City: Bengaluru

File picture of a slum near HSR Layout. Pic: Akshatha M International Symposium on Health in Slums 2016 was held in Smrithi Auditorium, Bangalore Baptist Hospital, Hebbal on April 30, 2016. This was a first-of-its-kind event provided a platform for health researchers, BBMP Medical Officer and NGOs involved in various aspect of health in slums. The population for study involved migrant and non-migrant populations. This was an opportunity to connect the investigators, with questions pertaining to the health and wellbeing of the slum dwellers, with those willing to offer solutions in the form cost-effective options of fuel, energy, technology and…

The Takshashila Institution, on May 3rd, launched India’s first post-graduate programme in public policy for working professionals. The 48-week programme is delivered using Takshashila’s networked learning platform that allows people from any academic background to take the course from anywhere at their own pace. Students will learn and interact with some of the foremost policy thinkers, analysts and practitioners and be eligible for careers with top industry, NGO, politician and media partners. The course starts in September 2016 and admissions open in the first week of May. Nandan Nilekani with the students and staff of the Graduate Certificate in Public…

In what could be a big blow to all developers constructing their projects around lakes, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has delivered a landmark judgment. The NGT judgment imposes a new buffer zone of 75 metres for lakes and wetlands which will be a no-construction zone, as opposed to 30 metres of buffer earlier. This will stop all new projects from getting constructed within 75 meters of lakes, and will impact many existing projects too. The NGT has also ruled that the buffer zone of the rajakaluves must be calculated from the edge of the drain, as opposed to the…

Antony Das, is an active participant of the B.PAC Civic Leadership Incubator Program (B.CLIP) and also an advocate of civic issues. Das went on to take up numerous initiatives in his locality, specifically reviving a public park which was turned into a dump yard for several years. The initiative has seen some substantial progress after it was pushed forward to the local BBMP members by him. Originally a project of the BDA, in 2001, the park was transferred to the City Municipal Council (CMC) and later to BBMP. However, the space allotted for the park was not maintained and it turned into a…

This is a story that has passion, action, drama, blood (well, not blood really, but it seems like people are baying for our blood), sweat and tears! Sounds like a Bollywood potboiler? Well, that’s the Durga alarm story for you. It is nothing short of a potboiler, with multitudes of characters, plots, sub-plots and plenty of action. The humble beginnings of the Durga alarm The story quite literally started in 2014, when the first thoughts took shape and it developed, slowly and painstakingly over unlimited cups of tea and brain-storming sessions. Almost 90% of the women who attended our workshops…

Difference between the topography of the land between Kasavanahalli and Kaikondrahalli lakes, in 2002 and 2016, as seen on Google Earth. The Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal has dismissed the petition of Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) and Mahadevpura Parisara Samrakshane Mattu Abhivrudhi Samiti (MAPSAS) related to a residential project coming up between Kasavanahalli and Kaikondarahalli lakes. Stating that the case on the grounds that the developer has a valid Environmental Clearance, the NGT dismissed the petition and allowed the developer of Shriram Chirping Woods to continue with the project.In an order delivered on April 26th, NGT bench comprising Dr…

They don't go to theatres to watch cinema. They can save no money with the earnings they make. They have many occupation-related health issues, yet their medical expense is just about 12,000 per annum! This is the fate of finances /revealed by a recent survey on garment workers. Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) is an independent trade union of garment workers in Karnataka. Centre for Workers Management (CWM) is a research organisation working on issues of labour standards and labour rights in the formal and informal sector in India. Both these organisations worked together to do a study on…

A number of articles have been written about step-by-step approach to fill the Online Form for payment of property tax this year. I am writing this article on the failure of the new system and what went wrong since lakhs of tax payers could not make payments till date. BBMP is in a big muddle for having introduced a software overnight without proving the efficacy of the new system. I am giving below the reasons for such a failure. The matter is in the hands of the concerned BBMP Commissioners who are probably not taking into consideration, the actual state…

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has introduced new norms for nitrogen level in the treated water that comes out from a sewage treatment plant. The step is meant to control nitrogen levels in the drinking water bodies. The new standards are made applicable to all STPs including those in Residential Apartment Complexes, Commercial Complexes and the large STPs of Urban Local Bodies ( ULB) such as City Municipal Corporation, Town Municipal Corporation etc. in Karnataka. The new notification limits Ammonia Nitrogen content and Total Nitrogen content to 5 mg/L and 10 mg/L respectively in treated domestic sewage. The…

Before we get into our stories for the week, two quick announcements... We are organising a two-day workshop for teens - Journalism for Young Citizens - at Atta Galatta on May 3rd and 4th. For more information and to register, click here. Several Bangaloreans are running at the TCS 10K in support of Citizen Matters, to raise funds for coverage on specific topics. See Shilpi for Lakes and Thej for Open Data. Pledge your support today! Property Tax No update yet on extension of deadline for 5% discount on property tax; if you are paying today, here is the guide:…