City: Bengaluru

Amid the scams hitting the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC), the firm is stepping up to the challenge of reducing odour emanating from the plant by installing a biofilter system. The Rs 2 crore project, which involves filtering the air from the compost shed, will be ready in another three months, according to KCDC advisor Venkoji Rao. Windrows at work at KCDC premises. Pic: Nikita Malusare The unbearable stench arises when the composting windrows are turned in KCDC, four times a month. In the new biofilter system, four tanks are constructed, which will be filled with waste, water and coir.…

  What a day at the "Zero Plastic Run" that was flagged off from Decathlon, Sarjapur Road on June 20th! This green event organised by Decathlon, Sarjapur, and well-supported by Kasa Muktha Bellandur, various local citizen groups and Runners High, saw a sizable group of enthusiastic runners of all ages show up in the early hours of a cold, cloudy and windy Saturday morning. As the name indicates, this event was organised to showcase that such an event can be conducted and enjoyed thoroughly by going completely green. Runs usually see a whole lot of trash generated through the course of the event…

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is currently the largest municipal corporation in the country, operating within an area of over 700 sq km. Due to the wide area of operation, there has been a lag in the service delivery to the citizens of the city. In view of this, Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC), in association with Daksh, is conducting a widespread survey on the performance and responsiveness of BBMP, and citizens' perception of the proposed trifurcation of the municipal corporation and the upcoming elections.  Please take a few minutes of your time and fill out the questionnaire below. This will help…

11-year-old Amita, a resident of Dega Enclave apartment in Koramangala in Bengaluru, was rushed to a doctor for developing severely high temperature soon after recovering from gastroenteritis. She was diagnosed with Typhoid. After spending four days in St. John’s Hospital on drips, she has returned home on June 16th, and is likely to miss her school for another week. There were many other kids who fell sick in the same apartment of eight houses, but hers was the most severe case. The culprit behind the case is supposed to be the contaminated water supplied through the Bangalore Water Supply and…

  Bengaluru this week June 18th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     Last week, we had featured the Under-23 Ultimate team and how for the first ever time, India was set to send a team to London for the Under-23 Ultimate Frisbee World Championships, provided they raised sufficient funds… And here’s the good news. The team has raised enough funds and will be making it to London! We wish them the very best. You can follow the team and their journey here: Team India U23’s long and hard road to London.…

A recent circular sent by the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) directed apartments with Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) to adhere to certain parameters. This kickstarted a debate among apartment residents, as the BWSSB did not publish the circular on their website and there was no official communication on this to any of the apartments that have STP. The BWSSB circular issued by BWSSB Engineer-in-Chief on May 19th 2015 deals with two aspects: 1) Making it mandatory to use external additives like microorganisms for bio-culturing in STPs 2) Compulsory installation of single low cost ‘probe’, a sensor equipment, fitted…

 Women at the Dodda Maramma temple, waiting to see the other car processions. Pic: Perumal Venkatesan No celebration is complete without fireworks. Pic: Perumal VenkatesanA lady cooks sweet pongal (made using new rice and jaggery) inside the temple campus, to offer to the goddess. This is a common practise across amman (Mariamma) temples in Tamil Nadu too. Pic: Perumal Venkatesan The gully where processions carrying the four idols meet. From here they proceed to the Dodda Maramma temple for the Agni Kunda Puja. Pic: Perumal Venkatesan Young lads dance to the beat of the tamte vaathya. Pic: Perumal Venkatesan Karagattam…

The BDA tender makes it mandatory to leave some space to make the skywalk path visible from beneath the road. Pic: Shree D N The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) wants to improve pedestrian experience on Outer Ring Road by building 25 skywalks. However, the plan has hit a deadlock, after there were no bids or expressions of interest put up by anyone for the tender to construct 23 of these. Jayashankar Reddy, Executive engineer, BDA, told Citizen Matters that no applications were made for the tenders the BDA had called for, to construct pedestrian these pedestrian skywalks. The BDA plans…

Touts stopping non-KA registered vehicles opposite Kadugodi police station on June 8th 2015. Pic: Waseem Memon   Dear Sir, At the outset, let me express my sincerest thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet me in Nagpur on May 17th 2015. You gave me a patient hearing and assured me that my concerns with regards to freedom of movement of motor vehicles across all states, shall be addressed in the New Motor Vehicles Bill to be tabled soon in the Parliament. While we may still be able to Drive Without Borders across states, I believe we…

Of whom are you? Who are you? Whence have you come?                                                                                                                 - Śamkara bhagavatpāda, “Moha-mudgarah” The roots of people are not always clear. Sometimes, it is quite all right for things to be that way. Nothing much is gained by knowing the facts as they seem…