City: Bengaluru

For three years, every attempt to bring in performance-based garbage contracts in Bengaluru have been stymied and the inefficient and corrupt outsourcing work order based contract system continues. Several attempts were made since 2014 to issue performance contracts. But the contractors abstained from bidding, and brought in stays from the court. The Council chose to go with an ad-hoc solution, through the informal arrangements with contractors, called ‘Departmental work order’. The outsourced contract system has failed continuously to deliver the required level of waste management services, while rampant corruption and malpractices galore in managing Pourakarmikas. Finally, the Cabinet took a…

Indira Canteens in Bengaluru are still struggling to iron out the initial problems. In the canteen in Horamavu (ward 25), for instance, only 181 people were served lunch on day 3, despite BBMP’s target of serving 300 lunches per day. While lunch time is 12.30 pm-2.30 pm, here the service started at 1 pm, and ended by 2 pm, as there was no food left. Those who arrived later had to leave disappointed. There were other issues too. The breakfast menu comprises two items, of which one is idli everyday. Public can select either idli or the other option. But…

Three communities in southeast Bengaluru - Rainbow Drive, Adarsh Palm Retreat and Renuka School adjacent to Kaikondarahalli Lake, have created individualised water management plans to solve problems like water shortage, reliance on borewells and flooding. Knowledge and understanding of their groundwater system has allowed these communities to make smarter decisions when it comes to withdrawing groundwater and making the conscious effort to recharge water back into the earth. Biome Environmental Trust, ACWADAM and Mapunity with funding from Wipro Ltd. spent three years researching the water that lies beneath the surface in a research project called Participatory Aquifer Mapping (PAQM). An…

Lalbagh - my beautiful slice of heaven was taken over for the past fifteen days for the flower show. A 250-year-old garden on 240 acres, with one of the most spectacular collections of trees in the world was trashed. Very disheartened to see the crowd fill the place with garbage even though there were dustbins kept all over the place. The heritage rock - a three hundred billion year old rock which is the major attraction of Lalbagh, was filled with plastic covers flying all over the place and soft drink bottles. Shame on us people! A so-called hi-tech city…

The commuter catchment for Byappanahalli and travelling to Whitefield actually comprises of many segments. The first one is the work force who commute regularly from and around Byappanahalli which is estimated at 20000 commuters per day. The number of persons working in Whitefield area, belonging to both industrial and service sector, is estimated to be 2.5 lakhs. One estimate suggests that 75% to 80% of this work force is coming from areas beyond Byappanahalli. The number of commuters therefore would be around 180000 to 200000. This is the second segment. The third segment comprises of persons who come to Whitefield…

https://soundcloud.com/radioactivecr90-4mhz/bengaluru-matters-episode-27-rainschild-safetyhospitalse-wastelakes

When was the last time you saw a disability inclusive flash mob event? Can’t remember? Neither can I. On the evening of 13th august, in the spirit of Independence Day, people gathered in forum mall, Koramangala, beheld the awe-inspiring performances led by OSAAT-One Step At A Time, constituting of people from all walks of disabilities along with able bodied individuals, dancing their hearts out, to show the world that they’re danceabled. OSAAT is a nonprofit organisation striving to increase awareness on disability and build communities/ support groups for people with disabilities. They conduct programs encircling adaptive dance, theater and fitness,…

“How many Government Hospitals are there in Bengaluru? Could you please tell me few names?” I asked a female worker at St Johns Hospital, Bengaluru, who had a big smile on her face and looked approachable. “Umm, Victoria… Vanivilas… Jayadeva… there are a lot of them” she answered. Armed with what I could glean from Google and my limited knowledge of Kannada, I was on a quest: to locate health services for women in government hospitals in the city. We had attempted the same earlier in Delhi as part of a mapping project for Hidden Pockets, which locates services around…

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…

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…