City: Bengaluru

BBMP serves notices on underpaying tax After a recent upgrade of its revenue division, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has begun to serve notices to defaulters who have underpaid or under-assessed their property tax for seven years. Munish Moudgil, Special Commissioner (Revenue), said that the KMC Act and the BBMP Act allow revenue officers to issue notices when they find properties being under-assessed to pay a lesser amount of tax. It requires revenue officers to survey a building. BBMP has issued notices to 20,000 property owners so far. However, many, including Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy, have expressed disagreement that…

Part 1 of the series explained Bescom's responsibilities in terms of preventing accidents, and what citizens can do if they see a safety hazard.  Part 2 looks at what you can do if you suffer injury/property damage.  What happens in case of an accident? After any electrical accident, its cause is investigated by a separate department - the Department of Electrical Inspectorate under the Energy ministry. This department submits a report to the government, with a copy to Bescom. Additionally, Bescom has a committee, comprising a retired judge and a retired engineer, that visits the accident site, gathers information from…

Last October, 23-year-old Soundharya and her nine-month-old daughter lost their lives to electrocution by a Bescom live wire in Hope Farm, Whitefield. In August, a Christ University student was burned by a live wire from an electric pole that fell when a vehicle accidentally pulled on an OFC illegally put up on the pole. What are Bescom's responsibilities in terms of preventing accidents? And what can you, as a citizen, do if you see a safety hazard, or if you suffer injury/property damage? Here is a guide. According to data Bescom shared with this reporter, 134 people died in Bescom-related…

The Gruha Lakshmi scheme was supposed to be the crowning glory of the Congress government's five guarantees scheme. But for lakhs of women in the state, the scheme has not yet borne fruit. Under the policy, female heads of household in low-income families can receive Rs 2,000 per month to supplement their income. The scheme was formally launched in August last year, but several women had not yet received the benefits. Who are eligible? Women who are heads of their household and have a BPL (below poverty line), APL (above poverty line) or Antyodaya card issued by the Karnataka Department…

KSRTC to induct 2,000 buses The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) plans to add 2,000 buses, of which 500 will be e-buses. It will also introduce Vehicle Tracking & Monitoring System (VTMS), a mobile app, and cashless travel. There will be 1,000 refurbished buses too. As the Shakti scheme had increased the demand for KSRTC buses, especially in rural areas, it is expected that 1,000 Karnataka Sarige buses will improve rural connectivity. Meanwhile, passengers will soon be able to pay through smart electronic ticketing machines (ETMs). Source: The Hindu, Bangalore Mirror Read more: Looking back at 2023: A review…

Ever wondered why a lake has so many fish kills, algal blooms, or worse yet, a lingering stench that will make you cringe when you pass by? They are a result of the absence of certain assets, which are essential to keep the lake body clean and healthy. The issue of foam-covered water that has made Bellandur lake and Varthur lake infamous remains unsolved and is essentially a result of untreated sewage water and industrial waste being released into the lakes and not treated properly. The current scenario  A news article revealed that 201 lakes in Bengaluru city are under BBMP’s…

Bengaluru ranked third in the country for crimes against women, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2022. While the data is not clearly indicative of whether crimes are reported more or occurring more, it does beg the question, which areas in the city are safe? Safe Yelli?, a citizen-led initiative, is hoping to answer this question. Safe Yelli? is an online tool that allows citizens to report personal experiences of sexual assault and harassment in Bengaluru. These experiences are then used to create a map of unsafe locations in the city. Mapping harassment The initiative started…

KSRTC ventures into logistics business Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC)-the state-owned transport utility-is stepping into the logistics sector, sensing a great business opportunity there, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy told Economic Times. The business started on December 10th, and 20 fully-equipped trucks were launched to enhance the non-ticket revenue of the corporation.  The KSRTC also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with KMS Coach Builders Pvt. Ltd. for lending its cargo truck services on a rental basis for a period of two months. It has also entered into an agreement with S. M. Kannappa Automobiles (P) Ltd. for a…

This year marked several developments in Bengaluru's public transport, from the introduction of the Shakti Scheme ensuring free bus travel for women in Karnataka to the completion of the Purple Line and the launch of the 'Personal2Public Campaign' to encourage metro use in the IT corridor. However, even as there is optimism about improving public transport in the city, the progress of the suburban rail has been quite slow, the urban poor find using the metro unaffordable, and much more needs to be done to improve bus connectivity in the city. We look back on our coverage of public transport…

Here is the deal with water and Bengaluru, and it makes no sense. We have had a year of poor rainfall and there is water shortage. Our reservoirs are running low, and our groundwater is already over-exploited. We have had a rainfall deficit. Also, overall, the city is experiencing much more rainfall. And, every time it pours, it floods. But when there is no rain, we start needing tankers. We are the land of lakes and the land of lost wastewater potential. By now my editor will be groaning, so I will stop. But to make sense of my stream…