City: Bengaluru

You are walking on a busy road and somebody passes a lewd comment as you walk past them. What would you do? Would you shoot a dirty look at the offender that communicates your displeasure and continue walking? Or would you simply ignore the offender in the hope that you don’t call attention to yourself or encourage him further? Or would you look him in the eye and bring him to task in front of an audience? What if it were some other lady that was being eve teased? Would you speak out or would you walk past - it’s…

KCDC all set to process waste with new machines. Pic: Nikita Malusare With garbage segregation norms not being adhered to by most residents in the city, landfills are the norm. Even in cases where the segregation is properly done, there is little infrastructure that can handle the end-to-end processing of the waste. The segregated waste is sometimes getting mixed on its way to landfills. Lack of scientific processing of such waste is adding to the problem. Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) might have been established with a good intention of converting organic waste into compost. It would have been situated…

Pic courtesy: BMRCL facebook page After repeated delays in meeting the original schedule, Bangalore Metro is set to extend its footprint in North Bengauru. However, the extension is a mere 2.5 kilometres on Reach 3 (B) - the Peenya Industry – Nagasandra stretch. The trial runs began on September 30, 2014, and the service is likely to be inaugurated in December 2014 or January 2015. The three new stations on this stretch are T Dasarahalli, Jalahalli and Nagasandra. The Nagasandra station is located at a distance of around 12.8 km from Mantri Square station. Will Reach 3B of Metro make…

A Public Interest Litigation has been initiated by Bangalore-based NGO Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) asking for criminal proceedings against the BBMP officials responsible for open drain in Bilekanahalli. Excerpts from the press note from Namma Bengaluru Foundation: In the aftermath of the death of Geetha Lakshmi, the eight-year-old, who fell into an open flooded drain; and Yeshwant, a 12-year old, who fell into an open unsecured flooded pit respectively, Namma Bengaluru Foundation and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Member of Parliament have filed a public interest litigation in the High Court of Karnataka today. (October 9, 2014) The PIL filed in the Karnataka…

  Bengaluru this week October 10th 2014     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   Last week, as you know, was a mix of good and bad. As soon as Dasara season was over, rains pounded the city, leading to waterlog. Two children, aged 8 and 12 respectively, became victims. A house collapsed and two died. Some of these tragedies are surely avoidable. If you see any open footpath slabs or unsafe construction spots, do post it on bangalore.citizenmatters.in/data-tools. A caution for the week ahead: Expect more rains, with cyclonic storm, Hudhud, expected to…

Radha lives in R T Nagar. With her office located in Koramangala, she has to travel around 15 kilometres every day. Without convenient bus connectivity, she had had to resort to autos or cabs. When her neighbour who also commutes to Koramangala everyday, offered a shared ride, Radha was only too happy. Pic courtesy: paloaltobridge.com A small solution to the enormous traffic on road during peak hours, the concept of cab sharing has picked up in Bangalore. There are also many mobile apps and websites to help people find like-minded travellers on the same route. “I remember going to Goa…

Bus submerged in the S C Road underpass. Pic courtesy: The Hindu Whenever it rains in the city, the drains in the city choke. It is a common sight to see the railway underpass near Anand Rao Circle on Subedar Chatram Road holding loads of water, not letting any vehicle pass through. Normal life in the surrounding areas goes out of gear. Now, as per the instructions of Ramalinga Reddy, Bangalore District In charge Minister, Mayor Shantakumari and BBMP Commissioner M Lakshminarayana, BBMP officials have prepared a plan to construct a new side drain, within four months. The Palike plans…

Respected Sir, Sub: Imperatives for Smart Power for Smart Bengaluru BESCOM, as also all the other ESCOMs, have been claiming improved performances over the past few years. Even as that may be true, Sir, you'll appreciate that if Bengaluru, and the other Karnataka cities, have to be identified as "smart cities" of the future, the performances of these service providers have a very long way to go. And, it is totally doubtful if they can measure up to the task, given the constraints they are operating under, largely because of government ownership. The biggest problem they are facing today is…

Editor's note: Citizen Matters had published an article regarding the controversy amongst residents of Prestige Shantiniketan apartment, regarding managing the trees planted on the podium in right way. This is a clarification issed by the Prestige Shantiniketan Management Committee president, in which the concerns and possible way forward has been detailed.  Roots of trees protruding from the soil on the podium. Pic: Prof K B Reddy The discussion on removing the trees growing on the podium had been on, within the Prestige Shantiniketan residents group, for the last year and a half. The decision if any is not going to…

Traffic that needs to take a right turn at Windsor Manors causes roadblocks for airport traffic. Pic: Google Earth. Namma Bengaluru used to be a very beautiful city. There were beautiful circles, tree-lined avenues and lots of greenery to complement the wonderful weather. However, in the last few years a lot of the beauty has been destroyed in the name of development. First the circles were removed - owing to the misplaced notion that its better for traffic to have a four or five way intersection. Then the trees were removed - owing to the misplaced notion that widening roads…