City: Bengaluru

Some years ago, a majestic tree stood just outside our house, not far from the heart of Bangalore. It was home to a squadron of monkeys, numerous squirrels and many varieties of birds. There were probably many snakes around, too. In those days, there was ample wildlife where we lived. That was probably how it was in most other Indian cities then, too. But that’s a story from a bygone age. The three-striped palm squirrel is one of the most commonly found 'wild' creatures in Bengaluru. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa Today, a mammoth-sized school occupies the space which that sprawling tree…

Bengaluru's street vendors, under the banner of the Bruhat Bengaluru Beedhi Vyaapaari Sanghatanegala Okkuta (Federation of Street Vendor Unions of Bangalore), had organised a protest on March 10th 2016 at the BBMP Head Office. Street vendors protest at the BBMP premises. Pic: Beedi Vyaapari Okkuta Soon after, the protest began, the BBMP Mayor, Manjunath Reddy, promised to meet with members of the Federation after the Council Sessions were done.  Demands of the protesters 1) A joint meeting should be convened with the Mayor, Commissioner and respective coporators, comprising Kaverinagar, Koramangala, Shivajinagar and Jayanagar 9th Block street vendors. 2) 1% funds…

Residents of Koramangala and users of the Koramangala 3rd Block playground participated in a Walk/Run event conducted on March 6th. The event had two twin objectives – to raise funds for charitable purposes and to focus attention on the need to save the Koramangala 3rd Block Playground. More than 300 men women and children of all ages participated. Walk and run events were held two distance categories – 2.5 km and 5 km. Over 300 residents showed up for the Save our Playground walk/run event. Pic: Nitin Seshadri A civic amenity site located contiguous to the BBMP Playground in Koramangala 3rd…

Pictures from the meet. Courtesy: KSPCB Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) conducted a meeting with resident welfare associations of Bengaluru on March 9, 2016. Solid Waste Management and protection of lakes was discussed in the meeting. More than 150 associations participated in the meeting. The meeting decided to: - train public about protection and nurturing of environment around them - have separate websites for each lake where people can place complaints if any. - awareness drives on selected roads by students and public - form a committee to monitor solid waste management and lake protection in Bengaluru/ Dr Arbind…

Prakash Belawadi, an actor and a theatre personality, had the shock of his life when a caller posing as a bank officer asked his wife for the One Time Password (OTP). Belawadi happened to reveal it to her without thinking. It was too late when he realised that his wife had unintentionally communicated to it to the person at the other end of the phone. The result: money to the tune of Rs 90,000 was billed to his credit card. A screengrab from an animation by the Federal Trade Commission intended to educate citizens about phishing tactics. Pic: Wikimedia Commons…

A graphic representation of namma Metro Phase - I Creator: Naveen Prasanna. Originally posted on: Skyscrapercity.com High resolution version: click here. The million dollar question troubling thousands of commuters waiting for the completion of Metro lines: When will we be able to travel in Metro from one corner of Bengaluru to another? Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) had earlier given the deadline of February for the inauguration. However, February came and went without seeing the real inauguration of the project, though the work has been happening slowly. Decoding the Metro test terms Once the tracks, stations, electrification and signalling…

  Bengaluru this week March 10th 2016     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     10 seconds of your time please, with a 5 question Reader Survey, and we promise to take your feedback seriously! Take the 10-second survey » Will you run for us? If you can run, we can do with your help! The TCS 10K is coming up in May 2016 and we’re hoping to raise the funds we require to keep our work going during the event. If you would like to sign up with us as a fundraiser, if…

Even as he holds a big fish in his left hand, a young boy tries to reel in another fish. Pic: Ganga Madappa Picture this. A young lad sits on the edge of Ulsoor lake, with a stick in hand. He immerses one end of the stick into the water and moves it through the water. In a matter of seconds, a large fish floats to the edge and the boy picks it up. As he picks up the fish, someone shouts from the crowd, “Ai Appu! What are you doing? Drop it… it’s poisonous! Go wash your hands!” The…

"I'm doing what I want. I feel like, after marriage, however my life will be, I will not have regrets for not having enjoyed life in my 20s. I will never have to think that 'my life was so dull and so boring'. I can be happy thinking I have (at least) enjoyed life when I was single." Meet Manwara, 26, an MBA graduate, working in a well-known IT firm in Bengaluru. Manwara and her friends Deepthi (25), Sandhya (30) and Ruchika (28) live in a paying guest accommodation in South Bengaluru. They come from different parts of India, and…

  Bengaluru this week March 4th 2016     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     As we launch our fundraiser next week, please share your feedback in this quick 5 second survey! We promise to take you seriously and improve Citizen Matters even more! Take the survey >> Run for money! 71 days to go - we have a friend of Citizen Matters who will be running the TCS World 10K, and raising funds for Oorvani Foundation. Are you participating too? Would you also help us in raising funds? Please mail us >> This week's highlight:…