City: Bengaluru

A few rickshaw drivers in the auto stand on Mohankumar Nagar Main Road point towards a shelter for homeless children in Pampa Nagar, when asked where the night shelter in Yeshwanthpur is. No one in the locality of Mohankumar Nagar seems to know that there is a night shelter for the homeless in their area. This is not without reason. After asking around and finally spotting 3rd cross road on Google maps, we manage to find a nondescript building that has ‘16, 3rd cross, Mohankumar Nagar’ written on it, but there is no mention of it being a shelter for…

Sunday September 20th was a day like no other at HSR Layout. What was different you ask? For one, residents in the area came out to enjoy the peace and quiet on the streets in the area. Buses, cycles and feet were the most commonly used modes of transportation. Ask most participants what they thought of the initiative, and you would most likely get a resounding yes to yet another edition of the event. All was not well however. Some citizens compared the day to a bandh of sorts, since their freedom of movement was compromised. Many had to walk…

Normalcy is likely to be hit in Bengaluru on Saturday September 26th, with various organisations calling for a state-wide bandh. The bandh has been called to protest against the delay in implementing the Kalasa–Banduri project in North Karnataka. Speaking to Citizen Matters, Kannada Okkuta President Vatal Nagaraj said, “We have declared a bandh from 6 am to 6 pm. What we are asking for is this: implementation of the Kalasa-Banduri project, linking the Mahadayi river, development of Uttara Karnataka, and finally, that farmers loans be waived.” Nagaraj added that the bandh had the support of 1,080 associations across Karnataka, including…

Several citizens of Bengaluru gathered at the Mayor's office on September 23rd to protest against BBMP's failure to provide safe roads in the city. Dr Dominic Dixon, one of the organisers of the protest said, "Though civil society is paying taxes, BBMP does not do it's due diligence. We handed over a memorandum to the Chief Mininster, Mayor and BBMP Commissioner which lists out what action we want them to take. If they do not respond in seven days, we will take it further." Snapshots from the protest outside the BBMP office. Pic: Dr Dominic DixonCitizens handing over the memorandum…

This article and related guide articles on property matters are also available in the Citizen Matters e-book ‘Buying, Investing and Renting Property in Bengaluru’, published by Oorvani Media Pvt. Ltd. Copying this in any form will attract litigation. The e-book is available here. While properties are an evergreen area of investment, there are people who seek to buy property for the sake of living too. Whichever the case is, it is only prudent to check and ensure that the property is completely legal, given the amount of Akrama Sakrama and GPA scams that have been reported in the city. Here…

Bengaluru. Snarling morning office traffic. A population of 10 million jostling for space. Boring office, same old chores. Two million working executives struggling for breath. Snail-paced late evening traffic back home. No small wonder that three-fourths of the respondents in a recent survey commented that they are deeply demotivated; They are not stimulated enough, either in their personal or professional lives. We could relate to these boring data points without too much difficulty – because we are part of Bangalore too, and we are going through the same rigmarole. Based on the idea that was thrown up by Benedict Paramanand,…

We are trying to understand the incidence of Dengue in Bengaluru, and if and how serious an epidemic it is. Do take our survey to help us gather data. Results will be published on Citizen Matters, along with responses from officials. NO personal information will be shared publicly. Resources You can read some of our previously published articles for information about Dengue. Fever? Make sure it’s not dengue! Chikungunya and dengue: prevention and treatment Tips to prevent dengue and chikungunya in flats Should you panic if a dengue patient needs platelets? Why is the number of reported dengue cases less?…

For Bengalureans, who were getting soaked in frequent evening showers during last fortnight, unbridled load shedding came as a shocker. Load shedding that began with two hours of power cut everyday, was revised to four hours. Load shedding has been withdrawn as of now and people are yet again enjoying non-stop power supply, but the apprehension continues to loom large. Long time residents of Bengaluru felt that it was almost after a 5-6 years they were facing such an inordinate power cut in the city. Normally, monsoon season, that is, June to September, is considered as pressure-free period due to…

  Bengaluru this week September 18th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     We hope you had a very happy Ganesha Habba. In this edition of Bengaluru This Week, we feature a story on upcoming shuttle bus services from mobile-based app service, Ola and ZipGo; this signals the entry of private players into public transport. Read about why residents of HSR Layout are excited, yet wary about having a vehicle-free day in their area. We also have an analysis of the BDA’s 2,200 crore mutual fund scam. All this and more… This…

Being a mommy blogger and more importantly a mother for sometime now, I have realised how many parents find it tougher to raise a child than ever before. On one hand, one is supposed to monitor the child's activities so that he or she is guided in the appropriate path in life. On the other, parents are supposed to allow the child to grow independently and let the growing one celebrate freedom. However, to prevent abuse and to ensure that the child is not misled by people, social media and various other distractions, a parent has to be constantly vigilant…