City: Bengaluru

In July 2023, 995 cases of cruelty in domestic violence, under section 498 A, were reported in Karnataka. In Bengaluru, a Deccan Herald report stated that the Parihar-Vanitha Sahayavani counselling centre in Bengaluru received 434 complaints of domestic violence, between April and December, 2022. As more cases of domestic violence are reported, it is important to know the legal definition and consequences of cruelty in domestic violence.  This explainer clarifies how survivors can seek legal help and protection.  What is cruelty in the context of domestic violence? Cruelty includes the actions of torture against a married woman by her husband…

BBMP governance issues The government has set a two-month deadline for ward delimitation. Even the previous government reduced the number of wards from 243 to 225. However, senior Ministers are now debating whether civic polls should be organised at the end of this year. As there is no clarity over restructuring the city’s governance structure, the worry is that the civic polls may push reforms to the background. Meanwhile, on the Working Contractors' Association complaint that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has held up its bills, the Governor, Thaawarchand Gehlot, summoned BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath. The contractors said…

The auditorium was packed with women dressed in their best, clutching umbrellas. The week-long rainy weather and the challenge of getting to the venue, St Joseph’s College of Commerce, during the evening rush hour did not deter members of the Domestic Workers’ Rights Union from gathering there on July 26th to hold a public hearing to air grievances and demand their rights. One by one, domestic workers walked onto the stage to give testimony and speak about their challenges while officer bearers of the union provided the context. The women raised several issues, including wage theft, false criminalisation and police…

As Bengaluru expands, civic agencies like BBMP and other parastatal bodies like BWSSB struggle to meet citizens' demands for better infrastructure. We spoke to urban governance researcher Neha Sami, from the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, about Bengaluru's governance model in a two-part interview. In part one, Neha stressed the need for stronger local government and better public consultation for an equitable city. In part two, she outlines how the increasing private sector influence in governance, planning and finance can further weaken local governments. She also spoke about why private sector involvement might become important in some cases and how…

The recently elected state government, along with BBMP and BDA officials, has been busy trying to 'fix' Bengaluru's issues. The measures include reinstating BBMP's re-structuring committee and initiating the Brand Bengaluru committee. Activists have criticised such committees as elitist and have called for more democratic urban planning. But how can we devise an inclusive, equitable plan for Bengaluru? Neha Sami, Associate Dean, School of Environment and Sustainability, at the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS), attempts to answer this question. Neha is a researcher with a background in urban planning and environmental governance. Her research broadly focuses on governance in…

“Earlier, we would wash clothes by the riverside. But later we dug up bore wells in all dhobi ghats, which have become our main source of water,” says Mahalingayya, president of Karnataka Rajya Madikatte Ghataka that oversees the functioning of dhobi ghats across Karnataka. In Bengaluru, each dhobi ghat has at least two borewells. However, water scarcity is still an issue. The solution is using recycled water. But the cost and maintenance of water treatment plants are of primary concern. Water usage in dhobi ghats Each dhobi ghat uses varying quantities of water on a daily basis. The average can…

Dear  Smt. Manjula V, Commissioner, Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) Smt. G. Sathyavathi, Managing Director, Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)  This is with reference to a webinar held by Citizen Matters, Bengaluru, on what makes commuters choose cars and bikes over buses and metro and how this can change. The webinar, titled ‘‘Why not public transport?’, was held on July 21, 2023.  The panellists included experts, Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow, Integrated Transport and Road Safety, World Resources Institute (WRI) India; Shreya Satish Mokhashi, Assistant Urban Planner at Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT); Jayenkumar Desai, Head of Strategy and Transformation…

HC: Govt should pay for illegal hoardings The Karnataka High Court said that the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the state government would have to deposit Rs 50,000 each in the court for every instance of unauthorised hoarding in future. There are too many unregulated and uncontrolled illegal hoardings, banners and flexes, mainly due to the callousness and negligence of BBMP officials, it said. Even though 59,413 illegal hoardings were identified in the past four months and 58,429 of them were removed by spending BBMP’s funds, or taxpayers money, why hadn't the BBMP collected any penalty? the court asked.…

Ashwath has continued his family's generational profession. He has been working at the Vyalikaval Dhobi Ghat for nearly 30 years, and his day begins as early as 5 am. He starts work by separating the clothes into two piles: one for manual washing and the other for machine washing. Four dry cleaners give Ashwath clothes to wash. "While towels and bedsheets can be washed in the machine, expensive clothes like sarees and dresses are given to us for washing. We do face a few health issues since we work a lot in water, but we are used to it," says…

Everyday, around 40 lakh passengers use the bus and about five lakh people travel by Namma Metro. Yet, there is some hesitancy, in Bengaluru, to choose buses and metro over cars and bikes. To understand why this is the case and how it can change, Citizen Matters, Bengaluru, organised a webinar 'Why not public transport?' The panellists included Srinivas Alavilli, Fellow, Integrated Transport and Road Safety, World Resources Institute (WRI) India; Shreya Satish Mokhashi, Assistant Urban Planner at Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT); Jayenkumar Desai, Head of Strategy and Transformation VMware Software India Pvt Ltd; and Lalithamba BV, a…