CITIZEN MATTERS
Bangalore’s own interactive newsmagazine
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City news that mattters

Before our Bengaluru This Week roundup, here’s the curation of latest city news.

• Good days in store? Following the decontrol of diesel prices, diesel has become cheaper in line with international oil prices. BMTC and KSRTC are mulling ticket fare cuts.
• Private cab operators are competing with autos, by enrolling them and asking them to charge as per meter. Some of them charge a convenience fee of Rs 10. The Transport Department has however said the convenience fee is illegal.
• To compete with private cabs, auto unions are thinking of reducing the auto fare, as LPG price has come down considerably in the recent months.
• BBMP to be divided into three? A committee headed by B L Shankar, Congress leader, is checking the feasibility. Re-organisation of wards according to 2011 census is also expected.
• A house in HSR Layout is selling solar power back to BESCOM as a micro-power producer. The house can export up to five units per day to the grid, on a sunny day, at the rate of Rs 9.56 per unit. To know how you can too, check this article.
• Land grabbers eying the Bangalore University campus? Eye-witnesses in the area claim that some people cut trees and plants, and levelled the land. BU has now decided to conduct a survey of the university land.
• Aadhaar cards will be made mandatory for all government schemes, and even passports in the future. Bengaluru has an enrolment ratio of 72%.
• The Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS) mark sheet scam seems to have gotten bigger. The Crime Branch seized more than 450 answer sheets of the the postgraduate medical examinations held in May-June, citing that they might have been tampered with.

This week’s highlight: New fee guidelines for private schools

A young seller arranging vegetables at a weekly santhe near Bannerghatta Biological Park. Pic: Bosky Khanna

» HOPCOMS alone supplies close to 70 tonnes of vegetables and fruits to Bengaluru every day! Ever wondered where our city of 10 million people gets its vegetables from? Citizen Matters traces the journey of vegetables, from the farmers’ fields to your local vegetable shop.

Living in the city

» If you pay your BESCOM bill directly through your bank account, via ECS, this is a must-read. Deepa Mohan recounts her experience. Read: My complaint to BESCOM: further developments.

» Looks like the people of Bengaluru will never have official say in the governance of the city. Yet another draft of the new rules for Ward Committee is out – but what is new? Read: Power to citizens still remains a pipe-dream.

» Traffic moves smoothly even when a road is closed for a long time, for Metro or other construction works. Can the city reclaim such roads, and transform them into public places, wonders Vivek Vaidyanathan.

» BMTC will be conducting a free diabetes check-up for 35,000 drivers and conductors across the city. This is part of their new campaign on diabetes prevention, detection and management launched on World Diabetes Day.

» With more and more government regulations, many schools are shutting down. Ashwin Mahesh opines that this might pose serious problems. Read: When regulations force schools to close down.

» Guide: If your non-profit has been accepting funds from abroad without FCRA clearance, it could spell trouble for you. Here’s how you need to go about getting the FCRA clearance for your non-profit organisation.  Read: FCRA registration.

The heroes among us

» This is the story of yet another lake that has citizens championing for it – the Ibblur Lake in Bellandur. Here’s an update on the ongoing restoration work at the lake.

» A unique festival aims to bring back the bus into the limelight with competitions, discussions, film screenings and more. Read: Janasnehi Bussigagi, a campaign for people-friendly  buses.

Biodiversity

» Without bees, our world will not be remain the same. Poornima Kannan writes about the importance of bees and their disappearance from the eco-system. Read: Trees and bees.

Arts and Culture

» Chitra Srikrishna, our music expert, talks about the presence of Indian ragas in African world music in part 2 of Music beyond borders. Read part 1, that explores European music, here. 

» Kripa is very active on social media. Everything was fun, until she found herself being trolled by her own friend. Read: Why is Kripa “friends” with Creepy?

Events this weekend

• Liberty Train, a German film will be screened at Max Mueller Bhavan this evening at 6.30 pm. The screening will be followed by a stammtisch (casual get-together) at the cafe.
• Bangalore Little Theatre will be performing Our  Iceberg is Melting, a musical on climate change on November 21st and 28th. Book your tickets for the play and help support AMC, for whom the shows act as a fundraiser.
• Get to know more about the local history and the people of Malleswaram, as you savour local food on the South Indian Food Walk on November 22nd.
• Watch Aurora, a collection of six short stories, performed by the Art-Is-Right Company on November 22nd at Alliance Francaise.
• Bangalore International Centre will be screening the award-winning documentary, Timbuktu, which showcases the exemplary efforts of farmers in from a tiny village in Andhra Pradesh on November 22nd.
• Namma Metro Phase 2, a play that traces the changes that the cityscape has gone through from 2010, when the Metro first started, will be staged at KH Kala Soudha on November 22nd.
• On the occasion of its fifth anniversary, Nathaniel School of Music will be performing a Queen Tribute Show at Alliance Francaise on November 23rd.
• Carnatic vocalist duo, Ranjani and Gayathri, will be performing at MLR Convention Centre on November 23rd and 25th. The theme for their concert is Amma – For the Mother.

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