City: Bengaluru

"This time, every street, every lane of Bangalore will demand nothing less than complete justice. We have identified 23 centres in Bangalore. You need to step out this Saturday, 2nd of August between 8-9pm, take your friends, relatives, neighbours, everyone you know to your nearest Candle March centre and light a candle and demand justice. This time WE would be the ones giving out deadlines to give out the TRUE version of the case and arrest all the culprits within that date. They miss the deadline, one more march. WE won't stop." This is the introduction of the Candle March…

In Bengaluru, vehicular pollution and dust are the major contributors to air pollution, and as listed earlier in this series, they cause several health and environmental problems. While the dust is mostly from construction activities, the air currents and constant vehicular motion keep the pollutants in circulation all the time. There is no single solution to mitigate air pollution given the number of government agencies involved and the heterogenous mix of vehicle users and commuters. In this article, we look at the role individual road users play. On an average, 6734 BMTC buses ferry 49,50,000 passengers in 79677 bus trips…

    Bengaluru this week  July 31st 2014       CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   City news that matters >> Pro-Kannada activists have called for a dawn-to-dusk bandh today, to protest against the recent spate of sexual crimes against women and children. >> Strongholds of pro-Kannada activism like Malleshwaram and Gandhibazar are witnessing heavy protests. >> BMTC bus services did not suffer in the morning though passengers were few. Essential services did not suffer. >> Home Minister has ordered that strict action be taken against those who damage public/private property and disturb the harmony. >> Two more…

Bangalore parents have woken up to increasingly depressing days as incident after incident of child sexual abuse (CSA) gets reported in the city. There have been numerous suggestions on social media to tackle CSA, ranging from the naïve to the critical. 1. Password: In the naïve category is a popular forwarded post from an organization called Kids Time that advises teaching your child a password; if a stranger asks the child to accompany him/her, the child asks for the password and scares away the potential abuser.Password trick being circulated on social media. Will it work? This solution is very naive…

This is a sign that citizens are beginning to use IT Act section 66A to hit back people posting hurtful and offensive remarks online, in response to their own articulations. V R Bhat, a Kannada columnist in Bengaluru, and active user of Facebook found himself on the receiving end of 66A this week, when someone he offended used the infamous IT Act’s 66A clause on him. The above comment in Kannada, put on Facebook by V R Bhat has attracted a complaint against him under section 66A of IT Act. when the tagged person and others filed a complaint under…

A distant view of Biligudda (white hill) across a river. Behind white hill is Karigudda (black hill). Pic:Christopher Martin Lopaze The day after my one-day guided bike tour to rural Bengaluru, my forearms were slightly sunburned, my palms were tender—my fingers were spared fortunately—and my legs and behind were sore; temporary souvenirs I’ve now lost. But the experience is one I shall not forget. I booked a guided bike tour because I wanted to leave the city behind, and see the countryside. Only one other rider, Ray, was on the tour. The total trip distance was about 35 km.  A…

Police team in the press conference where the arrest of two people was announced. Pic: Nikita Malusare Bengaluru police nabbed two more people in relation to Vibgyor High School Marathahalli incident. Bangalore Police Commissioner, M N Reddi informed in a press conference held on July 29, 2014, that gym instructors Waseem Pasha (28) and Lalgiri (21) have been arrested on the basis of investigation and CCTV footage. They also claimed that the incident took place on July 3, 2014, contrary to the complaint filed by the parents of the abused child in Varthur police station that puts the date as…

It's raining now and then, and in all likelihood you have forgotten how difficult was to get water during last dry summer, in Bengaluru. However, those days are not to be forgotten, as Bengaluru is already drawing excess water from Cauvery river, and problems are bound to be there even in future. Every drop you save today will help you tomorrow. Here are 21 ways to conserve water at home/ apartment. These tips have been shared by our reader, Anup Jose A. 1. Fix the leaks. Whether you do it yourself or hire a plumber, fixing leaky faucets can mean…

After the huge, city-wide wave of protests that we saw in the wake of the rape of a six-year-old schoolgirl, we now have a set of ‘guidelines’ issued by the city police on July 26, for ensuring safety of students. Read through the details, and you find the kind of chicanery and lack of genuine regard for equity that marks most of the official responses to social problems. The report says that while the guidelines have been mandated for private schools with a deadline of August 31. “The police may not insist on government schools to implement the guidelines as…

  Pic courtesy: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nostalgia2009/4833664924 Since a couple of years, I have been seeing how transport infrastructure in Bengaluru has been deteriorating. I thought of putting my GIS knowledge to some good use, to present potential opportunities to improve and provide alternatives to planning and infrastructure of the city. If you have specific datasets that you wish to share for Bangalore city, please do share it with me. My prime focus now is on K R Puram Junction. My travel from home to Whitefield is exactly 15 minutes in car, but it now takes more than 2 hours due to traffic…