City: Bengaluru

Power tariff hiked, water tariff hike likely The KERC (Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission) has approved an average increase in power tariff by 40 paise per unit. The new rates will come into effect from the first meter reading date falling on or after November 1. The FKCCI (Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industries) warned that many industries would shut down due to the tariff hike. The Kassia (Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association) said the hike would be particularly disastrous for MSMEs as they struggle to revive operations amid the pandemic and a severe slowdown in the economy. The…

October saw heavy downpour in Bengaluru, causing flooding and traffic breakdowns in many parts of the city. The city usually gets much of its rainfall in the evenings and nights, which also makes it more vulnerable to flooding and traffic jams during peak traffic hours. Floodings have been one of the most common, inevitable outcomes of climate change. The constant feeding of emissions into the atmosphere leads to extreme precipitation, which then results in floodings. Urban flooding affects transport in different ways, such as increase in travel times, change in route, congestion due to low speeds, etc. There is an…

Rains this year caused extensive damage in some areas. Pic: BBMP Commissioner/Facebook Towards October end, we saw heavy rains in different parts of Bengaluru – predominantly in the south and southwest – which led to flooding of many low-lying areas. Those rains have now given way to pleasant sunny days with partly-cloudy skies. It almost feels like winter is here.  How have the rains been this year? Flooding episodes in the last few months seem to indicate rains were in excess, but were they?  Rainfall was indeed in excess, but also erratic  The Long Period Average(LPA) annual rainfall for Bengaluru is 986mm…

As Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly constituency goes into bypolls today, how well is the administration prepared to control the spread of COVID? The Election Commission of India (ECI) had released its guidelines for elections in all states including Karnataka, on August 21. Inputs from political parties were considered while preparing these. Further, the ECI had allowed States to come up with their own guidelines. And as per this, Karnataka government released its guidelines on October 16. As per these documents, following are the measures that would be taken on polling day: The polling booth should be completely sanitised, preferably a day…

Mini transfer stations to process waste To strengthen decentralised waste collection, BBMP will set up 50 mini transfer stations. Waste collected by auto-tippers and push carts, instead of being loaded onto compactor trucks, will be brought to the mini transfer stations. The stations will process waste from two wards each. According to BBMP, this system will reduce garbage transfer points as well as black spots in the city. It will also ensure there is no leakage of garbage residue from compactor trucks. Besides, fewer garbage vehicles will be required, which in turn will reduce air pollution. Only four waste processing…

On November 3, Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly constituency will go into bypolls. The bypoll was necessitated by incumbent MLA Munirathna N's disqualification, for violating the anti-defection law. Munirathna was elected from the Congress in 2018, but defected to the BJP in mid-2019. He’s contesting as the BJP candidate this time. The election results will be announced on November 10. The constituency is made up of nine wards - Jalahalli, Rajarajeshwarinagar, Jnana Bharati, Kottegepalya, Laggere, HMT ward, Lakshmidevi nagar, JP Park and Yeshwanthpura. RR Nagar is one of the four largest assembly sections in Bengaluru, with 4.6 lakh voters this by-election. The constituency…

Bengaluru is a major IT hub and its public transport is key in facilitating the economic activities and providing means for the public to commute across the city. The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL), which is in charge of the metro rail project of the city, is building lines across the city in phased manner. While some lines have made progress in time, others have been delayed as well.  Here’s what Bengaluru’s overall plan for Namma Metro looks like: Phase 1: Construction of Phase 1, with routes totaling 42.3 km, started in April 2007. Its first section, connecting Baiyyappanahalli to…

The Technical Advisory Committee of the Government of Karnataka gave clarifications on the use of masks, on October 27. Following is a press release from the BBMP based on this. Use of masks in public places Whether a person driving alone in a four-wheeler with the window glasses closed should wear a mask?Answer: Wearing a mask is mandatory. (a) Whether an individual driving alone in a four-wheeler without any fellow traveller in the car should wear a mask If the window glasses are open and the car is parked near the traffic signal? (b) If he opens the window glasses…

Pic: Pixabay.com Renuka lives in a three-bedroom house in upmarket Koramangala. Her children go to a prestigious school. She can afford these thanks to her rich clients and her three paying guests who too are sex workers.  But with her children home since lockdown, she can no longer entertain clients at home. The paying guests could not afford the rent and have gone back to their villages. One of her clients died after contracting COVID-19 a week after visiting her. She got herself tested and was relieved when results came negative. Once lockdown eased, her clients began to pester her,…

In considering sustainable urban mobility as a solution to urban transport, one parameter that is constant is the Volume to Capacity ratio or V/C ratio. Why is this? Traditionally,  transportation engineering in urban areas has taken a bottom-up approach. In other words, it follows an infrastructure supply-based approach, and critical to this is the V/C ratio. This ratio is calculated using Passenger Car Unit (PCU) for every road in the given urban area to identify hotspots of congestion, so as to figure out infrastructure-based interventions like road widening, flyovers/underpasses, elevated road corridors, etc.  But over time, such interventions have proven to…