City: Bengaluru

Bangalore International Centre in collaboration with Citizen Matters and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, had organised 'Right to breathe- Fixing Bengaluru’s Air', a discussion under Bengaluru Solution Series, on January 11th. This was the second installment of the Bengaluru Solution Series. The panel for the discussion comprised of Randeep D, Indian Administrative Officer and Special Commissioner - Solid Waste Management, BBMP, Anjali Saini, a member of Whitefield Rising, Pawan Mulukutla, Bosch India and Shashank Atreya, a Research Fellow at Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. The panel was moderated by Meera K, Founder, Citizen Matters. The quality of Bengaluru’s air is…

'NGT buffer zone will raze 95% of the city' National Green Tribunal's order of adherence to buffer zones for lakes and drains will see 95% of Bengaluru razed, as most buildings are in the vicinity of lakes and tertiary drains, said Uday Holla, Advocate General of Karnataka, in a written submission at the Supreme Court last week. Earlier the Supreme Court had also expressed reservations on the rights of the National Green Tribunal, a statutory body, to change the 30-metre buffer zone around lakes in Bengaluru to 75 metres. Citizen Matters had earlier written about the problem in detail. Source:…

In an attempt to get opinion from Bengaluru bus commuters regarding the State Government’s proposal to hike BMTC bus fares, several concerned individuals and groups held a ‘Post Card Campaign’ at the Shivajinagar Bus Stand, in Bengaluru recently. Addressing the Chief Minister of Karnataka, H. D. Kumaraswamy, the groups spoke up against the disparity in transport planning in Bengaluru city. The groups sought support from commuters by signing on post cards that said, “I heard the government is planning to build Elevated Corridors while spending Rs. 33,000 crores. But, BMTC said they are raising fares since government is not supporting…

In 2016, the Government of Karnataka cancelled the proposed Steel Flyover starting from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal. The project was touted as a measure to ease traffic to the International Airport. However following citizen protests and the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, the government shelved those plans. Come 2019, the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, G Parameshwara reopened the debate, when he said the government was reconsidering the project. The steel flyover project brought forward the citizen activism in the city which many credit for the scrapping of the project by the government. While a large part of the public…

In the above photo are some of a motley group of citizens who are funding the construction of a Ganga style stone mantapa to house the recently discovered 750CE Kittayya-Hebbal inscription stone! This could well be the first time ever in the world a group of ordinary citizens are coming together to help conserve and celebrate a city's written heritage in this manner. In the photo they are seen holding accurate 1/8 scale brass mementos of the incredible Kittayya-Hebbal inscription. These same mementos are now proudly displayed in showcases in their homes and offices – a first again in that…

City transport scene The European Investment Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank have agreed to lend €500 million and €300 million respectively to the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to execute the Gottigere-Nagawara line under Phase II of the project. A proposal to realign the Metro line to the airport through Hebbal junction was approved by the Karnataka cabinet.  The state cabinet also approved the proposal for four suburban railway corridors that will have 81 stations, on a total route length of 160.50km. TenderSURE work is set to begin on K.G. Road in Gandhinagar and Margosa Road in Malleswaram and…

I want to thank the movement Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB) for pushing me to attend the ward committee meeting in my ward Shanthinagar. I’m glad I went. Kudos to all energetic young people, I now feel there’s hope for Bengaluru! On time, but low on public participation The meeting started on time, which was great. But citizen participation was very low, with only about 15 attending. Hardly anyone from RWAs was present. I thought RWAs exist to push citizens’ agenda, so I was not sure what to make of this. Of the 10 ward committee members, nine attended the meeting.…

Helen was a dog who produced many Labrador pups—a puppy mill mom — who was finally abandoned by her breeders on the streets when she couldn’t do it anymore. Blind, deaf, malnutritioned, she was rescued and adopted by animal rights activist Bismi Anil. Helen stood as a testimony to all that’s wrong with the implementation of animal cruelty laws in Karnataka and in fact most of India.   Dogs are repeatedly bred using rape stands, in the filthiest, tiniest of spaces, often with a sibling or parent and live in small cages with little or no food, medical facilities, human…

The steel flyover project is an ugly manifestation of our unbridled urbanisation mindset. This is yet another myopic economic proposal to exacerbate urbanisation; it seems to us, and is mindlessly espousing the following: Covering the soil which has lower heat conductivity, with an impermeable layer of concrete which has much higher capacity to conduct heat. Replacing life sustaining trees with air conditioners Spewing billions of tons of toxic gases into air by vehicular movements and industrial activities, so as to choke the city. Generating colossal quantities of solid waste to convert the garden city into a garbage city Facilitating concentration…

“Sir, only Rs 10,500/- service charge for Khata and property tax. Quick and reliable service!” said a representative of a broker firm in Akshay Nagar, Begur. The firm facilitated the issuing of Khatas for apartments, while residents of West End Heights, an apartment complex of 1,830 units, were looking to get Khatas. But they decided they had to do something about the blatant corruption in the delivery of Khatas. What followed was a tale of how a group of aware and vocal citizens fought against the system and won, and received their Khata certificates without having to pay any bribes.…