City: Bengaluru

Over 100 residents of Ejipura EWS (Economically Weaker Section) quarters staged a protest at BBMP head office on May 29th, demanding that shopping mall should not be built in the quarters land. The quarters is spread over 15.64 acres and houses over 1500 families. In January, BBMP made an agreement with a private company Maverick Holdings to develop almost half the area for a shopping mall and the remaining area for EWS quarters. Residents of Ejipura EWS quarters protesting at BBMP head office, NR Square, on May 29th. Pic: Navya P K “It is illegal for EWS land to be…

Amidst all the talk to a Bharat Bandh tomorrow, May 31st, on the face of it, Bangalore seems to be little affected. Conspicious in its absence though is the lack of a single coordinated response by all city authorities together. The top brass of the city bus system, municipality, police, and traffic police are not speaking in one voice about whether citizens must stay home or not. On 21st January 2011, BJP supporters being arrested by Bangalore City Police. File pic: Prabhu M Citizen Matters spoke to a number of officials to put this brief together. BMTC has decided to…

The recent state budget has funding for projects including five signal-free corridors (Rs 426 crore), upgradation of 45 roads (Rs 200 crore) and Metro Corridor Reach-1 from Bypanahalli to Kumble Circle (Rs 65 crore). The first two are to be funded by the state government and the latter to be funded equally by BBMP & BMRCL. DPRs (Detailed Project Reports) are getting ready. I hope the tendering process gets underway in June/July. A BBMP underpass in JP Nagar. File pic: Yograj Mudalgi Pilots for each of these projects is to be ready soon for the public to suggest improvements -1.…

Two years ago, she spoke to Citizen Matters about the legal battle she fought for the Meistripalya lake. It was her determination to protect and preserve open spaces in Koramangala that saw her through. Citizen Matters caught up with Laila Ollapally, now 57, after two years to hear more from her. She has now moved on to being a mediator at the Bangalore Mediation Centre (BMC). Mediation provides a platform for dialogue and cases can be solved through conversations outside court. Laila Olapally - Mediator at BMC. Pic: Laila Olapally Residents are coming together and supporting revival of a lot…

IAC Karnataka had organised a protest rally on May 25th, Saturday at Chamrajpet. The meeting was addressed by H S Doraiswamy, senior freedom fighter. This was followed by candle light vigil at traffic signal  junction, Chamrajpet. For over a year now, IAC has been protesting the unfortunate killing of honest officers and whistle blowers. In spite of the continued killings, starting from the Satyendra Dubey, Sheila Masood to the recent killing of Narendra Kumar, Madan Naik, SP Mahantesh in different parts of the country,  governments both at Centre and States have done nothing to offer protection to the whistleblowers. This…

When an apartment is built and it is eventually occupied, a few questions do the rounds within the new community. There are always common issues to be coordinated with the builder regarding teething troubles, maintenance, handover and several such issues. Normally, a group of owners comes together to coordinate on behalf of the community. For a period, I was one of them in our large apartment located near Marathahalli in Bengaluru. Among the various challenges we faced, one of the toughest questions to answer was on registering the owner’s association. Today, if a community is lucky, the builder registers the…

On this day, fans carry a towel with them to demonstrate their appreciation for the books and the author, as referred to in Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The commemoration was first held in 2001, two weeks after Adams' death on 11 May 2001. As keepers of the faith, and as believers that the solution to all the universe’s problems lies in the number 42, two young startups - Graffiti Collaborative(www.thegraffiti.co), an innovative brand consulting firm, and PoshVine (www.poshvine.com), an online service which provides Bangaloreans insider access to unique dining and culinary experiences - have come together to…

If you stay around Kanakpura Road , you know what a ordeal it is to traverse this road during peak hours. With the Metro construction in full swing, all we are left with is a narrow lane on either side for cars. Buses, jatka vehicles (horse carriages), cement mixtures, autos and lorries. On any normal day, it can take up to 30-45 min to reach the family mart junction from Konanakunte cross. If this weren't enough, we noticed that a huge pandal with loud speakers, lighting arrangement and seating arrangement was done right below the flyover. I believe this is…

There is no area in Bangalore today where rainwater directly seeps into the ground except a few parks like Lalbagh and Cubbon Park. Almost all roads are cemented or tarred.  Natural lakes and ponds have become foundations for huge residential apartments and commercial complexes. Rain harvesting pit in JayanagarBBMP has miserably failed in managing rainwater. The idea of having a 12 feet deep pits reinforced with concrete rings in storm water drains is good but is shabbily executed in Jayanagar.BBMP officials should have ensured that the rainwater enters the drain and reaches the rainwater harvesting pit.  If this exercise was…

Members of Federation of Residents Welfare Association of Ward 148 (Ejipura) known as FORWARD 68 brought civic officials for a one-on-one session in its quarterly review meeting on 19th May.The meeting was held in Ashwini Layout, primarily to discuss the resident's grievances. Members of RWAs from Ashwini Layout, Venugopalaswamy Layout, ST Bed Koramangala, Ejipura New Extension Residents' Association (ENERA) and Chandra Reddy Layout voiced their problems with BBMP, BWSSB and BESCOM officials. Member of Forward-68 attending the meeting. Pic: Abhishek Angad Anil Kumar , Secretary , FORWARD 68 drove the meeting and allowed concerned residents in turns to inquire about their…