City: Bengaluru

A cardinal principle in administration and policy making is that one should never introduce a rule or law that cannot be enforced. The dangers are manifold -- those who flout the rule get away with impunity, and the rest of the citizenry gets the message that laws mean nothing, they need not be obeyed. Take the BBMP's latest decisions for ‘cleaning up' the mess that the city has become.Residents whose dogs mess up the pavements and public places, are now warned that they will be fined and penalised. Walk with me a short distance -- less than 300 metres --…

There was a time in my life when a vacation meant packing a few clothes in a bag, a couple of books, camera, a brush, toothpaste, cream, comb and a few other essentials. It was usually done in about an hour the night before the said vacation, even if there was an early morning flight.That was then. And there is now. I have spent the entire day packing and it isn't even done yet. And the flight? It isn't until Saturday. Pic: Wikimedia commons Yes I know. That sounds extremely scarily organised. But I'm no longer packing for one. I'm…

On October 13th, a National Law School of India University (NLSIU) student was gang raped in the adjoining Bangalore University campus near Nagarbhavi.By now we all know enough details about the student to construct an image of who she might be. Her age, her boyfriend's name, age, his job profile, that he owned a car, where they both are from, insinuations towards their intimacy levels, whether she got into trouble with hostel authorities earlier for ‘this' kind of behaviour. All this information was culled out in the name of journalism and served as news reports.By now it is almost rhetorical…

Election Commission of India's (ECI) letter dated 12 April 2012 to Karnataka's Chief Election Officer asks him to conduct a survey of Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior, Belief, and Practices (KABBP) of electors, with the help of professional agencies. The letter shows concern about low registration and poor participation of citizens in the election process. A report on the findings of the survey was to have been submitted to ECI latest by 31 August 2012.The concern of ECI about KABBP is welcome. Anthony Downs in an essay named Economic Theory of Democracy, published in 1957 discusses the forces that play in voting.…

In the previous two articles, we have discussed how to assess if you are at risk of heart disease, and how to confirm or rule it out. This will result in one of the three scenarios: You have gone through your physician's examination and investigations, and he declares that you do not suffer from heart disease. Before you start celebrating, please understand that it may mean "for the time being". If you are at risk, you still need to modify your lifestyle, lower your risk factors, and have a periodic reassessment programme.Your physical examination and investigations suggest that you have…

"I took to street driving (just) a year ago, it was a moment of pride holding the trophy with my team" says an elated Rathiga B, winner of the ECO car category in the 6th Car Rally for the Blind 2012 held in June, in Bangalore. The rally is organised to foster friendship between visually challenged people and other citizens. Navigator Keshava Murthy all set with his Braille route to start off the Rally. Pic courtesy: S Srikarunya The organisers, 90 degree (an event management firm) and the National Association for the Blind, Karnataka teamed Rathiga with Keshava Murthy, an…

Election is the mechanism to form a government by the people. Every person ruled by such government should have participated in the elections to make it truly a government by the people.Under Article 326 of the constitution, every Indian citizen above the age 18 years can register as a voter. We do not discriminate based on sex, race and religion. However, only the citizens whose names appear in the electoral roll have the right to vote. Citizen casting his vote. Pic: Sankar C G Election Commission of India states that about 61 percent of the population would be above 18.…

BBMP has booted out a senior forest officer, on the ground that he was too expensive - the expense being an additional Rs 5 lakh per year. Brijesh Kumar, IFS, was deputed by state government to BBMP, to take care of lakes, horticulture and forests, since these resources are in a sorry state. Government had created the post of CCF (Chief Conservator of Forests) in BBMP, and appointed Kumar on May 17th.On October 17th, just as he completed five months, Kumar was relieved of his charge. BBMP's Standing Committee on Establishment and Administrative Reforms had made this decision in August.…

Many of us have been discussing the garbage issue and these are some of the comments.I live along a street near the Jayanagar shopping complex that has mainly commercial outlets. I have been segregating wet waste for years, I am interested in lending a hand with keeping the city clean, but once I segregate, where do I go ? ‘Door to door' collection is a farce -- no one knows when the garbage collection van comes, at what time, and whether it announces its arrival with a bell or whatever. I also leave the house early, and do not return…

Rajvir Pratap Sharma, head of BMTF (Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force), has been in the news recently for taking on the state government. While Sharma acted in accordance to BMTF's powers, against BBMP officers who permitted unauthorised constructions, the state government had tried to transfer him. Government first tried to bring BMTF under BBMP, then there were the BBMP officers who went on strike asking for Sharma's removal. Finally, Sharma was accused of constructing an illegal building, and government ordered his transfer based on this, in August. Sharma challenged the order in CAT (Central Administrative Tribunal), and won. CAT rapped the…