City: Bengaluru

This post is my vent on the rotten experience we LPG (Liquified Petroleum Gas) consumers, in Bangalore, had to face due to Center’s decision of deciding to transfer our LPG subsidy to our bank accounts directly. This meant that our Aadhar number had to be linked to the LPG account and to the bank. Here, I have to mention this to Mr Nilekani: whatever might have been the noble intentions behind the Aadhar card, it was not done properly. We spent a lot of our precious time to get the card done, when it was introduced. We had to make…

Most of us shudder at the sight of spiders, but they are really fascinating creatures. Did you know that most spiders are solitary... and cannibalistic? Many female spiders eat the males after mating! However, there are some spiders that are more sociable. One variety called Social Spiders, spin whole "apartment" complexes, which can cover large areas, like long stretches of this barbed wire fence: Or over plants, as you can see here: However, there is another group of spiders which are commonly called Harvestmen or Daddy Long-legs (they have long, thin legs)! Scientifically their name is Opiliones, but they are also…

In my earlier article dated August 19th, I had advocated the creation of a halt station on existing railway tracks, i.e. optimal use of resources, in turn saving our tax money. I would like to applaud Whitefield Rising for taking up this initiative and raising funds for the halt station. I was earlier requested to do a preliminary analysis by visiting sites at these locations, analyse feasibility and share my insights.  We should certainly go ahead with setting up halt stations between the junctions from Byappanhalli to IOL, Soukhya Spa (i.e. KIADB Phase II where there are warehouses). Often we just…

A gentleman inside a ladies toilet! Pic: Anisha Nair When was the last time you thought you had died and then managed to resuscitate your being? I experienced this painful process very recently. Here we were going from one place to another, and typically, the way it normally happens—without warning—my bladder started to constrict. This meant that I had to go and I had to go now! This also meant that I couldn't go anywhere and everywhere I pleased, the reason being that I'm not an Indian dog, neither am I an Indian man. I can't simply pull over to…

“Pussaaaaa! Vaammaa, paal kukkeyn!” (“Come here, drink some milk!”), aththi called out gently and sweetly. Ms Feline Attitude (FA) gave her a disdainful look, tossed her head as only the callously cold of her species could and would, flicked the tip of her tail, and walked away in what Wodehouse would have called 'a marked manner'. But let me rewind a bit. On the west of our house, with a stone slab compound wall separating the property from ours, was the home of Sri Thirumale. With his family lived an elderly lady (his mother, if I recall rightly), whom we all called aththi. Aththi was a very…

  Bengaluru this week February 5th 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: Oil marketing companies have revised the prices of petrol and diesel prices. Bangaloreans now have to pay only Rs 62.01 for petrol and Rs 50.06 for diesel. A curious case of file change in BBMP has taken place, where a file with bills worth 35 crores was supposed to be cleared, but another file that had bills worth Rs 147 crores got cleared.…

The Climate Change cell of the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has launched a series of public consultations to solicit opinions, suggestions and feedback from environmentalists, civil society, and other informed individuals and groups, to prepare a report on recommendations that can be made to the state government. The first of the public consultations took place in Mysore and Madikeri on January 28th and 29th respectively. February and March will see consultations at 10 other cities and towns in Karnataka, including Bengaluru. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) had prepared an assessment report and had warned…

Go! Make a Difference (GO!MAD) is a four day fun and fundraising cycle trip from Bengaluru to Gudalur in the Nilgiris, kick starting on February 19th 2015. All one needs is a cycle, the ability to pedal 80 km every day and a big heart! The idea is not to win any race, but to enjoy the experience, soak up the local culture and raise much needed funds. All facilities from accommodation, food, support vehicles and medical help will be taken care of by the Gudalur family. While the tour promises to be physically challenging, it will also offer participants a…

BBMP is left with only two officials now, to deal with the rampant tree cutting that takes place in the city. Pic: Shree D N It isn’t for the first time that Bengalureans have witnessed the BBMP and its Forest Cell getting into a nasty fight. The cold war which had once come to the limelight with the repatriation of BBMP’s Chief Conservator of Forest, Brijesh Kumar (IFS) to his parent department in October 2012, had temporarily calmed down with his return to the post. Two years on, the BBMP has relieved him again from the duty by issuing an…

The BBMP Council in its monthly Council meeting on January 28, 2015, passed several resolutions renaming / giving new names to the parks, roads, lakes etc in the city. The BBMP projects sanctioned in order to repair or maintain these public properties will hitherto have these names. Here is the list of old names and new names: List of public place New names Park at Ward No. 168,Jayanagar 4th Black , 7th Main Road Brindavana Park Kaigondaralli Lake in Ward No. 150 Swamy Vivekananda Parisara Dhama Road stretching from 8th Main Road to Veerabhadreshwara Theatre Shakthi Ganapathi Nagar, Ward No.…