City: Bengaluru

Who killed Priya?

A girl lies bleeding for 30 minutes, in a park, after a ladder attached to a slide falls on her head. When she finally gets medical help, it’s too late. Who killed Priya? Each one of us! Those who are responsible for keeping the park safe and accessible for the kids... Passersby busy taking pictures and sharing it in Whatsapp instead of helping find medical attention... we residents who did not raising the issue of dangerous play equipment when we notice it… All of us are responsible. As long as it is not happening in our own backyard and oury…

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Independence Day 2017 turned out to be a bright, sunny, yet cool, day – a typical Bengaluru day, it would appear.  Yet, that morning we woke up to a rapidly flowing river outside our house that had completely submerged the main road leading into S.T. Bed Layout, Koramangala. A few hapless souls could be seen wading against the tide in at least a foot of water. Our compound was flooded, too. And murky water had entered many houses in more low-lying parts of the neighbourhood. A walk around the area a little before noon on Tuesday revealed that some roads…

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Karnataka Composting Development Corporation (KCDC) in HSR Layout, Bengaluru, is in news yet again. Residents are demanding that the government: 1. Shift the existing plant immediately to a remote and unpopulated location outside the city limits, as all other options to control the odour from the plant have failed 2. Limit the current intake of the wet waste to 70 tonnes as an interim measure to reduce the smell until plant shifts out to remote location. 3. Clear the Refuse-Derived Fuel backlog, release the encroached land and restores the ecosystem of the lake as per the NGT norms. Through an…

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This year marks the 206th flower show held at Lalbagh Botanical Garden. The remarkable display of plants is nothing short of breathtaking and draws crowds in the thousands each of the show’s ten days. The flower show while a beautiful display of nature is also a colorful collection of people brought together under the shady trees of Lalbagh Botanical Garden to admire the elaborate exhibitions composed of plant species from around the world. There are over 200 varieties of flowers and over 20,000 pots with a detailed description of every plant on display. This year the show celebrates the late…

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On the occasion of 71st Independence Day, the Department of Horticulture, Government of Karnataka in association with Mysore Horticultural Society and other Kannada Organisations,  has arranged a wonderful flower show at Lalbagh Botanical Garden. The Department of Horticulture arranges flower shows twice a year, one in January for Republic Day and the other for Independence Day in August, each one with different themes. This year for Independence Day, the theme is to honour the Jnanpeeth Awardee RashtraKavi Kuvempu (Kuppalli Venkatappa Puttappa) who brought the glory to Karnataka 50 years ago. The main attraction is a replica of his house at…

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Srilatha, a resident of Malleshwaram, was busy with her morning chores when she heard a pack of dogs barking outside her home. After a while, she noticed that her cat was missing. They searched for the cat in the neighbourhood, and finally saw her perched in the side railing of a neiighbour's house. On a closer look, they saw that the cat had been badly injured. the dogs had chased and mauled her. Finally they had to rush her to Veterinary Hospital in Hebbal, where she underwent a major surgery. The cat is still recovering. This is the scene in…

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Bellandur Kere Habba! It sounded like a distant dream; when, all we hear about our beloved bedridden lake is only froth, fumes, smell and fires. And we dared to dream the impossible. Finally, on August 5, we were on ground zero next to the lake, celebrating the lake which was first loved, then abused and now struggling to be alive. Should we have waited to see the lake completely rejuvenated or was it right to celebrate small steps? Not sure, but all of us, who put together hard work over three weeks, were very happy to see our dream come…

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'Quest for equity – reclaiming social justice, revisiting Ambedker’ was a three day international conference organised by the Government of Karnataka to mark the 126th birth anniversary of B.R. Ambedkar at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru between 21st - 23rd  23rd July. IAS officer P Manivannan was part of the team organising the conference; he shares his experience. Many renowned speakers mentioned that they never attended any such a huge conference on Dr Ambedkar, in their life time. Indeed, just to dismantle the temporary structures, it took 10 days! Now that the last part of the work on the…

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Bengaluru produces an estimated two lakh tonnes of e-waste annually. But 90% of this goes to landfills or scrap dealers who then sell it to illegal recyclers. bE-Responsible is an initiative for Environmentally Responsible Collection and Recycling of e- waste in Bangalore. We have launched a campaign is to encourage people to drop e-waste at collection points at Bangalore One centres. Twenty-three students of Christ College have volunteered for this drive. This initiative which was started in January 2017 has collected e-waste and reached out to around 40,000 individuals through our campaigns and outreach programs. What has been done thus far:  3…

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