Articles by Vaishnavi Vittal

Over the last few weeks the state government, BBMP and city officials have been dilly-dallying over roadwidening in Bengaluru. The project itself has spurred a number of protests across the city and has also resulted in the forming of several associations and groups to jointly fight this. Former Mayor P R Ramesh filed a petition in the High Court in December 2009. File photo. But if you thought it was only public outrage that was stopping the city administration from carrying out roadwidening work, here's the real story. Over 100 roads, notified for roadwidening, are actually stonewalled because of an…

After more than a week of erratic power cuts, BESCOM now says things will slowly get back to normal. "Everything is stabilised", says H Nagesh, Director (Technical), BESCOM. Nagesh says that load-shedding will now be scheduled. BESCOM officials say domestic feeders will face three-hour power cuts daily. Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal To know when you are likely to loose power during the day and how many times, read the tables in this article..  For domestic feeders, there will three hours of power cuts daily,  one hour per cut, in three time windows: 6 AM to 10 AM, 10 AM to 2…

"I don't want my daughter to make the same mistakes I made", says 35-year-old Selvi P, a domestic worker who married at the early age of 19 to Pazhani, who then used to work at a petrol bunk. Against her family's wishes, Selvi married the man she was determined to spend the rest of her life with. On a recent trip to Mysore, Selvi saw the campus of IT major Infosys. Since then it is her dream that her daughter Savita works there. Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal But her happiness was short-lived as her husband soon took to alcohol and beat…

Twenty-two year old Gayathri S says she has done it all. From marketing to promotions to driving an auto rickshaw and even a stint as a model, she has taken up all kinds of odd jobs to support herself and her family of three. It shows on her frail, skinny frame. Gayathri completed her four-year Bachelor's degree in information sciences engineering course just last month. A resident of Vyalikaval in north Bengaluru, she lives with her mother, her school-dropout brother Purushotham G and younger sister Usha G, an eighth standard student. Gayathri's father Srinivas passed away when her mother was…

Even as the state government and BBMP recently made yet another u-turn on road-widening plans in Bengaluru, uncertainty remains over what is to come for properties that have been marked for acquisition.The state government and BBMP have announced that marking of roads for widening will be suspended. File photo. The Ring Road Property Owners' Association (RRPOA) for one believes that this is just a “trick” as no orders have been given in writing. Core Committee Member of RRPOA, Venkatesh Murthy says, “They should withdraw this (road widening plans) in writing, then only it will be official, not orally.” However, BBMP…

If you go with expectations to see a movie about Bengaluru, you are going to be thoroughly disappointed. Even as the feature film titled 'Bengaloored' may seem misleading to the regular movie-goer, director Swaroop Kanchi says the city is merely a backdrop in this story about a man and the changes in his life. (Read Citizen Matters' interview with Swaroop Kanchi here) 'Bengaloored' is about an author, Babruvahana or Babbu, who returns to the city from France after ten long years. With a lot of changes in his personal life, the film is about Babbu's struggles and his journey to…

At a recent BBMP council session, BJP corporator Y N Ashwath (Kempegowda, Ward 1) said, “There are so many stars in the sky. But it's the moon that is most visible. Just like our Mayor!” Mayor S K Nataraj (elected from Sarakki, Ward 179) has been witness to many such limericks, potshots and several bouts of anger from Bengaluru corporators, during council sessions. He doesn't have it all that easy. Mayor S K Nataraj. Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal. Two months into his tenure Nataraj has gotten down to brass-tracks to address problems in the city. He regularly conducts inspections and appears…

On July 3rd 2010, Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde announced that he is withdrawing his resignation, following a conversation with senior BJP leader L K Advani. Hegde said the BJP has promised to cooperate with the Lokayukta and give the body suo moto powers. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa told media persons that the state government will also help in checking illegal mining in the state. Justice Hegde has another year to complete his five-year term as Karnataka Lokayukta. More than a week after he announced his resignation, Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde seems more at ease. On June 23rd, when he…

Obtaining khatas is known to be an ordeal in itself. It is not uncommon to hear BBMP officials demanding various sums of money to 'get the work done'. In the past few weeks several residents in Bengaluru have narrated stories of how much money they doled out to get a khata. But there is also a success story amidst them, which has inspired many others in the city to follow suit. Fifty families residing at Suncity Apartments on Sarjapur Road applied for khatas with the BBMP and obtained the registration document last year. All this without paying a single rupee…

Heads swapped On the day this story was published (29th June), the state government effected transfers to two key officials in the city government. BBMP Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena was transferred to head the BDA, and the latter's commissioner H Siddiah was transferred to head the BBMP. Talking to Citizen Matters on this, Mayor S K Nataraj said he was not consulted on the transfers and that he viewed it as a 'routine' state government decision. The Mayor of Bengaluru S K Nataraj has announced that a separate BBMP council session will be held to discuss road widening in the…