City: Bengaluru

The Electoral Rolls of 27 constituencies of Bangalore have serious errors and omissions. When the authorities did not react to repeated feedbacks and request to correct anomalies, a PIL was filed in the High Court of Karnataka. The Chief Justice agreed with the issues raised in the petition and directed the CEO to correct various data errors and also to restore illegitimately deleted voters. After reported efforts at cleansing the lists, the CEO published a new set of voters' lists on 28th January, 2013. However, soon afterwards, download of the voter-lists was disabled. Prajalytics, a software company, had downloaded the…

On Saturday, January 26th, I completed the Oxfam Trailwalker for the second successive year. A start to finish 100-km walk by teams of four, it offered me quality time for reflection, 32 hours to be precise.Oxfam India Trailwalker is a team challenge organised to raise funds for Oxfam India, the 61 year old NGO, for its activities that fight poverty and injustice. Our member teams walk (or run) 100 km in less than 48 hours, it is a test of physical endurance requiring mental strength and team spirit.The Second Oxfam India Trailwalker took us through a 100 km trail from…

On the 22nd of January, I met a friend for coffee in Indiranagar. Namrata is a new friend; we are still getting to know each other over our once-a-month cups of coffee. We spoke of current affairs (a largely demoralising conversation) and then, after coffee, she said that she would like to show me a public art project that she has been involved in and quite proud of. Something in her voice and eyes made me curious. Children painting the wall. Pic:Dhiraj Kacker We walked from the Gloria Jean's Coffee shop into Indiranagar's Defence Colony. A short walk into the…

Trees are as much a part of urban infrastructure and planning as roads and buildings, and most town and country planning acts worldwide include well thought-out provisions to nurture and protect trees. But Bangalore had clearly not been in sync, as was evident from the conclusions at a recent meeting of the Environment Support Group (ESG) on the 26th of January, 2013.The meeting included people from various backgrounds - students, professionals, civic representatives and had been convened with a view to seeking public opinion and consent to amend the KPTA (Karnataka Tree Preservation Act, 1976). Among those attending were D…

Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018 We have collated all the information about your sitting MLA and contestants. Track records, Assembly performance, Funds expenditure, Affidavits, Guide for voters and more. Click here   Here are the list of MLAs elected in the Karnataka Assembly election 2008. • Find out how vocal has your MLA been in the Assembly about issues that concern you and your constituency? • How has he utilised the local area development (LAD) funds to the benefit of your constituency? • Has he been involved in any criminal case or any other controversy that was reported in media? This…

25 students of class VI and VII, Kumaran's School, wrote to the Consumer Services Manager of the snacks company Frito-Lay, telling him what they thought of the packaging that the chips came in. They each posted a Lays chips packet back to the company along with the letter. This was done as a part of their school nature club extracurricular activity. They called this campaign "SEALED: Yours Truthfully" which taught them about the EPR (Extended Producers Responsibility) Law. Post cards by students of Kumarans School (State Board) to Frito-Lay. Pic: Shamala Kittane The recently amended Plastics (Manufacture, Usage and Waste…

The starry showers that light up the night sky during Deepavali or other celebrations are a sight that has brought us joy since time immemorial. Whether in their use as firecrackers, or as missiles during wars, rockets have a history that dates back to the earliest days of human civilization. And even though we have references to similar missiles in India as far back as the age of the epics, scientists and historians trace the origin of rockets to another ancient civilisation, in China. Mysore Rockets used in a battle at Guntur in 1780. Pic: http://grin.hq.nasa.gov In a talk titled…

It all started with a few pair of shoes. Four retired men sitting together saw a group of schoolchildren pass by barefoot and decided to give shoes to them. One thing led to another and soon they were helping out local schools in looking after the health, nutritional and academic needs of children and had formed an NGO called Senior Citizens Bangalore. Launched in 2001 by the late Romesh Khanna, also the founder chairperson of Special Olympics India, the group has today grown from four to almost over 40 members and is located mainly around Indiranagar in Bangalore. Members of…

For Vijay Bhaskar Reddy Dinnepu, the urge to give back to his roots was unrelenting. And that's what led to the founding of his initiative KisanRajaFRESH, that delivers fresh fruit, procured directly from farmers, to homes and offices. This, he feels, will help both the cultivator of the fruit and its end consumer - the consumer will pay less than he presently does and despite this, the farmer will earn more. Fresh fruit, straight from the farmer A chemical engineer with a post graduate degree in computer science from IIT Madras, Dinnepu embarked on this enterprise as a natural extension…

With a large number of international schools thriving on the fringes of the city, Bangalore could well emerge as the school destination not only for those who are looking for a global flavour in schooling but also for many across the globe aspiring for quality education. These schools not only take pride in their world class infrastructure, they actually give competition to legacy schools like Sophia, Baldwin, Bishop Cotton, and Cathedral. International Schools such as The International School Bangalore (TISB), Treamis World School, Ryan International School are usually spread over 2 to 7 acres of land. "Schools are coming up…