City: Bengaluru

Chairman of Taxation Committee M Shivaraj presenting the BBMP Budget. Pic: BBMP The ruling party in BBMP, Indian National Congress which used to criticise the Bharatiya Janata Party till last year for presenting unrealistic budgets, faced the same allegation this time, from the BJP which now sits in the opposition. The BBMP council floor witnessed a heated exchange between Congress and BJP leaders even as the Mayor opened the floor for presenting the budget. BJP corporators who wore black ribbons around their necks, protested against the Council’s decision to hike the property tax. Opposition party leader Padmanabha Reddy, former Mayor…

Works taken up under SFC & 14th Finance Commission Grants for 2016-17   Sl.No. Name of works Amount INR Lakhs 1 Establishment of ABC Centres 250.00 2 Construction of Hospital at Sudhamanagar in Ward No.118 200.00 3 Construction of Referral Hospital in Ward No.165 200.00 4 Construction of Hospital building at ward 11 300.00 5 Construction of Hospital building at Ward No.2 300.00 6 Construction of Hospital building at ward No.31 300.00 7 Construction of dialisis centre at ward No.52 200.00 8 Construction of Maternity Hospital in Kanakanapalya 500.00 9 Providing CC Camara in each wards @ Rs.10.00 Lakh per…

Trailblazer. Screen-scorcher. Essayer of powerful roles. Padma Shri and national award recipient who mesmerised the world in a short but brilliant career. Say 'Smita Patil' and there is that special glint in the eye of movie enthusiasts who had the privilege of watching this charismatic actor on screen. Whether it was Bhumika, Manthan, Gaman, Arth or Mirch Masala, movie after movie Smita breathed magic into every role, transforming effortlessly into the character she played on screen. Achiever and performer extraordinaire, Smita would have been 60 if she were alive today. Join us, a group of Bangaloreans, as we celebrate her…

Pic: BBMP   Full text of the BBMP budget speech 2016-17 presented by M Shivaraju, CHAIRMAN, TAXATION AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, BBMP, BENGALURU I heartily welcome all who are present in the Kempegowda Council Hall and I request your permission to present the Bruhath Bangaluru Managanagara Palike‟s Budget for the year 2016-17. Remembering with high gratitude, the great personality, the social reformer Sri. Basavanna, who was in the court of Bijjala during 12th century A.D. and made revolutions in Kalyana with his social justice, welfare of all. Transparency in his all walks, religious insight, with the greater responsibility of bringing in…

Venkatappa Art Gallery off Kasturba Road, Bengaluru. Pic: Shree D N Some people are a little confused why Karnataka artists are against the adoption of the state Venkatappa Art Gallery (VAG) by Tasveer Foundation to build MAP - Museum of Art and Photography, to house Abhishek Poddar's art collection. Artists have formed Vagforum (Venkatappa Art Gallery Forum) to oppose this move. MAP in VAG is being projected as god's gift to the Bengaluru's public. Let me explain our stand: Artists are not against the Museum of Art and Photography or MAP coming up in the city. But it should be…

  Bengaluru this week March 24th 2016     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     You must have got our earlier mail with reason #2 to support Citizen Matters. If you missed that mail with the details of the Journalism Workshop for citizens on April 2nd, click here. This week’s highlight: How we can help farmers on the outskirts Chemical-free farming needs more efforts, hence costs more for a farmer. Pic: Shree D N At a time that we city dwellers in Bengaluru are getting affected by water problems, farmers on the city outskirts…

With the last date for receiving applications under Akrama Sakrama scheme having come to an end, the BBMP has received a lacklustre response from people willing to apply under the scheme. The number of applicants in entire BBMP limits is as low as 37, as on the last day - March 22nd, 2016. The State government introduced Akrama Sakrama scheme last year and gave a time frame of one year from March 23rd, 2015 to March 22nd, 2016, for people to apply seeking regularisation of unauthorised buildings. Thanks to the ongoing court battle, lack of publicity by the government authorities…

Lack of reliable irrigation schemes leads to agriculture land being unutilised. Pic: Shree D N March 22, 2016. No sign of good rains in near future. A farmer, Chandrashekharaiah, who has some land near Hesaraghatta, is worried about what he can do on his land, to reduce his water needs and get better returns. He used to grow paddy, millets and vegetables earlier. Now he is not concerned about food crops, because the effort and labour required is more than what he can earn from it. And he does not want to end up becoming yet another farmer who could…

Bengaluru is the IT hub of India, and most people here are becoming tech-savvy.  Bengaluru is today a global name, and with the changing stature of the city, the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) too is striving to do its best.  Given the widespread use of technology, BTP has decided to use technology to serve citizens better. BTP frequently receives many complaints against auto drivers from the public—refusal to go on hire, demanding excess fare, misbehaving and other issues—through its various communication channels. In order to address citizens’ problems effectively, BTP has designed, developed and launched a mobile application called bSafe…