City: Bengaluru

Suddenly, what Bengalureans had not got for years - though they yearned for it - suddenly happened in a day. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) officials got active recently to knock down more than 5,000 illegal flex boards, banners and buntings from hoardings and electric poles. People could even file FIRs against offenders and hecklers who tried to stop them. On Thursday, the BBMP claimed that 21,140 flexes and banners  have been removed, though an estimated 2,500 hoardings still remained here and there. But how exactly did the BBMP suddenly get into action mode? It began at 10.30 am last Wednesday…

On the occasion of India's 72nd Independence day, when Bengaluru should have observed the plastic ban effected two years ago on March 11, 2016 through a gazetted notification, bulk manufacturers of the national flag remained unaware of the environmental impact of using common polyester fabric to make these flags. Despite the Ministry of Home Affairs issuing a notice advising state governments to keep a strict vigil on the usage of plastic flags this year, the purpose was defeated, primarily because most vendors did not grasp the real implication of making and selling polyester fabric flags. The manufacturers, distributors, and shops often…

We fondly remember Bangalore as the garden city - tree-lined streets, an incomparable quality of life, and the glorious weather. Many of us, who had the opportunity to leave the city and our neighbourhood, came rushing back. That was how deep our love for the city has been for generations now. But today, when Kaggadasapura residents step out of our four walls of homes and offices, our hearts bleed. Why? Because Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) deems it fit to use the centre of Kaggadasapura - a central and populous residential area and home to diverse demographics and age groups…

Dear Sir, Sub: Multiplied pedestrian problems after you chose to make your personal residence in J P Nagar 3rd Phase your official residence. I am an 82-year-old resident of J P Nagar in Bengaluru. I shifted my residence from Yelahanka to JP nagar 3rd Phase, closer to the current Chief Minister's house. Due to security protocols around the Chief Minister’s home, the police are forced to clamp restrictions on vehicle movement and parking in the surroundings. This is causing  severe problems to pedestrians, particularly senior citizens, persons with disabilities, school children and mothers accompanying school children. Footpaths are clogged with…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship “I wanted a job that would pay me well. But more importantly there needed to be some ‘prestige’ attached to it.” says 20 year-old Sathish. His father Pothalu has worked as a pourakarmika for the last 27 years. Sathish grew up watching his father sweeping the streets of Basavangudi. There are countless like Sathish, who come from underprivileged backgrounds, looking for jobs. These youngsters' ambitions face a lot of hurdles - limited opportunities, access to quality education and financial challenges in their homes.  Most of their parents work in the…

Sixteen years after the Karnataka High Court ordered the closure of all abattoirs within Bengaluru city limits and instructed the state government and the municipal authority to construct alternative facilities on the outskirts of the city, the first steps in that direction are visible. According to Dr K P Ramesh, official working at the Animal Husbandry Department in the Bangalore Bruhat Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), a new abattoir is being built on a 40-acre site within the KSIDC industrial estate at Harohalli, 34 km from the city and is expected to be commissioned by mid-2019. Not only this, concrete steps are…

To write a play that deals with a highly technical scientific topic, and to bring that play to life on the stage, are two very difficult tasks indeed.  Bangalore Little Theatre (BLT)  took on this challenge as part of their series, the History of Ideas programme. "Photograph 51" is the sixteenth play in the series. This is an award-winning play by Anna Ziegler, about the race between two leading laboratories in England, in the nineteen-fifties, to crack the nature of the DNA structure. The title of the play comes from the nickname given to an X-ray diffraction image taken by…

BDA and BBMP take steps to control Bellandur lake's froth The planned sluice gate began its final run on August 8 in Bellandur lake to block froth from entering the city's waterways, and irrigation tanks in Kolar. This was preceded by preliminary runs by BDA officials to determine the height of the gate, quantity of weeds, and froth to be removed.  The first test installation had taken place in July despite the expert committee (instated by the National Green Tribunal) not supporting the particular method of froth removal.The Rs 22 crore project that included works at Varthur Lake too was…

The 208th Lal Bagh Flower Show has started in the city to commemorate the 72nd Independence Day. The show is being jointly organised by the Department of Horticulture and Mysore Horticulture Society. With the theme ‘Sevege Gaurvarpane’, the biannual event pays homage to the Armed Forces this time. The chief attraction is the model of Amar Jawan Jyothi, the memorial to the fallen soldiers of the country at India Gate, with the flags of the three branches- Army, Navy and Airforce. Behind it, as an impressive background is a replica of the Siachen Glacier with the models of Indian soldiers…

It was 5.40 pm on a Monday evening. I had just swiped out of my office and walked briskly towards the Vydehi hospital junction in Whitefield, Bengaluru. The traffic was heavier than normal and the entire route towards Graphite India junction had come to a grinding halt. The wait at the BMTC bus stop would invariably be five to ten minutes to catch the buses going towards Big Bazaar and Metro. I remembered reading on Facebook about the new train feeder to Metro, that leaves Whitefield at 6.15 pm halting at Hoodi at 6.25 pm and then reaching Baiyappanahalli at…