City: Bengaluru

CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   Dear reader, Happy Independence Day, in advance! This Independence Day, we have a new project by the people, for the people, of the people! Here you can do your bit by contributing to a better neighbourhood. Is the footpath in your area broken? Do you have garbage blackspots in your area? Is there uncleared construction rubble in the area? Map it all, and help BBMP clear it: Help Bengaluru map its bad spots This week’s highlight Bengaluru needs a flood map People fishing in a storm water drain near…

Tired of seeing such garbage blackspots? Unwalkable footpaths? Broken slabs on streetside drains converted to death traps? Construction rubble uncleared for months? This Independence Day, we are launching a new project by the people, for the people, of the people! This is your chance to support BBMP in identifying the bad spots in the city and reporting them, by mapping them. This data will be shared with BBMP directly and can help eliminate the blackspots in the city, help identify future blackspots, remove the construction debris and fix the broken unwalkable footpaths. All you have to do now is to…

Here's a quick anecdote about the puzzle that was the Uber business model in Bengaluru. I visited Bangalore — the city I am from — earlier this year. I’ve been used to driving my parents’ car around town while visiting; for the first time, though, the consensus opinion from friends and family was that I should Uber the entire time instead. I’m a fan of convenience, so I agreed. It was pleasant enough: the cars were new, clean and shiny; prices were cheap when paid in USD; cars were abundant. Practically all the drivers were local Kannadigas who had quit jobs in the service…

Google Earth image from 2000 that shows a realistic view of elevation and valley in Kodichikkanahalli area. Recent actions by the government to clear the drainage encroachments in the IT city have proved to be a tough incident both for the administration and to the individuals. Though people getting their plans approved or Khata documents can be attributed to the dark side of the administration as well as of the individual dweller, there are certain genuine innocent cases that are heart-breaking. In the city considered to be IT capital of the country, where a normal cab driver reaches a completely…

The Venkatappa Art Gallery could well see more activity and action in the coming days, as artists in Bengaluru come together to make the Gallery a vibrant public space and regain its lost glory, and all this without private participation. The heart of Bengaluru is buzzing with public activities right now. The Rangoli Metro Art Center is a hit because it’s open for all. Vehicle-free Sundays in Cubbon Park attract enthusiastic crowds. With the Venkatappa Art Gallery and the museums being near Metro stations, there is a lot of scope for improving footfalls at the Gallery, feels Suresh Kumar G,…

The theme of this year's flower show is Parliament House. Pic: Kate Clark What is Lalbagh flower show? The biannual Lalbagh Botanical Garden Flower Show. Every year in January and August a flower show is put on in Lalbagh to celebrate Republic Day and Independence Day. This August’s theme is the Parliament House. A large flower rendition of the Delhi Parliament House is on display. There are also dozens of stands with artisan crafts, spices, coffee, books, purses, scarves, seeds, plants and ceramics for sale. Where is it? The flower show is at Lalbagh Botanical Garden in and around the…

The Government of India (Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation) has published, on 02 August 2016, the draft Agreement for Sale under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, RERA-2016 for public comments. This comes as a sequel to the Act and the Draft Rules for the Union Territories also published by the Central Government in the recent past. It may be of benefit to those who are planning to buy a home for themselves or even a residential plot of land. It is also of importance since with the enactment of the RERA-2016, effective 01 May 2016, all…

Phase 1 and 2 of Namma Metro network. Image: themetrorailguy.com Over the last few months, the news of Metro connectivity along the Outer Ring Road has been making the rounds. There have been news reports of the modification in Namma Metro Phase II plan to accommodate the metro link along the ORR, connecting the Silk Board Junction and K R Puram. But will this plan materialise? Is there a timeframe? According to a recent Deccan Herald news report, BMRCL has decided to modify the Phase II project, to make K R Puram and Silk Board junction as interchange stations. BMRCL…

Urban Development Department published ward committee rules in June 2016. The rules will help formation of ward committees and can have citizen participation in ward level. Kathyayini Chamaraj, the co-founder of CIVIC, says that people can now start demanding that BBMP constitute the ward committees for each ward with a total of ten members with 3 women, 2 SC/ST members, 2 local associations and any three other members.Other terms: The committee must meet every month and put up the minutes and resolutions in the ward office. The Ward Committee meetings are open to the public and RWA members should make…

The process of Aadhaar authentication. Pic: UIDAI website The Unique Identification numbers of Aadhaar card holders are being extensively used by government and private agencies for authentication purposes, as we have already seen in an earlier article. READ: Part 1 of the Aadhaar story for an idea about how private agencies are using Aadhaar authentication system to provide service to the customers. There are 246 registered Authentication User Agencies in India, both government and private, which are helping organisations and individuals in executing the authentication process. In simple terms, they help the organisation that has placed the authentication request, to confirm…