City: Bengaluru

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 Load shedding has been withdrawn as of now and people are yet again enjoying non-stop power supply, but the apprehension continues to loom large.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…

For years the large Civic Amenity (CA) site next to the HSR Layout BDA Complex in Sector 7 has perhaps been jockeyed for by politicians and other 'privileged' and 'connected' citizens of Bengaluru. Given the dizzying number of zeroes involved in a property so 'prime' and so large, the CA site although ideal for the construction of a large public transport terminus (BMTC and other) in the area, will see no such outcome. Information we have is that the prime property has been handed away in three parts. One is to a trust created by a powerful politician, ostensibly to…

The price charged by the retailers in KSRTC bus stations are different from what is printed as MRP. Pic: Shree D N The retailers in almost all the bus stops operated by Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) charge upto 25% more than the Maximum Retail Price for the consumers. The shop keepers demand the excess charges and deny the customers goods on MRP, quoting additional charges for cooling, electricity and bribes.  Even a Rs 10 chocolate or a biscuit packet is charged above MRP. Most customers have resigned to the fact that the cooling charges on soft drinks are…

For the past two years, a group of people have gathered together during Daan Utsav (India's Joy of Giving week) to camp out under the stars. This is so they can experience, to a tiny degree, the realities of homelessness for thousands of people in Bangalore, and million others in India. In 2015, Under the Stars is being held at Indiranagar Club on October 2nd.  What is Under the Stars? Under the Stars is a collaborative platform for NGOs to raise funds and awareness about homelessness. It is a overnight sleep-out in Bengaluru on the night of October 1st and is the first…

Do you remember a time when Bengaluru’s streets turned into playgrounds? Children would be out in hordes playing cricket or football. Pensioners would be out on their evening stroll. Grocery shopping meant walking to the neighbourhood angadi and back. Those commuting to work would either catch a bus or even walk the distance if office was not too far away. The times are different now. The roads are almost always jam-packed, and spending at least an hour or two on commute has become the norm. In a move to improve mobility in the city, several government organisations including Directorate of Urban Land…