City: Bengaluru

7.7 contacts traced for every COVID patient In the last one week, BBMP has stepped up contact tracing efforts. On average, 7.7 contacts were traced for every person who has tested positive. The BBMP COVID-19 War Room's analysis shows that, over the past week, the highest number of contacts were traced in Bommanahalli zone - 14.2 contacts for every positive case; and the least in Yelahanka zone - 5.7. South Zone is carrying out the highest number of tests. Between August 1 and 25, 76,957 tests have been conducted here - that is, an average of 3,078 tests per day.…

[This article is part of the Bengaluru Moving series, in which citizens share their vision for BMTC post COVID. In this article, two researchers share their findings on easing bus commute for older adults. The series is published in collaboration with Radio Active’s #BengaluruMoving campaign.] For many older adults in Bengaluru, the bus is not just a transport mode. Their nostalgia surrounding the bus is immense. Older adults share memories of using the erstwhile Bangalore Transport Service (BTS) bus to go to work, to visit the lush green Cubbon park on weekends; going to Majestic to catch a bus to…

Plasma therapy, also known as ‘convalescent plasma therapy’, is an experimental mode of treatment. It uses the blood plasma donated by patients who have recovered from COVID-19, as their bodies would have developed protective antibodies against the virus, to treat those with the virus. Usually used on patients who are not responding to conventional treatment, plasma therapy is currently helping many COVID-19 patients recover. How antibodies work When one contracts an infection, especially a viral infection, their recovery depends on the production of antibodies to fight the antigen (the virus, which in the current case, is COVID-19). These antibodies are…

While the fear of COVID-19 drives commuters' aversion to mass public transport, IOT-based two-wheeler rental start-ups are drawing this segment of intra-city commuters to their personal transport-based platforms. Sensing an opportunity, they are ramping up their network of pick-up and drop-off points, raising employee and vehicle sanitation and increasing their fleet of pre-sanitized scooters and electric bikes. To make the prospect attractive and reduce their logistical burden (read, frequent sanitisation) they are even offering longer contracts. New commuting needs Admitting that the market had "flipped", operators say that they had to wake up to new commuting needs and commuter expectations…

In 2002-03, G Krishna Prasad, weekend farmer and Director of the organic farmers' collective Sahaja Samrudha, spotted a plot growing ragi in Bengaluru’s Lavelle Road. Older Bengaluru residents like him still have a special affinity for ragi. The sight took Krishna back to the 80s when he had surveyed rural Bengaluru to document the traditional akadi system of growing multiple crops simultaneously. “The food system in Bengaluru was centred around the ragi-based cropping pattern,” Krishna says. Ragi was not grown alone, but "along with mustard, jowar, tur and castor as the intercrops. Mustard and castor (that are used to make…

A recent news report talked about the custodian of an apartment complex in Kundalahalli making a “one month rent free’ offer” to attract prospective tenants. In a city where home-owners demand deposits at least three times higher than in other Metros, the Kundalahalli offer -- even if sceptics see it as a marketing gimmick -- is a big climb-down for house owners. The advertisement is, in fact, reflective of Bengaluru's current market slump in home rentals. Realtors and home owners are unable to find tenants, owing to a reverse migration of the working population to their home towns, cities and…

A people's probe Civil society organisations have formed a 23-member fact-finding committee to probe the violence that broke out in D J Halli and K G Halli on the night of August 11. This will be the fourth fact-finding committee probing the violence after the ones formed by the ruling BJP, the Congress and Citizens for Democracy. The committee will meet families of those affected, residents, police officials, media persons who were attacked and others, to establish the sequence of events leading to the violence. It's terms of reference include establishing the role played by all parties concerned including Facebook,…

[In Part 1 of this series, we saw that around 5000 trees are proposed to be axed for the 'Bangalore Surrounding Roads Project' but certain discrepancies hint that the actual number could be higher. In this part, we look at the project's impacts and why citizens are worried.] "I was in Hesaraghatta the other day and an electrician asked me why I wasn't protesting tree felling on the Nelamangala-Doddaballapura road, just a little distance away from there. He asked me, don't the ministers and bureaucrats need air and water too?" says Mahesh Bhat, photographer and faculty at the Srishti Institute…

In a first of its kind for Bengaluru, the BBMP on August 15 launched a holistic Rabies Prevention and Control Programme, targeted at 'Independence from Rabies'. After Goa, Bengaluru is now the second to have a Rabies Helpline in the country. The helpline +91 6364893322 was inaugurated by Mayor Goutham Kumar and BBMP Commissioner Manjunath Prasad. The pick-up vans were flagged off by BBMP’s Special Commissioner (Animal Husbandry and Solid Waste Management) Randeep Dev. The helpline is expected to reduce the burden on Animal Birth Control (ABC) centres that have been attending to dog bite complaints, and have been counselling…

Since the start of this year, there's been much discussion about the ‘Bangalore Surrounding Roads Project’, for which thousands of trees around the city would be axed. The Karnataka Road Development Corporation Ltd (KRDCL) had proposed this road-widening project to decongest the city's peripheral roads, and to better link different parts of Bengaluru Urban and Rural to the Kempegowda International Airport. Six roads, spanning a total length of nearly 155 km, are to be widened for the project. Though these roads are mostly outside BBMP limits, the tree loss would have severe, long-lasting impacts for the city. But there's been…