City: Bengaluru

In the first part of this series, I explained about the history of Whitefield area in Bengaluru that resulted in khata confusions. In the second part, I answered many questions related to khata, in addition to explaining why khata is not a proof of ownership. There are five categories of people based on the khata they have or don't have. Category A: Those who have been able to obtain a khata issued by the erstwhile Mahadevapura CMCCategory B: Those who have a Village panchayat khata issued by the erstwhile Whitefield Village panchayat, but for some reason, were unable to obtain…

The first thing that hits you, when someone who comes out from airport happens to sneeze or feel feverish is this: Could this be Ebola? And one is careful with those who come from Ebola-affected countries, for they might even be Ebola-affected! However, what is the real situation about Ebola? Do we, the Bangaloreans, have a reason to worry? Citizen Matters explores. Ebola has no known remedy, still many cured Ebola virus (EBV) has no known cure, though some trial drugs appear to work. The mortality rate is 90% according to World Health Organisation. Death toll in the southern African…

Love them or hate them, apartment residents cannot survive without them. Pic: Sankar C G Most Management Committee members of apartment complexes in Bengaluru are familiar with water problems — many of them find themselves in an unenviable tight corner between water tanker vendors and demanding residents!. Who are these water vendors? For a scholarly understanding of 'water tanker mafia', see this article. It would seem that vendors are a privileged set of a few who have nearly unlimited access to the most exploited resource in the city - ground water, and have made a livelihood/business out of it. In…

A young mother was sitting on a bench, in a park at the heart of Bengaluru. Her two kids had some eatables on their hands in cardboard plates. In spite of them sitting very close to a ‘Use Me’ dust bin, the children scattered their plates and tissues all over the place. ‘The bin is just here child, why can’t you put them in there?’ – I said casually. She looked at me askance and looked at her mother. The mother looked at me as though I did something wrong and with an expression of annoyance said “ಯಾಕ್ ಮೇಡಮ್, ಈ…

With most school managements in Bengaluru reluctant to adhere to some of the child safety guidelines issued by the Police Department, there is uncertainty in the air. While the Police Department is unsure about taking action against schools that do not comply with the rules after August 31, school managements have not decided on their course of action yet. Bangalore Police Commissioner M N Reddi is aware of the concerns raised by the private school associations. However he admitted that taking action against schools that don’t follow the norms is not easy. "We just cannot take action immediately, there are…

    Bengaluru this week  August 27th 2014       CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!  City news that matters Wishing you a happy Gowri-Ganesha festival!   Here is our Bengaluru This Week roundup. But first, our curation of latest city news for you. The news that Nandan Nilekani might get a role in state government seems to have excited many. Many including BPAC’s Mohandas Pai and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw have said Nandan can transform Bengaluru in five years, hence he should be given the role of incharge minister for city’s development. Pai, however,…

  James Kingston, is a British freerunner and film stuntman, who visited Bengaluru earlier this month. On his Facebook page, Kingston describes himself as a person 'constantly looking for adventure.' This professional adventurer, travels around the world in search of new heights to scale. Once he is atop a building or a bridge, he shoots a video of the view around him. His adventures have led him to hang off the top of a 250 feet crane in Southhampton, leap from rooftop to rooftop around Cambridge and do a backflip off the 115 metre tall, Moscow bridge. He visited Bangalore to…

  Mutilated Ganeshas at Sankey Tank. Pic: Vani Murthy  Lord Ganesha is my favourite childhood friend, my saviour at all times - when I met with a road accident on a highway, during my illness, when I am in despair.  He is the one who comes to my rescue. I do know many others too love him, respect him, look up at him as their friend in need, but for me he is something special. As I grew up I realised what makes him so special to all. Everything he did evoked fun in the mind of young ones. His…

A press note from Karnataka State Road Transport Company (KSRTC) details the special transport arrangements during Gowri-Ganesh Festival, for August 27 and 28. Below is the press note text: In view of Gowri-Ganesh festival, KSRTC has made elaborate arrangements for operating more than 1,000 extra buses as mentioned below in addition to the existing schedules to provide transport facility to the traveling public from August 27, 2014 to August 28, 2014. Special buses will be exclusively operated from Bangalore Kempegowda Bus Station to Dharmastala, Kukkesubramanya, Shimoga, Hassan, Mangalore, Coondapura, Shringeri, Horanadu, Davangere, Hubli, Dharwar, Belgaum, Bijapur, Gokarna, Sirsi, Karwar, Raichur,…