City: Bengaluru

In an early morning tragedy, Ernakulam-bound Bengaluru-Ernakulam Intercity Express (Train No. 12677) derailed in Belagondapalli near Anekal in city’s outskirts on Friday, leading to the death of 12 passengers. Two compartments of the train collided, causing the loss of lives. Over 100 passengers are said to have been injured in the accident of which many are in critical stage. However, according to official version, the number of deaths is 10 while 18 were injured. The dead include five male passengers, three female passengers and a 12-year-old boy. Injured passengers include two citizens of Poland. Five people among the injured are…

While the nation is still recovering from the unforeseen historic results of Delhi Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is busy preparing to attack other cities and states. Next in the hit list seems to be Bengaluru. AAP’s Karnataka unit members who are flying high with the clean sweep of the party in the Delhi assembly election are now silently preparing for BBMP polls. The civic body poll is likely to be held this year—in 2015, as the term of the BBMP council ends this April. Though the party did not fetch any seats and underperformed in its political debut…

  Bengaluru this week February 12th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   Before we get into our stories, here is a short summary of what happened in the city: 25 slums in Bengaluru will get water at Rs 5 for 25 litres, as BBMP teams up with USAID and Water Health India as summer approaches. Aero India 2015 to be held at Yelahanka Airforce Station, between February 18th and 22nd.  Bengaluru Urban and Rural District Commissioners have warned of strict action if trash is thrown indiscriminately in Yelahanka, in the backdrop of…

The app released by Government of Karnataka has a lot of scope for improvement. The ambitious mobile governance project of the State government, Karnataka One, which was also touted as one of the world's largest multi-mode mobile governance platforms, has not met the expectations of the people. Even after almost two months of launching, the mobile app that intends to offer easy access to various government and private services, is yet to evolve as a comprehensive mobile governance system. During its launch on December 8, the government had boasted that the app will provide 637 government (both Central and State)…

It is that time of the year when some fellow Bengalureans will together paint the town red. Or yellow, purple, orange, pink, violet; name it and you’ll see the colour. Those Bengalureans are our beloved trees, getting into bloom, making namma Bengaluru look vibrant and pretty. It was a nippy and chirpy Saturday morning, with the White-cheeked Barbets calling tirelessly. Being a ‘true South Indian’, I had to complete my ritual of one cup of strong filter coffee, even at the risk of getting late. I still managed to reach in time for Neralu’s opening activity, Katte Parichaya by Kiran Keswani and team…

Hundreds of citizens came together on the weekend of February 7th and 8th to celebrate the garden city’s  glorious natural heritage at many locations, including NGMA, KR Rao park and Dodamavalli Katte. Citizens of all ages participated enthusiastically in tree walks, listened to talks by naturalists and artists, and appreciated the movies, performances and street plays. Citizens came together to  celebrate the garden city’s  glorious natural heritage. On  Saturday February 14th, the festivities will move to Bal Bhavan, Cubbon Park, with a host of art activities and cultural performances that bring a grand closure to the NERALU tree. List of activities planned…

Padme Float at the mirror pool at NGMA The first phase of Neralu, the three-day Urban Tree Festival, concluded at NGMA (National Gallery of Modern Art) Bengaluru, on Sunday Fenruary 8th. Citizens of all ages participated enthusiastically in tree walks, listened to talks by naturalists and artists, and appreciated the movies, performances and street plays. At Neralu, children experienced the world of trees through animated storytelling sessions, tree journaling, and sketching workshops. The tree walk conducted for young adults from Samarthanam Trust for The Disabled emphasised the different ways in which trees can be perceived. Other highlights of the Tree…

3.30 am, KR Market complex. Seethamma, in her sixties, is busy dealing with her customers, with a huge pile of jasmine and marigold in front of her. She has been selling flowers for the past 40 years, commuting all the way from Doddaballapur every day. Her customers are street-side vendors who sell stringed flowers by the mola or make garlands out of it. Even as dawn is hours away, Krishna Rajendra Market (KR Market), also known as City Market, is already bustling with activity. Flower and vegetable vendors visit the market in the wee hours of the morning, to offload…

On January 14th in Bengaluru, Hebbal dipped to the minimum temperature of the day at 6.04 am, Electronic City felt the minimum temperature at 6.18 am. Vidyaranyapura recorded the lowest temperature at 6.24 am, and Jayanagar as late as 7.10 am. Despite Hebbal being located only 16 km from Jayanagar, there was a significant difference of 1 hour 6 minutes when both areas recorded minimum temperature. The same is true for rain too. It doesn't rain in Whitefield, when it does in Jayanagar. So the preparedness is different for Whitefield and Jayanagar for a rainy day predicted by Meteorological Department.…

Clean air is in short supply near Kadugodi area in Whitefield, where apartments and villas cost crores of rupees. Reason: indiscriminate burning of low value plastic in open fields. If you walk through the narrow road in Khajisonenahalli near Kadugodi in Northeast Bengaluru, you will be greeted with heaps of garbage and smoke emanating by the side of the road. Dry waste of all types, including plastic materials, clothes, mattresses, chappals is piled up, and a few workers were seen manually segregating waste, on the day this reporter visited the spot. Smoke emanates from the segregation site. Pic: Akshatha M…