City: Bengaluru

Public transport service is likely to be affected in Bengaluru on September 2nd, in the wake of the strike called by the public transportation sector. KSRTC buses and autorickshaws will remain off road from 6 am to 6 pm on September 2nd. The nation-wide strike is called by Central trade unions urging the government to fulfill their various demands. The four public transportation companies in Karnataka- Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), North Eastern Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NEKRTC) and North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC), have extended support to the bandh to place…

BBMP elections are over, but Mayoral elections are still pending. While many corporators are holed up in resorts and Congress and JDS seem to have struck an alliance, the BBMP Commissioner and regional district commissioner are preparing for mayoral elections. Here is the full list of voters eligible to vote in mayoral elections, and will play an important role on which party will get the mayor's post in Bengaluru. The list has been prepared by the BBMP Commissioner. It includes the names of nominated MLCs, though at this point, it is not clear whether can be included or not in…

A two-wheeler collides with another vehicle, spilling its rider onto the pavement. An onlooker reacts immediately, pulling out his or her cellphone to dial the emergency number, 108. What happens next is a series of snap-decisions and hasty phone calls to ensure a medical professional arrives on site as quickly as possible. Depending on the location, the Emergency Disaster Management Unit call centre, being run by GVK-EMRI, sends an emergency vehicle. Since mid-April, a new type of vehicle has been added: the bike ambulance. For these two-wheelers, weaving through Bengaluru’s terrible traffic, is much quicker than their four-wheeled counterparts. If…

Collage: Akshatha M Former mayor Shantha Kumari N, who owned five properties in 2011, is now the owner of 15 houses and sites. L Srinivas who has been re-elected as the corporator from Kumaraswamy Layout, had a total asset of Rs 13.37 crore way back in 2011. Now value of his assets is Rs 29.13 crore. Quite a growth in four years! Voters of Bengaluru have re-elected 34 ex-corporators this time. A comparison of the declared assets of these 34 re-elected corporators shows that the assets of most of the corporators have increased in last five years. Citizen Matters did…

A typical Indian Babu knows no obligations lower than his/her own rank. Rank though s/he may be, s/he will enforce the Golden Rule of Babutopia (GRB): “Kick downwards, lick upwards.” This is also called the Brown Sahib Syndrome; BSS is GRB with a melanin-twist: criticise, trample, kick anything native (read brown), and honour, extol, lick anything foreign (read white). My language is harsh, but it is the reality I see even after all these years of post-colonial, independent India, when we are rather kicking some international butt, even if in a limited sense. Take this episode for instance. A few…

With Ganesha Habba right around the corner, preparations to celebrate the festival are in full swing. Traditionally, the idol would be sculpted out of earth from river banks. After worshipping divinity in this earth icon, it was returned back to the earth by immersing it in a nearby water body. This represented the cycle of nature, from creation to dissolution. However, with the advent of Plaster of Paris (POP), things changed. Idols are now made of materials that are detrimental to the environment. POP idols should never be immersed in water; it is insoluble in water and releases a host…

  I recently discovered this site and it was a pleasure to find a forum to engage with fellow residents of Bengaluru city. While I am not a Kannadiga, or indeed a localite, I have been in Bengaluru (on and off) for a total of about 11 years now. I woke up this morning to several news items, across India, about the horrendous behavior of men. Eve-teasing... what not...? It got me thinking... Isn't Bengaluru too a victim of this? I have never understood why (predominantly) Indian men, do not seem to understand the difference between staring, letching, ogling and…

Just concluded BBMP Elections saw ward no 198 - Hemmigepura stand second in voters turnout. This ward reported 59.4% voter turnout, to stand next to Siddapura where 62.14% voted were polled. This is because, various layout residents of Kanakapura road are together and having a good net work among themselves. They have prepared a vision document for their aspiring corporators and submitted when they met them during the election campaign. The Residents Welfare Associations together decided to ensure they followup with their residents and ensure they go out and vote. Infact many associations helped the residents to find out their name…

  Bengaluru this week August 27th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     The past week was abuzz with excitement, with citizens of Bengaluru wondering which party would finally take over the reins of the BBMP council. Most exit polls claimed that Congress had the upper-hand. When results were finally announced on August 25th, it became evident that the BJP would be at the helm of city affairs yet again. The party took the lead with a simple majority of 100 seats. Congress trailed them with 76 seats, followed by JDS with…