City: Bengaluru

As we left behind the vivacious bustles of the city and headed forward from Yelahanka, we could instantly sense a change in the landscape. We stared outside at the vast fields, the little tin shanties, the lush spread of green foliage dotting both sides of the way and could hear the merry chirps of the birds. By deviating left from the road leading further north towards Dodballapura, we encountered more greenery, amidst blue barricades fortifying spaces that are yet to rise into Bengaluru’s urban jungle. In next few minutes, we were in Mavallipura, one of the fifteen villages administered by…

Despite court orders and civilian protests, the Ward Committees (WCs) were not allowed to function in Karnataka for a long time. Finally, in a weak beginning, a few wards held WC meetings on 1st December, 2018. There are many systemic issues that would not let the WCs function effectively, or bring good governance in the city administration. The following issues need to be addressed as soon as possible: 1)  The WC members do not truly represent the public in the ward: According to 74th amendment, the ward committee members are supposed to be chosen by the Area Sabhas.Thus each WC…

Silicon Plateau Volume 2 is a collection of essays where contributors responded to the question: what does it mean to be an app user today—as a worker, a client, or simply an observer? Stories about contemporary life in Bengaluru, of conversations spoken and typed, of deliberations and connections, through a simple a tap on our mobile devices find a place in this book.  This is edited by curator Marialaura Ghidini and artist Tara Kelton, and published by the Centre for Internet and Society, Bengaluru. Below is an edited excerpt from the book, from the chapter written by Nicole Rigillo, a…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities "Even though a mechanised sweeper is being used along the arterial roads of Mahadevapura Zone, the roads accumulate dust in no time, and it feels like they have not been cleaned in the first place", says Anu Govind, a volunteer with the citizen's group Whitefield Rising (WR). Dust is something we see everyday, but never think about controlling it outside our homes. A study done in 2010 titled Air Quality Monitoring, Emission Inventory and Source Appropriation Study for Indian Cities, found that road dust accounts for 20 percent…

GoK cracks down on private vehicles, 3781 buses are over 15 years old After a bus toppled and fell into the VC Nagar canal in Mandya district on November 24, the state government launched a crackdown on private vehicles. Officials are checking insurance, registration and permits, emission certificates and Fitness Certificates (FC) during the inspections. Precautionary measures are being taken to prevent future accidents as the bus submerged did not belong to any government agency and is suspected to be in poor condition. Unregulated private vehicles pose a problem to safety of passengers. Section 56 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, says…

Citizens in Bengaluru are finally looking forward to participate in hyper-local level of governance in Bengaluru, with a systematic approach to ward committee meetings. A directive issued by the BBMP Commissioner on November 16, 2018 mandated the meetings to be held on first Saturday of every month. If you are gearing up to go to the ward committee meeting, here's a compilation of everything you might want to know. What exactly is a ward committee? Ward committees are the citizen committees at the hyperlocal level meant to decide the functioning of a ward. They have been mandated by Nagarapalika Act,…

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has released its 2017-18 annual report online last week in its entirety. The report details BMRCL's efforts to keep up the pace of construction and other issues. Six new stretches of the Metro cover 72 km and 61 stations. Two extensions of the already existing purple line on the west and east sides, two extensions of the already operational green line on the north and south sides, and establishment of the new Yellow Line and Red Line form six stretches totally. While the civil contracts have been awarded for all the depots costing Rs…

Translocation of trees has been hitting headlines these days a lot. The recent public statement by the Managing Director of Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) Ajay Seth that BMRCL will prioritise translocation, before deciding to fell any tree, is a ray of hope for citizens, at least along Metro alignments. Before going into the merits of translocation, compensatory planting and other issues, the question to ask is: does Bengaluru have enough trees for its size and population? No physical count of trees in the whole city has been done as yet, so we must look for other sources to…

State to fund PRR land acquisition, Cabinet discusses pending issues Several issues awaiting the cabinet's approval were finally addressed in a meeting presided over by the Chief Minister on November 19. Minister for Rural Development, Law and Parliamentary affairs, Krishna Byre Gowda, briefed the media on the important decisions taken. Among them was the nod given to execute the Peripheral Ring Road project at a cost of Rs 17,000 crore. Toll fee collection will be a revenue stream for this project. Since there were no agencies ready to fund the land acquisition due to controversies surrounding compensation to farmers, the state…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities Five out of 15 Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses that the Regional Transport Office officials from the Transport Department had randomly inspected had failed the emission tests.That was in 2016. Recent reports said that BMTC bus breakdowns have considerably reduced compared to previous years due to an improvement in their maintenance procedures. Would that also mean that there is an improvement in BMTC buses following emission standards? What are the measures taken by BMTC to ensure that their buses follow emission norms? What are the external measures…