City: Bengaluru

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…

During the Karnataka elections, 1512 flying squads, 1837 static surveillance teams, 320 excise teams and 180 commercial tax teams were activated. These flying squads, SSTs and Police authorities have seized cash worth Rs 16,80,30,371, liquor of 18,403.5 litres worth Rs 64,67,863.86, drugs weighing 143.1 Kg and worth Rs 7,52,700 and other items worth Rs 3,85,01,566. They have also booked 1976 FIRs till date. The Income Tax department, itself has seized cash worth Rs 17,69,98,570 and other items worth Rs 7,03,08,780. The Excise Department has seized 9,38,376.06 litres of liquor worth Rs.36,85,81,311 and 14.977 kg drugs  worth Rs.4,48,000. They have booked…

  Voter turnout reduced  Compared to the 2014 Lok Sabha election, voter turnout has dipped in all four Bengaluru constituencies, as per figures released by the Election Commission at 9 pm on Thursday. Of the three urban constituencies, Bangalore South's turnout was the highest, at 54.2 percent. However, this turnout was 1.55 percent lower than that in the 2014 election. Turnout was the lowest in Bangalore Central, at just 50.84 percent. This was 5.27 percent lower than that in 2014. As usual, the voter turnout in Bangalore Rural was higher than that in the urban constituencies. The turnout here was…

The Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (CEO-KA), had published on his website the latest electoral rolls – the version that was effective for this Lok Sabha election. Though the mother roll for this election was published last October, an addition/deletion drive was undertaken afterwards. The rolls with these modifications were published twice - once on 16th January, and the final rolls on 26th March. But the final rolls appeared on the CEO-KA website on 10th April only, leaving little time to respond for those who went missing from the rolls. Additions CEO-KA had advertised widely inviting the citizens to register as…

Indian Mythology is peppered with great stories. And my favourite right now, with the elections around the corner, is the legend of Mohini - Bhasmasura. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the it, let me give you the abridged version - Lord Shiva who is pleased with the penance of Bhasmasura, the great demon, gives him a boon that he can burn anything and anybody by just placing his hand upon its head. Upon receiving the ‘gift’, Bhasmasura tries to place his hand on Lord Shiva’s head to burn him. To me, nothing else succinctly sums up my…

Congress candidate Rizwan Arshad is currently a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC). He had contested the Lok Sabha election from Bangalore Central in 2014, but had lost to P C Mohan of BJP. Arshad then got elected as MLC in 2016. He is currently the Chairman of the Communications Department of KPCC, and was formerly the President of the Karnataka Pradesh Youth Congress. Son of an advocate father and a literature teacher, Arshad is a commerce graduate who started his career through student politics in 1995-96. Age: 39 years Education: B Com Website: rizwanarshad.in Facebook: RizwanArshad Twitter: ArshadRizwan Pending…