City: Bengaluru

Ever since the app-based cab aggregators - Ola, Uber, TaxiForSure entered the Indian market, a lot of stories have been told over the lucrative offers they give to the cab drivers and how the lives of cab drivers have changed. We have even come across the cases of highly educated and handsomely paid executives quitting their jobs in Bengaluru, to take up driving as a profession. The profession of cab drivers affiliated to app-based aggregators has been seen as a road to prosperity. There have been accounts of drivers earning even upto Rs 80,000 a month, which is equal to…

Remember the tragic incident that happened two yeas ago, where a nine-year-old child fell into a gap in the footpath during heavy rains, was carried by the gushing storm water and was found dead in a lake three kilometres away? The incident evoked sharp criticism and responses. A Public Interest Litigation was filed on the issue. The High Court asked the BBMP to repair all the deathtraps on footpaths and clear the encroachment. It's almost two years since then. Has the attitude of the administration changed? And has there been enough precaution this rainy season? Citizen Matters did a reality…

A Google Earth image shows piling up of traffic coming from North Bengaluru, in front of Palace Grounds. The State government has budged to the public demand and has put the tender process related to the proposed controversial steel flyover on hold. According to news reports, tender process was in the final stages of being awarded. Following a meeting with many urban experts from the city, Bengaluru Development Minister K J George told media that the government will hold public consultations with civic groups before finalising the project. The six-lane steel flyover, 6.7 kms long and costing Rs 1350 crores,…

This video captures a common everyday scene which every Bengalurean is now accustomed to seeing - the sight of broken pushcarts overflowing with household waste being pushed with difficulty, the sight of huge mounds of rotting garbage lying on the ground. The heartrending sight of workers bending over ankle-deep in rotten stinky waste and laboriously filling up a large compactor vehicle with small shovels and baskets manually, while the compactor system is meant to be filled up by a mechanical operation, directly from tippers to compactors. This is the pitiable state of our waste workers functioning in a broken system…

I kind of got hooked on this quiz thingy.  And while it is a bit strange to be asking and answering the questions myself, I love the fact that I know all the answers. My next quiz follows the same pattern but I put in a variation so I would not get bored.  So here, instead of just a Yes or No, I had to give a proper response, even a creative response if I wanted.  Plus, I tried to catch myself out by slightly varying the wording sometimes.  Nothing like a challenge to get the old grey cells going!…

To the Chief Minister of Karnataka, Sri Siddaramaiah, To the Minister, Sri K J George Sir, Citizen Petition: #BringBackSubodhYadav This is a tipping point. We citizens of Bengaluru who have been working on bringing in Sustainable Solid Waste management since 2009, find the abrupt transfer of BBMP SWM Special Commissioner Subodh Yadav, IAS, completely untimely, unjustified and unacceptable. This move of the Government is the tipping point which is leading into the streets well-meaning citizens who have been working with passion and optimism in their neighborhoods for improving the solid waste management in and around them. What was Subodh Yadav…

Citizens working with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to fix garbage management issues in the city are on fire. Reason: Subodh Yadav, Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) has been transferred. Yadav has been transferred to Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) as Secretary. The order does not mention a replacement for the position vacated by Subodh Yadav. Here is the full transfer order. 'Bring back Subodh Yadav' There is an online petition floated asking the Government of Karnataka to bring Subodh Yadav back as Special Commissioner, to continue what he was doing.  It is not clear why Subodh Yadav was chosen…

Elected representatives at the Smart City consultation programme at Town Hall in Bengaluru on Thursday. Pic: Akshatha M At a public consultation programme organised by BBMP to pool suggestions for making Bengaluru a smart city, two MLAs pitched in to promote their constituencies for the contest. While MLA of Malleshwaram constituency, C Ashwath Narayan came up with a proposal to make Malleswaram smart, Bommanahalli MLA Satish Reddy presented HSR Layout as the best place to be considered for Smart City project. In the meeting where all the MLAs and MPs of Bengaluru were supposed to be present to bat for…

Dear Reader, Hello again from Citizen Matters team! We’re back with our newsletter, to bring you news and analysis from this week. Before you get into the main newsletter, do read this piece by a citizen activist and a writer Srinivas Alavilli from J P Nagar, where he describes his learnings from a hands on experience of clearing the storm water drains in his area. The highlight: Bengaluru needs more athletic training centres Yet another athletics coach trains kids at Kanteerava Stadium. Pic: Akshatha M It's a city that has 1/6th of the state's population, yet Bengaluru cannot produce high…

I have this thing for pavements. Actually, I have a thing for many things, but the current thing is pavements. Let me tell you, this was not something I took to in a rush. It took many months for me to get warmed up. You see, I walk back and forth between my home and my office. Walking on Indian roads needs complete alertness, and in that hyper-attentive state, I started noticing things. Don’t ask me why, but I latched on to pavements and before long, I was quite an expert on the matter. I don’t do things by half…