City: Bengaluru

  BWSSB water supply hits peak limit of 1453 MLD Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) reveals that it has been supplying water at the peak limit of 1453 MLD (Million Litres per Day) since March. The city's consumption has reached an all-time high with the advancing summer and the depleting groundwater levels. The Board says it cannot supply more water even if the demand shoots up. The supply will be within the limit of 1453 MLD until the Cauvery Phase V project is completed in 2023. This is the first time that the city's supply has hit the…

The Fort High School in Chamarajpet, built in 1907, has lain dilapidated for years. Its alumni include freedom fighter H S Doresamy, cricketer G R Vishwanath, and even the former King of Mysore Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. Sometime back, authorities even "repaired" the school in places with vitrified tiles, completely ignoring its importance as a heritage structure. Last year, the non-profit INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) took up a project to restore the building to its original state. It took about eight years for INTACH to document the building, get permission from DPI (Department of Public Instruction) to…

Supplying clothing to some of the major global brands, many garment factories have been paying a pittance to their workers. On May Day, Bengaluru’s garment factory workers, 90 percent of whom are women, demanded that companies pay them arrears as per the state government’s draft notification on wage hike last year. Hundreds of workers, mostly women marched from Kanteerava Stadium to Peenya, demanding action on issues ranging from poor pay, to working conditions to safety. The women held the protest under the banner of the Garment Labour Union (GLU). The union says that the companies in Bengaluru owe Rs 1862…

This Sunday, Alahalli Neighbourhood Lake Development Trust (ANLDT) felicitated B V Satish, Chief Engineer, BBMP (Lakes), who is retiring from service this month. He was instrumental in rejuvenating Alahalli-Anjanapura lake, among many other lakes in Bengaluru. Volunteers and neighbourhood residents attended the event, and took a walk around the lake. B V Satish, DCF S N Hegde, and Anjanpura ward corporator K Somashekar also participated in the walk. ANLDT Chairman Suresh K Krishna, Treasurer Vinatha M Reddy, and other trustees, also attended the event. Cleaning efforts started years back Alahalli lake, located in Anjanapura ward (196) in South Bengaluru, is…

  HC to state: Set up expert body to prevent tree felling for Metro  A committee of environment, science and technology experts should be constituted to examine if metro rail projects can be undertaken without felling trees, directed the Karnataka High Court to the state government. This committee should examine every method to save trees; only if this is impossible, should trees be cut, said the court. The division bench comprising acting Chief Justice L Narayana Swamy and Justice P S Dinesh Kumar passed the interim order on a PIL filed in 2018 jointly by Dattatraya T Devare and the…

Namma Bengaluru Awards Trust hosted its flagship event – ‘The 10th Edition of Namma Bengaluru Awards’ (NBA) in Bengaluru today. The awards, which aim to honour the ‘real heroes’ of Bengaluru, recognised six extraordinary Bengalureans for their exemplary contribution towards making the city a better place. Namma Bengaluru Awards was launched in 2009, by the initiative of MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar. In this award system, the citizens of Bengaluru themselves identify and nominate their heroes. Following nominations, an eminent jury of Bengalureans shortlist candidates after a series of meetings, which include interviews of nominated individuals, before deciding the final recipient of…

This summer, apartment communities in Bellandur have struggled with water scarcity as their borewells dried up and private tankers cut down supply. In a recent workshop organised by the RWA network Bellandur Development Forum, the communities here decided to take initiative themselves to improve groundwater levels in the area. Several communities have started digging recharge wells in their own premises, at their own cost. One of these is Mantri Espana. Seven recharge wells are being dug in the premises of this apartment complex. The complex has had a rooftop rainwater harvesting (RWH) system for many years. This, along with their…

I have been a resident of Bengaluru for more than 15 years. This guide is based on my experience of renewing an expired driving license (DL). My license was issued by the South-West Delhi RTO in 1999, but I currently live in Domlur, Bengaluru. To renew DL, you need to submit proof of residence. If you moved to Bengaluru recently, and have proof of your home state address, you can renew DL from your home RTO itself. But if you have been living in Bengaluru for long, and all your residence proof documents including Aadhar are linked to your present…

Recently, I came across an article about the rate at which Bengaluru is losing its greenery. I was born and brought up in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, but I love Bengaluru and its culture. I was disturbed to know about the loss of Bengaluru’s green cover. Hence I decided to spark a conversation on this issue by putting up a piece of street art. I built the model at my house, and assembled it at the site. The installation, named ‘Under Destruction: Garden City to Grey City’, involves a plant at the centre, and glass panes plastered upon its fencing. The idea…

Bengaluru faces another water crisis this summer. It's not just citizens who are responsible for this situation. For decades, the state government and civic administration have been focusing on short term strategies, without assessing whether these are sustainable. The main cause of the current crisis is that we have no clue where our resources come from, what their limits are, and we don't value what we have. The city has destroyed its water security - the 1800 lakes that our forefathers built here, are down to less than 200 now. And even these remaining lakes don't have potable water. If…