Flyover repairs and delayed road-widening
The Sirsi Circle flyover, constructed in 1999, was the longest flyover then, running 2.91km. It was repaired at a cost of Rs 2.8 crore, four years ago. Now the BBMP is planning to repair it again at a cost of 4.3 crores. The issue is in the longevity of the project. The material used will make the repair last only for four more years.
The government’s plan of building elevated corridors has put the road widening plans in Whitefield and Electronics City to a halt. The proposed plan had been to provide an alternative route between Hosur Road and Whitefield. Varthur Kodi-Dommasandra, Sarjapur Road-Gunjur and Sarjapur Road-Parappana Agrahara near Hosur Road are the planned stretches for road widening.
Source: The New Indian Express
Accident at Namma Metro
A child fell onto the road from the Metro escalator in Srirampuram Metro station on Sunday. A family member was holding the child and the escalator was going up when he lost balance and the child fell through the gap between the escalator and stairs, to the road 35 feet below. The child has been admitted to Indira Gandhi Institute Of Child Health. Meanwhile, North-South Corridor of Namma Metro got its first fix-coach train on Monday January 28th.
Cycle tracks and vehicle-free Lalbagh
The BBMP is calling for tenders for the construction of bicycle tracks from Metro stations in order to provide last-mile connectivity along both the Green and Purple lines. These tracks can be expected to be completed by the end of 2020, according to a BBMP official. A cyclothon was also held this week. As many as 3,000 cyclists travelled from Cubbon Park to Kanteerava Stadium as part of the Saksham Cyclothon.
The Horticulture Department in Lalbagh has decided to implement a complete ban on vehicles inside the park. The ban will come into effect over the next one and a half months and visitors will have to use the battery-operated vehicles or walk.
Source: The New Indian Express | Deccan Herald
Lakes and garbage dumps on fire
On January 20th, Varthur Lake caught fire for the third time in two years. The fire charred good part of the wetland area, and almost 20 acres of flora and fauna were lost. Cause of the fire is unknown, but one fire engine has been kept on standby at the lake. Three days later, a member of the NGT panel inspected the Bellandur and Varthur lakes to take stock of the situation.
Poorna Prajna Nagar in Uttarahalli saw a fire on the main road that threatened to spread to a nearby park before the fire engines rushed in and put the fire out. Fire was allegedly spread from a burning garbage dump that was near dry bamboo grass. The Uttarahalli ward has been facing issues with their garbage not being taken by the BBMP for days on end.
Last week saw BBMP’s landfill site, Bellahalli quarry, being blockaded off by villagers living near it, in order to protest the illegal dumping of mixed waste that had been happening for the past three years. No measures had been taken to prevent foul odours or stop the leachate from seeping into their groundwater supply.
Source: The New Indian Express
BU goes for excess recruitment
The Bengaluru University (BU) invited applications to fill up ‘long vacant positions’ – only they were not vacant, they were filled seats and this has caused BU officials and research scholars to protest the move. According to the protesters, this move came despite the Deputy Chief Minister giving an order to the VC to conduct an inquiry and stop recruitment due to BU officials allegedly giving incorrect information to the Social Welfare Department.
Like every year, private schools in Bengaluru are charging lakhs of rupees for admissions, with some charging close to 2 lakhs per year. The average rate for private schools is Rs. 80,000 this year, with those offering ICSE and CBSE curricula charging even higher. Schools refused to provide a break-up of the fees to the journalists who inquired.
Source: Deccan Herald
Free angioplasty
St. John’s Medical College and Hospital is offering free angioplasties to patients from economically weaker section until February 19th. Only a limited number of surgeries can be performed with the funds raised, so a screening process will be used to choose the patients. Breadwinners of their families and younger patients will be given preference.
A study of Bengaluru’s children and youth in the age group 0-20 shows that nearly 40% of them suffer from anaemia, the most common form being Iron Deficiency Anaemia. A chief nutritionist at Healthcare Global Hospital has recommended that children be given foods rich in iron and vitamin C on a daily basis, in order to properly absorb the required nutrients.
Source: The New Indian Express
Power theft reduced
BESCOM has registered a significant drop in the number of cases of power theft over the past year. According to them, one of the reasons for the reduction in cases was the increased awareness among people.
Source: The New Indian Express
Rains predicted
According to forecasts by the Indian Meteorological Department, Bengaluru can expect light showers this weekend, followed by the possibility of a thunderstorm on Monday. North and South Karnataka can both expect isolated showers due to the low pressure region over the Bay of Bengal.
Source: The New Indian Express
(Compiled by Rahna Jacob)