City: Bengaluru

Vikhyath Mondreti, a class 10 student from Greenwood High International School Bangalore, was part of the winning team in an innovation challenge conducted by the New York Academy of Sciences as part of their Junior Academy program. Through the course of 70 days, students formed virtual teams and worked with STEM (Science-Technology-Engineering-Math) professionals serving as expert mentors. There were 91 teams with participants from 51 countries out of which 3 teams were chosen as winners. These challenges were sponsored by major corporations such as ARM and PepsiCo. Vikhyath’s team won the Biodiversity category in which the participants were required to…

The recent issues hitting headlines in Karnataka have already signaled the arrival of election season, with elections due in April-May 2018. Lingayats are demanding they be recognised as followers of a separate religion. Many activist organisations are demanding that the yellow-red Kannada flag be recognised as a flag for the state. The Congress government at the state has constituted committees to look at both the possibilities. In effect, every political party is trying to make the most of the sentiments of the public, to grab their emotions and convert it into votes. It appears that the election campaign has already…

I have recently finished the ward level analysis of Bengaluru’s 2017-18 budget, with Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy. The budget briefs will be available online this week, for all 198 BBMP notified wards in Bengaluru. I’m writing this to tell you how important the ward level budgeting is. The ward level analysis by Janaagraha informs people about the direct budget allocation for lakes, roads, parks, public toilets and other public services for each ward. Open access to a city’s budget offers significant benefits to its citizens by enabling them to: (i) know where their tax money is spent (ii)…

Karnataka government has published a draft notification of Common Zoning Rules to be applicable across the state, with the last date for objections being July 30th, 2017. Citizen Action Forum, a Bengaluru-based nongovernmental organisation, has come up with a sample letter highlighting the problems of the new Common Zonal Regulations (CZR) and asking the government to re-consider the new zoning rules that will make master plans irrelevant. July 30th, 2017, is the last date for the objections to be filed. Interested Resident Welfare Organisations (RWAs) can check it out and send it to the concerned department or Chief Minister's office.…

On the morning of Sunday, July 16th, 10 of us, a group of teenagers, worked for almost four hours, scraping bills, removing garbage, and repainting electrical boxes near Marathahalli Bridge, Bengaluru. We started our work at 6.30 am. By the time we finished, the stretch of road was clean, colorful, and a pleasure to see! This is just one of many projects that we have taken up in the past year, working under the group name of Clean Up Bangalore, or CUB. CUB is an initiative that originated in August 2016 when three of us, Rithana, Achyutha, and Neha, found…

Kong Tailin Lyngdoh, a Khasi lady from Meghalaya, was asked to leave a golf club in Delhi for wearing her traditional dress. She was told that she looked like a Nepali and that her dress made her look like a maid. To highlight this discrimination, the 'My Dress is My Identity' event was organised by the Northeast Solidarity at SCM of India, Bangalore on the 7th of July. The event explored the issue Kong Tailin Lyngdoh faced and discussed solutions on how people from Northeast India can educate fellow Indians about various aspects of their culture, history, and habits including…

Urban Development Department in Karnataka published a draft notification of Common Zoning Regulations a few days ago. Once implemented, it is applicable all over the state in all cities, and overrules the Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) master planning rules. Here's a snapshot that explains how residential areas are going to change once this comes into force. Basically the rule reduces the roadwidth in residential areas of Bengaluru from 45 to 30 feet, to accommodate the daily use category of commercial establishments like milk booths, newspaper stalls etc. The notification has not gone well with the citizen groups fighting commercialisation of residential…

The last four stories in the series explained all that has happened and is happening with the Ejipura EWS quarters project. This story, the last in the series, will narrate how uncertain the life has been for a family that is living on pavements following the eviction. Among the two dozen tiny tents pitched on the pavement of Srinivagilu Main Road just next to National Games Village in Ejipura area, is the “home” of Deepa (name changed). Her tent made of bamboos and tarpaulin, though appears vulnerable, has withstood storm and rain in last four and a half years. “My…