Before we get into our stories, here is a short summary of what happened in the city:

• Oil marketing companies have revised the prices of petrol and diesel prices. Bangaloreans now have to pay only Rs 62.01 for petrol and Rs 50.06 for diesel.
• A curious case of file change in BBMP has taken place, where a file with bills worth 35 crores was supposed to be cleared, but another file that had bills worth Rs 147 crores got cleared. The second file was not technically cleared by the BBMP, but someone exchanged the BBMP commissioner’s letter from one file to another. One official has been arrested, while two officers from accounts department are absconding.
• State Assembly’s winter session begins. Legislators have been banned from carrying cell phones into the assembly hall.
• BBMP restructuring committee took the feedback of three MLAs from the city. More consultations to follow.
• On Saturday, Whitefield residents will be staging a mega protest against the entry of trucks into main roads during daytime.
• Traffic could take a hit near Majestic, as BBMP has initiated work of Phase 2 of the TenderSURE project on KG Road, even as work on Phase 1 remains incomplete.
• Election season is here, so is the season for religious rallies. Bangalore City Police have banned the entry of Praveen Togadia and Asaduddin Owaisi to Bengaluru, in the backdrop of Virat Hindu Samajothsava and  a massive counter rally by Majlis Ittehadul Muslimin. Both of them are known to deliver religious hate speeches. 

This week’s highlight: With BBMP booting out Forest Cell officials, trees in BBMP limits face danger

BBMP is left with only two officials now, to deal with the rampant tree cutting that takes place in the city. Pic: Shree D N

The BBMP has relieved seven officers from its Forest Cell. What does this spell for the city’s green cover? Read: Ghar wapsi of BBMP forest officials: Bengaluru’s greenery to suffer.

The BBMP council renamed several public facilities. Kaikondrahalli Lake will henceforth become Swamy ‘Vivekananda Parisara Dhama’. Read: Kuvempu, Vivekananda, rivers of India feature in BBMP’s list of names.

KSPCB will hold public consultations across the state to collect suggestions and feedback on climate change. Possible dates for Bengaluru: March 17th, 26th, 27th and 28th. Read: KSPCB to discuss climate change with public.

Living in the city

“Come to Malleshwaram during Navratri and you may need to get carted away on a stretcher. In fact, come Navratri, come Ganesh Chaturthi, come Ram Navami—any Hindu festival turns Malleshwaram into a madhouse of sorts.” Suchitra Deep takes a humorous dig at the new ‘happening’ areas of Bengaluru, while comparing them to one of the oldest, Malleswaram. Read: Malleshwaram, the grand old lady of Bangalore!

Made plans for the weekend already? Well, you might want to consider cancelling or postponing them. This weekend, come together to celebrate trees at the Neralu – Bengaluru Tree Festival. Participate in walks, talks, workshops and more.

Also read: Neralu School Project: Getting kids enthused about trees.

With many folks in towns and cities living in apartment complexes, the demand for expert facility managers is on the rise. What are their needs and challenges and how can they overcome them? Read: Now, trained managers to look after apartment facilities.

The heroes among us

Scenes from the street play: Oh No! Look at all the filth on the road! Pic: Yamini Chandrasekaran

Here’s something that proves that the children of today are indeed paving the way for a better tomorrow. Read: Students conduct door to door drive, street plays to change their neighborhood.

Camera in tow, Albert Arush Prakash roams the streets of Bengaluru on weekends looking for unsung heroes. Read: In search Bangalore’s  99 lesser-known faces.

Divya Setty, a teacher, talks about how she got the students of Environmental Science hooked onto the subject; so much so that they got together to distribute paper bags at the college canteen. Read: Here’s how a teacher makes classes interesting and productive.

Empowering the deserving

If you know of an underprivileged woman looking for her break in life, talk to her about the Lifedream skills program. Read: Make her employable in just three months, and more in the Whitefield Rising newsletter.

Join a 300 km cycling trip from Bengaluru to Gudalur to raise funds to support adivasis’ right to livelihoods. Read:  Go! Make a difference.

A matter of health

Before a medical procedure, one should understand the risks and benefits well. Here are the questions that you must ask before giving consent. Read: Before you say okay to a medical procedure.

Arts and culture

Chitra Srikrishna shares her top picks for books on classical music, and opines that they not only teach you about music, but also a thing or two about life. Read: For your reading list.

Puppet shows certainly capture the attention of children. This Ranga Shankara play had handheld, human-size puppets as protagonists.

Events this weekend

• Wipro earthian is a project that unites students and educators in the endeavour towards a sustainable life. The Wipro earthian 2014 awards is being held on February 7th at Mount Carmel College.
• With close to 20 plays to choose from, Ranga Shankara is the place to go for theatre lovers this month. Check out the Schedule for February 2015. 
• Catch Bangalore Little Theatre’s performance of Partition, a play based on the lives of two outstanding mathematicians, Srinivasa Ramanujan and GH. Hardy at Jagriti on February 6th, 7th and 8th.
• Venture out on a tryst with trees at the Neralu Tree Walks to be held on February 7th, 8th and 14th across no less than 14 different venues in Bengaluru.
• Ranga Shankara is hosting Little Cloud Storytelling Time, a fun evening of storytelling for kids between four and six years on February 7th and 8th.
• Award-winning journalist, Rohini Mohan and poet and activist, Meena Kandaswamy will be in conversation about the former’s new book, The Seasons of Trouble on February 7th at Bangalore International Centre.

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