City: Bengaluru

Citizens of Koramangala, HSR Layout and Bellandur areas have come together under an umbrella group called South-East Bangalore Forum for Sustainable Development, to oppose the massive 72-acre IT SEZ project by Manipal ETA Infotech, near Agara Lake. 27 RWAs representing over 25,000 residents have joined hands and written to Traffic police, BBMP, BDA, BWSSB, Karnataka Udyog Mitra, KIADB, Lake Development Authority, and industry bodies like CII, CREDAI and Nasscom. Citizen Action Forum, a pan-Bangalore federation of over 70 RWAs, has also come forward to support the campaign. The ongoing construction at the area between Bellandur and Agara lakes Pic: Kedar…

Rajesh (name changed), one of the founder members of NGEF Housing Society, was in for a shock when he realised that he himself was not going to get a site in NGEF Layout, Mallathahalli. Rajesh had paid for a 40X60 site, but when he tried to get a khata, he was told that the site did not exist in the approved plan. It was instead part of the original land owner’s share. It was after a long legal battle that he was finally allotted a site. Many buyers are often not as lucky. Many have lost their money to House…

Every day tens of thousands of people visit Krishna Rajendra Market for buying flowers in the upperbasement floor of SKR Market (new complex). The legendary market was demolished and shoppers were allotted alternative shops on lottery basis. Now Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is permitting illegal constructions and allotment of shops within the heritage structure. Bangalore Flower Merchants' Association Vice president Divakar says that illegal construction of shops is being allowed in the passages reserved for light and ventilations and free movement of public. Now more than 11 such establishments have come up.The present allotment in done in the passage-B8 where…

I was a student at Manipal thirty five years ago. The college library used to be open till 1 am. Taking a break from studies, we would step down to the road to eat boiled eggs and rubbery toast, and drink some hot syrupy tea. After the library closed for the day, we would walk back to our hostels. When we worked nights at the hospital, we visited these food carts at all times of the night whenever our youthful stomachs groaned with hunger. When disturbing incidents like the rape and abduction of an unsuspecting young woman in Manipal is…

Monsoon has brought Bangalore many things to rejoice, and a bag of worries as well. While the much-needed respite from the scorching heat is a welcome change, the rains are also the indicators to be more careful about the reptile and rodent menace that increases every year during this time. It is not a rare sight to see houses flooded with water after a heavy downpour. This is especially so with houses which have been built on low-lying areas. This however poses a huge risk of reptiles, especially snakes, entering the houses. The city has been constantly reporting such cases…

There have been many instances in the past where commuters have been caught by the traffic police for faulty number plates, while government vehicles have been royally excused. But this discrimination might soon change, as the Transport Department is all geared up to implement the High Security Number Plates (HSNP) into action. What is a HSNP? As per Central Motor Vehicle Rules 50 and 51, it is a number plate which will have a hologram of the Ashoka Chakra (with the four lions), IND written in bold blue colour on the extreme left centre of the plate and the PCIN…

Recognizing that accidents are one of the biggest killers of children in India is paramount to preventing thousands of hospital admissions, hundreds of deaths and disabilities every week, in children. Understanding that many of these are avoidable is important to provide a safe environment to nurture our children before they are scarred for ever. With the objective of ensuring a safe and healthy environment for our children and to enable them to lead more active lives, Dr Supraja Chandrasekar, an oncosurgeon in Bangalore and Ilaunched the Safe Children Mission. Our plan of action includes increasing awareness among caregivers, providing safety…

BWSSB Chairman Gaurav Das Gupta declared that the peripheral areas of Bengaluru do not and will not have water for the upcoming years. Gaurav Gupta was taken on by veteran bureaucrat, former additional chief secretary of Government of Karnataka, V Balasubramanian, in the discussion ­The Critical water situation in Bangalore- The way forward conducted by Bangalore International Centreat Domlur. Both of them discussed the alarming water crisis in Bangalore and its consumption. It was moderated by former chief justice of India M N Venkatachalaiah. In the wake of acute water crisis, BWSSB Chief told the gathering: “If you are taking…

"All my family members are there, I do not know what will happen to them and me,” weeps 74-year-old V Ravichandra, a resident of Yelachenahalli. He is waiting for the last five days to hear from his family which travelled to Badrinath, as part of the Char-Dham yatra. "My two grandchildren, aged four and nine years, are missing, along with my son and daughter-in-law. My family members have not been rescued. All I heard was that five people from their group of 19 have been rescued. But these do not include my family members,” said Ravichandra.Ravichandra himself has visited Uttarakhand…

‘Whitefield Rising - Waste Management Team’ conducted their maiden seminar on June 15th,　2013 at The Whitefield Club.It was attended by the Corporator of Hagadur Ward, Mr H A Srinivas and several Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanaga Palike (BBMP) officials -Devaraju, Joint Commissioner, BBMP; Vinayaka, Environmental Engineer, BBMP, Sidalinge Gowda, Executive Engineer, BBMP, Whitefield, Devaraj, Health Inspector, and Kalpana, Health Officer. R. K Misra, (Founder of Nav Bharat and　SAHYOG - Indian Council for PPP) along with over 100 residents of the Whitefield area including communities such as Adarsh Palm Meadows, Waterwoods, Waterville, Renaissance Jagrithi, Vaswani Pinnacle, Brigade Metropolis, Prestige Shantiniketan, Laughing Waters, Shobha…