City: Bengaluru

Like many private layouts in the rapidly urbanising outskirts, Classic Orchards is a quiet residential community, with large independent houses. In 2010, the residents of Classic Orchards woke up one day to see the construction of an apartment complex on a piece of land they thought was a common amenity for the layout. If you are a resident of a private layout, this story will matter to you. Battles between property developers and property buyers are not uncommon. In a city like Bengaluru, where there are multiple government agencies involved in handling building approvals, one is often not sure if…

The Flower Show organised by the Horticultural Society at Lalbagh for the Republic Day, as usual, stole the hearts of visitors. The main attraction this time was Red Fort, which was created using three lakhs flowers. Musical instruments made of flowers set up around the Band Stand were an added attraction. This time, tickets were sold online for the show. However, long queues were seen in front of Lalbagh, as people did not see any advantage in going for online ticketing. The show this time had air surveilance through drones, which proved efficient, when a fire was reportedly spotted by…

It's been a year since we moved to this home in ISRO Layout. A terrace for the kids to play, another terrace for our Kambha / stand-in pot and yet another one for my terrace garden plot. Perfect? No. What set off the home-happiness balance was the empty plot next door. It's been a year long journey of attempts to locate the owner, getting BBMP to stop dumping in the site and stop burning garbage and dry leaves in the site. Telling the PKs, calling the BBMP control room, catching supervisors in action setting fire to garbage piled up. We…

Bengaluru-based Citizen Action Forum (CAF) has suspected a possible delay of BBMP election due to Palike restructuring process, and said it should be opposed. Addressing media persons here on Thursday, January 23rd, 2015, CAF Secretary Mahalakshmi Parthasarathy said that the Forum fears that the State government would use restructuring as an excuse to delay the election. "The BBMP election has to happen in time. Inordinate delay would only hamper the process of forming functional Metropolitan Planning Council and ward committees. The government issued an order on November 19, 2014, mentioning that the restructuring committee report has to be submitted within…

Come February, Bengaluru’s trees burst into spectacular blooms, and the play of colours continues through the year. The second edition of Neralu, a citizen-led Urban Tree Festival will be organised on February 7, 8 and 14 February at multiple venues. Neralu, which translates to ‘shade’ in Kannada, has been planned to coincide with the blooming season in the city. It will bring citizens together to celebrate the garden city’s glorious natural heritage. Bound by a common love for trees, naturalists, ecologists, artists, technologists, storytellers, homemakers, photographers, students and citizens from all walks of life have come together to put together…

  Bengaluru this week January 22nd 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   Wish you a Happy Republic Day in advance. Here’s something from our archives to celebrate the special day - read this article on the National Anthem.  City news that matters Before we get into our stories, here is a short summary of what happened in the city. Bangalore University is going to be split. State Cabinet gave its nod to the process on Wednesday. Bengaluru’s first crematorium for pets and other animals is all set to open in February near…

Her story is of grit and determination. The tag of physical disability did not deter her from reaching her goals. She was often at the receiving end when the society suppressed and discriminated her for being a dwarf. However, nothing could hamper her spirit and the dream to achieve big. It is the life story of Lakshmipradha Srinivasan, a doctor who hails from Palakkad in Kerala and a resident of Bengaluru. She was a victim of Achondroplasia which has resulted in dwarfness. Today, at the age of 34, Lakshmipradha’s height is 3’9 ft, which is considered as an abnormal growth…

What would be the total number of residential high-rise buildings in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits, built during the last five years? If the data provided by the BBMP is anything to go by, 97 is the exact number of buildings built in the Capital city between 2009 and 2014, which have been issued official Occupancy Certificates by BBMP. What is more puzzling is the reply given by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the Assembly session last month, confirming that no cases of residential apartments failing to obtain Occupancy Certificates have come to the notice of the government. However, if…

  Despite several measures taken, as claimed by the Chief Electoral Officer - Karnataka, to avoid errors in the electoral rolls, it seems the attempts have not yielded in a foolproof result. Like every year, there are glaring errors found in the final electoral roll published on CEO-KA website in the first week of this month, and the error pattern is almost repetition of the previous years. Complaints, suggestions and requests by various forums and active citizens for the improved electoral rolls, perhaps, seem to have fallen on deaf ears. Though BBMP election is only a few months away, it…

Moves are often not momentous when they happen. In hindsight, many of them turn out to have been keys that opened doors to rich treasures. Moving from N R Colony (to where auto drivers still balk at plying!) to Jayanagar in 1963-64, on the shores of the Lakes Yediyur (yes, plural), is a vague memory for me. Most of life in the new house, however, is as fresh in memory as if it were only yesterday. Well, day before. The north-facing house was owned by film personality Chi. Sadashivaiah (1908-1982), or some close relative of his. It was set in…