City: Bengaluru

There seem to be differences of opinion between the government and the BBMP, regarding the implementation of recently approved Karnataka Town and Country Planning and Certain Other Laws (Amendment) Act 2009 - popularly known as Akrama Sakrama scheme. With the Governor H R Bhardwaj giving his nod to the scheme, many illegal constructions will soon become regularised, by paying a penalty. Interestingly, the Governor had rejected the proposal sent by the BJP government in July 2010. The Governor was not in favour of legalising illegal constructions, but okayed the bill after certain amendments by the present government. Most of the…

Plaza Theatre (pic: Amoghavarsha) It was 10 pm on a summer in 1990’s. Kiran, a 10-year-old boy living in Srirampuram of Bengaluru, remembered his grandma all of a sudden, and started asking for her. When he didn’t see her in their home, he started creating ruckus by crying and repeatedly asking for her. Finally one of his uncles took him to his grandmother - who was watching the second show in Geethanjali Theatre (now Big Bazaar in Malleshwaram) along with few other family members! Such was the craze of watching movies in theatres, in those days. Some people visited theatres…

Citizens participating in an Aadhaar enrolment drive. File pic. Aadhaar card, though has been challenged in various courts, is still considered as an important identity card by many. The queues in Aadhaar enrolment centres are a testimony to this. Aadhaar card is not mandatory, according to Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI). Now that the Supreme Court has given an interim order banning making Aadhaar compulsory to avail government subsidies, the demand for Aadhaar card should go down - but that’s not the case. All subsidies, including LPG subsidy, are meant to be for poor people. Interestingly, LPG subsidy is…

As one walks into Silverend, Mohan and Priya Mascarenhas' 130-year-old heritage home,  the greenery around envelopes you. The fragrance of the flowering plants and the carefully laid out beds makes one halt in one's tracks to take in the breathtaking array of Nature's bounty that surrounds along the tiled pathway leading to the home. The soft sounds of wind chimes, the birds chirping and butterflies hovering around the flowers  take you to a bygone era. You will wonder if this is indeed a home in Urban Bengaluru. Silverend has also won awards for the Best Old Home from the Urban Arts Commission. Unconventional atractive designs…

A press note released on November 10 said that intensive verification of ration cards has begun in Bangalore, which will soon be extended to the other cities, districts and taluks in the State. Commissioner for Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Harsh Gupta said in the press note that in view of the large number of complaints received from the public on the alleged bogus ration cards and misuse of ration by the Fair Price Shops, the Department has taken this initiative. How is verification carried out? Gupta said that the Department, which has 42 Food Inspectors in the Bangalore Informal Rationing…

Here’s one of the reasons why Bengaluru's administrator BBMP has a severe fund-crunch. Every year BBMP budget expects crores of rupees to be collected as advertising revenue. But, the actual amount collected by the BMBP is way below expectations. Budget estimates for 2012-13 predicted that the advertising department could bring in Rs. 45 crore, but the actual revenue collected from registered hoardings was only Rs.22 crore - thereby causing a deficit of 23 crores. BBMP advertising department manager Lakshmi M has the reason: “Many advertisers who fail to pay their taxes or renew their license are considered as illegal advertisers.…

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has monitored the ambient air quality using continuous ambient air quality monitoring system at two locations and manual monitoring stations at 13 locations (11 manual stations and 2 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations [CAAQMS]) in Bangalore city on occasion of Deepavali festival 2013. To see the impact of bursting of crackers etc. on air quality, round-the-clock (24 Hourly) air quality monitoring was carried out. The measured SO2 and NO2 values during normal days (29.10.2013) and Deepavali days (2nd and 4th Nov-2013) have not exceeded the National limits (SO2: 80 µg/M3 and NO2: 80 µg/M3).…

Sadananda Maiya. Pic courtesy: http://basavanagudinationaldegreecollege.blogspot.in It's known that Bangalore is Karnataka’s capital, Garden city, Silicon Valley, IT-BT hub of India, historically. Culturally, religiously, traditionally rich, educational hub tourists’ delight, cosmopolitan city ever growing in leaps and bounds in every aspect beyond one’s imagination, contributed to a galaxy of scientists, sports persons, actors, doctors, musicians and much more distinguished professionals. People from all over India and world jump at the first opportunity to come to Bangalore for whatever reasons and enjoy the social life it offers all irrespective of their vernacular background, culture, taste and lifestyle. Bangalore has great weather all…

Ibblur lake is a small lake situated on Sarjapura ORR road junction, roughly 12 acres in its current state. In the beginning of 2013, local residents and RWAs came together and instituted Ibblur Lake Forum, an informal federation of RWAs and united in their goal of the restoration and rejuvenation of the lake. The lake has rotated jurisdiction a couple of times in recent times and is presently under the purview of the BDA. JCB clearing encroachment on Ibblur lake bed. Pic: Mukund Rao After much engagement by the community with the authorities, the BDA finally approved the fencing of…

BBMP had initiated the road work, and volunteers started monitoring it, but the work has stopped now. File pic. Citizen Matters had reported about the BWRCA-led road repair initiation in Kadugodi-Hosakote road. Even as the residents were euphoric about their small victory, everything has gone for a toss again. The work that took off two weeks ago has not been moving forward. The reason: potholes are not small enough to fit the ward level budget. On persistent pressure by members of Bruhat Whitefield Residents Community Association, repair work of potholes took off at the Kadugodi ward level. But hardly after…