City: Bengaluru

On May 18, Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal appealed to migrant workers to stay where they were, as the railways planned to double the number of Shramik Trains to 400 per day in two days. He also said that an additional 200 non-AC trains would be operational by June 1. While this increased capacity is a welcome sign, will it be enough to service Bengaluru's stranded workers? A large number of Bengaluru's workers are walking thousands of kilometres to their home states, as the efforts of the governments to arrange transportation has fallen short of the exploding demand. "The Labour…

https://soundcloud.com/citizenmatters/ep4-lessons-from-bengaluru-cm In the concluding episode of our podcast series 'Lessons from Bengaluru', we explore how Bengaluru came to have a unique, vibrant citizen activism scene. While activism was a preserve of the few earlier, this changed since the 2000s as the city started facing more challenges. And now we have citizen activists holding authorities accountable on anything from infrastructure projects like steel flyover, to ward-level governance. Pravir Bagrodia and Srinivas Alavilli from two citizen collectives - Whitefield Rising and Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) respectively - discuss how their groups came into being and what they have been working on. While…

Based on orders by the Centre's Ministry of Home Affairs on May 17, Karnataka government issued an order on lockdown measures applicable in the state till May 31. Here are the key highlights, as summarised by the Bangalore Apartments' Federation (BAF). Lockdown to continue with relaxations Lockdown will continue till May 31. However, this phase of lockdown is characterised by reasonable relaxations that would support day-to-day life coming back to normal, while certain high-risk activities would be restricted. Intra-city public transport to resume Local public transport mediums (except Metro rail) like BMTC buses, cabs (driver + 2 passengers) and autos…

https://soundcloud.com/citizenmatters/ep3-lessons-from-bengaluru-cm Look at Lalbagh Botanical Garden and Cubbon Park, and it’s easy to see why Bengaluru once claimed the title of 'Garden City'. Rapid, unplanned urbanisation has drastically reduced the city's green cover. Raj Bhagat, who works at the World Research Institute office here in Bengaluru, explains the history of the city's loss of natural vegetation as seen through data. Though Bengaluru still has several thousands of trees, these are mostly alien species. Natural vegetation, which is critical in terms of transpiration cycles, weather patterns, etc is completely absent here except for some sections of protected forests, says Raj. Several…

With lockdown relaxations, BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) and KSRTC (Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation) have just resumed services. Following is a press release from BMTC on how their bus services will be run in the present circumstances. In view of providing safe and convenient transport facility, and to create a sense of trust among passengers by ensuring required cleanliness and hygiene in buses, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has planned to operate buses as per the guidelines of the central and state governments. Service availability Initially, operations will be resumed on high-density routes in Bengaluru city except in…

Karnataka government and industry bodies have been speaking of the need to relax labour laws in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. We, at AICCTU (All India Central Council of Trade Unions), believe that in the crisis caused by the pandemic, we must strengthen labour laws, not weaken them. We submitted a memorandum to the state government in this regard on May 15. We hope that the government will consider our demands seriously and initiate action quickly. Government must strengthen labour laws to fight hunger and poverty, to build a secure society.Government must discuss with all trade unions on how labour…

https://soundcloud.com/citizenmatters/ep2-lessons-from-bengaluru-cm Over the past few decades, Bengaluru has witnessed its lakes turn intodumping grounds. In some cases like that of Puttenehalli lake, neighbourhood groups have successfully worked with government agencies to revive lakes. But the work comes with challenges too, says Nupur, a member of Puttenahalli Lake Neighbourhood Improvement Trust (PNLIT). She explains why many other neighbourhood groups are unable to sustain their work on reviving and maintaining lakes over the long term. We also hear from Vishwanath Srikantaiah, an urban planner and civil engineer, who has worked on reviving Jakkur lake. But why should we care so much about…

As lockdown 4.0 starts with partial relaxation, and workplaces and work opportunities open up, public transport is an essential service that needs to be planned and operated with adequate precautions in place to prevent spread of COVID-19. Simultaneously, it should be a convenient and affordable option for access to livelihood and other essential needs. BMTC services are the lifeline of the city’s mobility needs, and the primary or even the only means of transport for a large section of the city’s population. The announcement to restart buses is welcome as it will enable them to get back to work again.…

Gopal, treasurer of the Karnataka State Construction Workers’ Union shares the problems faced by daily wagers during lockdown. RJ Asha from Radio Active 90.4 MHz speaks to Gopal, treasurer of the Karnataka State Construction Workers’ Union, about the many problems that daily wage labourers are facing during lockdown and the efforts to ease their difficulties. Gopal says they are managing to keep the Union’s Yeshwanthpur branch running by pitching in with their own money. The Union is trying its best to address the workers’ demands which the  government has done nothing to address. For now, the Union is helping them…

Travel and quarantine rules have changed since the publishing of this article. Visit this page to find the updated rules. On Thursday, as the first Rajdhani from Delhi pulled into Majestic railway station, many travellers were taken by surprise when they were told that everyone on the train had to go through paid institutional quarantine in Bengaluru or go back to Delhi. Soon enough, 150-odd travellers sat on dharna and refused to go into quarantine, stating they hadn’t been informed about the rule beforehand. The Health and Family Welfare Services Department has released a series of orders, circulars and advisories…