Articles by Sriram V

Recently unearthed details about the concessional agreement between the BBMP and Maverick Holdings show that the BBMP intends to hand over additional land to the firm but the BBMP is yet to inform its residents about it. Maverick Holdings is constructing a commercial complex as well as 1,512 low income homes at the site previously occupied by tin sheds housing low-income housing allottees, their tenants and squatters. But now the land previously allocated to pourakarmikas is also being handed over to Maverick Holdings. In response to an RTI query, B T Ramesh, Chief Engineer of the BBMP, replied that apart…

Two of the city's biggest engineering colleges, one of its biggest medical colleges, a former prime minister along with a Rashtra Kavi call Padmanabhanagar their home. Yes, PESIT, Dayananda Sagar, Deve Gowda and G S Shivarudrappa, along with Goddess Banashankari, reside in this constituency which includes much of Padmanabhanagar, Kumaraswamy Layout, ISRO Layout, Yediyur and parts of Banashankari, Basavanagudi and Jayanagar. The incumbent and his promisesThe incumbent is three-term MLA and Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka. First elected in a bye-election in 1997 from Uttarahalli, India's largest assembly at that time, Ashoka was re-elected in 1999 and 2004. In…

BTM Layout Assembly Constituency is home to some of the city's coveted addresses as well as some its worst slums. The constituency has seen a sea change with the IT boom: apart from being home to many IT companies, it also connects Electronic City with the rest of Bangalore. If swanky malls and restaurants are one part of this story, choked roads and unplanned development are the other part. The constituency was one of the seven carved out the erstwhile Uttarahalli constituency before the 2008 assembly elections. Koramangala, BTM Layout, Adugodi, Madivala, Lakkasandara and Ejipura are some of the areas…

Its 8:30 am and Doctor MRV Prasad is on his rounds - but this time it's a different kind of rounds. Dr Prasad is contesting the MLA elections from the Padmanabhanagar constituency on a JD (S) ticket. He is constantly going door-to-door asking people to vote for him. The campaign is a low-key affair, with only a handful of supporters walking with Prasad. Dr Prasad has been a physician in Thyagarajanagar for the last 40 years. A man on scooter, on spotting Dr Prasad, stops and tells him that he went by his nursing home but there was no one…

After many attempts to reach him, Citizen Matters finally caught up with Deputy Chief Minister and Padmanabhnagar MLA R Ashoka on a Padyatra in Shastri Nagar in Yediyur ward. Surrounded by a horde of screaming supporters and amidst shaking hands, waving at his supporters Ashoka answered the questions put to him. R Ashoka campaigning in his constituency. Pic: Sriram V Here are the excerpts:  What are the problems facing your constituency?The constituency before I became MLA had severe drainage issues. There were no playgrounds here and even those that were there were not in a good state. The constituency also has…

Five-time MLA Ramalinga Reddy, now representing the BTM assembly was busy campaigning in Pothulappa Garden of Lakkasandra ward. Reddy visited an ailing supporter at his house after which he offered prayers to the local deity and then sat down for a chat with Citizen Matters during a campaign. As his supporters sang his praises in the background, Reddy talked about his constituency and his work in the last five years. Ramalinga Reddy Pic: Sriram V Here are the excerpts from the interview:  Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can…

It is the last day to file nominations and also the day when a bomb went off outside the BJP office in Malleshwaram. Just after filing his nomination, Jayanagar MLA B N Vijaykumar sat down with Citizen Matters to give us his take on the constituency, its problems, his achievement and what he plans to do if elected again. Jayanagar MLA B N Vijay Kumar with supporters after filing his nomination. Pic: Sriram V What were the main problems of the constituency? Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us.…