City: Bengaluru

The 17 dead in last week’s Karol Bagh fire in New Delhi are still being mourned. Families of victims who perished in Mumbai’s Kamala Mills fire are still grappling with the loss of their loved ones. So is every family that has lost one or more of its members to fires, that were avoidable. This February 23rd marks nine years since fire ripped through the Carlton Towers on Old Airport Road in Bengaluru, which claimed nine precious lives. As part of the ninth anniversary of the Carlton fire incident, Beyond Carlton - India's first citizen-led fire safety community, born out…

There is a spot on the lake land where one gets a 180 degree view of the sprawling 445 acre Varthur lake. The lake is filled with water and emits a strong foul odour. The southern end of the lake is filled with snowy froth. A wire mesh is erected along a section of the road near the lake to prevent the froth from entering the road. "Till the 90s, several migratory birds from Russia, Ukraine, China used to visit Varthur Lake, which acted as food source for them before they headed to the Southern Hemisphere. Once the sewage started…

I was pretty excited and went with a lot of hope to attend a 'Namma Karnataka' development conclave at Vidhana Soudha on February 17, jointly organised by a media house and Government of Karnataka. The event, however, turned out to be a major marketing and propaganda exercise of government’s infamous Elevated Road Corridor Project. Large flex banners highlighting the project had been put up at the venue, and the panel discussion on Bengaluru’s transport issues hardly had any discussion, and there was no question and answer session. Since I and many other invitees did not get an opportunity to voice…

KSPCB orders closure of Graphite India Whitefield residents won their two-decade-long battle to get Graphite India Limited (GIL) shut down. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) issued an order to stop GIL's industrial operations and processes that polluted the area. The order clarified that clearance had been given to GIL to operate in Mahadevapura till June 30, 2020, but this was being withdrawn with immediate effect. The KSPCB issued the order under Section 31(A) of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, read with Rule 20(A) of Karnataka Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Rules, 1983. The order was…

Ravi, all of five, frowns when he is asked which medium he would opt for in his government school. "English, of course," he says firmly. It is a "wish" echoed by all the small boys and girls near him though it stirs fire and brimstone in high circles far away. The February 2019-20 budget session has announced that 1,000 Karnataka Public Schools will start English-medium sections in Class 1, in addition to the Kannada medium. This is in spite of the angry reactions to the 2018-19 budget pilot project plan that aimed to introduce English medium in 2019 for 1,000 lower primary classes, selected…

Suburban Rail as a mass urban transport has a big role to play in controlling Bengaluru’s traffic. This project has been crawling for more than a decade. The proposals for this came well before 2010. During last few years, due to pressure from different corners and follow ups, the project has been taken up seriously by both GOK and Ministry of Railways on cost sharing basis. Unfortunately Government of Karnataka (GoK) is very slow in taking this forward. The priorities of Railways are for intercity trains and goods train movement. So the government needs to go a step further to…

After a month long discussion on everything about Bangalore’s traffic through the prism of the steel flyover and the elevated corridor, we wanted a break. We couldn’t think of a better way to destress than with music. We headed to the Indian Music Experience at JP Nagar to chat with its founders, Dr Suma Sudhindra (who was recently awarded Sangeeth Natak Academy Puraskar for 2017) and Manasi Prasad. Many of us grew up humming along with Julie Andrews that Do come from a deer, Re meant a drop of golden sun... But if you want to know the origins of…

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had on January 21st released new tenders for Solid Waste Management( SWM) in Bengaluru city. However, the tender faced criticism from different quarters including several BBMP Corporators, Members of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and BBMP Contractors. As a result a committee was been constituted to study the tender and recommend changes, and the committee has now decided to go ahead with no changes in the tender. What does the new tender say ?  The new tender calls for proposals in all 198 BBMP wards for daily "Primary door-to-door collection and transportation of segregated wet waste,…

I live on the top floor of an eight story building right behind an airport that is used mainly by the Air Force. As something I discovered recently, I could walk up one tiny flight of stairs and watch the sunset every evening looking at the open airstrip on one side, the looming yet disappearing sun ahead, and a large lake that is lovely from afar. It is all quite beautiful, especially with my back turned to the concrete and glass mass that is the business district. Four days ago, I watched with wonder a helicopter making rounds from the…

Data from BBMP shows that Bengaluru’s 198 wards have together contributed Rs 5430 crores as property tax over the last three years. 2016-17: Rs 1743 crores 2017-18: Rs 1761 crores 2018-19: Rs 1926 crores The tax collection by ward varies from one extreme - 282 crores in three years collected by Bellandur, to another - 69 lakhs collected in Chalavadipalya. Bellandur which occupies 3.6% of the area covered by Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has collected Rs 103 crores out of Rs 1926 crores, that is more than 5% of the total collection. The top 34 wards have contributed almost…