445,26 crore, BBMP could collect only Rs 3208.95 crore. This reduced the estimated expenditure for 2013-14 to Rs 3236.15 crore, and the pending payments and announced works in the last Budget spilled over to the 2014-15 Budget.…

  As soon as the monthly Council Meeting started at 11.30am on January 28, 2014, councillors from opposition party demanded to know why the BBMP annual report and CAG reports were not tabled in the council Padmanabha Reddy said that when the current Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was finance minister, he did away with 2% surcharge of stamp duty, which would have fetched some income to BBMP now if existed. Councillors of Congress party, outraged by this, protested vehemently by getting into the well of the council. The meeting was adjourned. Padmanabha Reddy later clarified that he did not have any…

According to Jana Mahiti report prepared by Ipaidabribe.com in 2010, the number of bribery cases was the highest in the Department of Stamps and Registration. The report even listed the top corrupt Sub-Registrar’s offices in Bengaluru. However, the future might change for the better, as there is some hope in the air. When P Manivannan, Chief Project Officer, Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP), known to be a reformist, was given the additional charge of Inspector General of Registration, Department of Stamps and Registration, the online crowd interested in bringing about some real change got curious. Manivannan is one of…