City: Bengaluru

NICE road has been a boon for South Bengalureans, in achieiving connectivity from Tumkur Road to Hosur Road, especially for the trucks coming from Tumkuru side all the way from Maharashtra and going towards Tamilnadu. This also helps commute within Bengaluru such as from Kengeri to Electronic City, Banashankari to Electronic City etc. However it has been a death trap due to the enormous number of accidents. This road is not being treated as a highway but as a race track! 100 kmph is the minimum speed maintained on this road by cars. The parking lane on the extreme left…

Dear elected representatives of Bengaluru, I know all your birth dates by now and I surely do not want to wish you on your birthdays ever! I also know that you wish your voters on every possible occasion, even though it makes no real difference to their lives, and you haven't made any sincere effort to make that happen! Bills and posters under a flyover. Pic: HaSiRuMitra team Yes, you and your party workers have successfully made Bengaluru ugly with all those banners, hoardings and posters, which to my guess are mostly unpaid and unauthorised. Since you have set the…

The Metro is a convenient mode of transportation. But, once an individual gets off the metro, he/she needs to figure how to complete the last leg of the commute. Getting an auto can be a hassle and walking might also not be convenient. Instead, what if they could cover the rest of the distance on their own bicycle? While that sounds like a great idea, think about this: Are cycles even allowed on the metro? BMRCL only allows foldable cycles that fit through the baggage scanner. So, a majority of cyclists cannot take their cycles on the metro. Cycling enthusiasts…

The National Green Tribunal has delivered a landmark judgment against the massive SEZ project coming up on the wetlands of Agara and Bellandur lakes. The Tribunal has imposed a penalty of Rs 130 crore on Mantri Techzone and Core Mind Software Services, along with passing other important orders related to the case. What's more, they have also pronounced orders to regulate construction near lakes. A picture of the construction on the lake bed as on April 6th 2016. Pic: Shree DN Presenting a detailed report: NGT fines Bellandur SEZ developers; orders demolition of encroachment. Today, with this judgment, as citizens…

BBMP Property tax payment cycle is underway. Here's a guide that explains the process and lists the problems, along with the changes introduced this year. Note: This article was originally published on April 18th, and has been updated on May 6 2016, to reflect the BBMP's rollback of zonal classification. Finally BBMP has fixed the system to file property tax. This year there are changes: 1. Change in tariff 2. Change in zonal classifications (Rolled back on Apr 28th) The first one is a regular hike, which had to be done after expiry of every BLOCK period of FIVE years.…

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…