City: Bengaluru

Feet up, eyes glued to television, magazine in hand, house in a mess and she is in her own world of relaxation. The "Right to leisure" poster was brought out by Asmita, an Andhra Pradesh based NGO. Those gathered for the launch of ‘Our pictures, Our Words' book published by Zubaan, could relate very well to the poster. From left - Subramanian Vincent, Padmalatha Ravi, Laxmi Murthy,Maithreyi Krishna Raj, Ammu Joseph. Pic: Anisha Nair The pink poster is one of the hundreds of other pictures in the book. Sucharita Ishwar, a feminist said, "even women have the right to leisure…

More than 100 granite factories and 10 quarries located in Jigani industrial area in Bannerghatta adversely affects the health of residents in five villages in the surrounding areas.Around ten thousand people are living in the villages of Kallabalu, Mahanthalingapura, Krishna doddi, Poojigana Palya, Ellammana doddi and in Bellar Bande suffer from respiratory disorders and other allergies due to dust from these granite factories. A quarry in Mahathalingappura, one of the ten quarries in Bannerghatta which cause respiratory disorder to the people. Pic: Sankar C G "The granite factories are located in Jigani industrial area and the quarries are near to…

It was my turn recently to drop my children off at the school's appointed bus stop on Hennur Main Road here in Bangalore. I anxiously navigated my way along the road and across it clasping tiny hands, muttering continuous warning to watch out for traffic in the early morning even, and to stop kicking up mud in my face. Having deposited my sons on a mound of concrete, I surveyed the scene. A man was walking a dog. My son pointed to him excitedly and said "There he is again. He's got only one dog today." I shared in their…

Bangaloreans gathered in thousands to witness the staging of an unique event "Sahasra Veena Jhenkara" at the Palace Grounds. Jointly organised by the Art of Living and Ranjini Kala Kendra. Event was held on March 28, Pic: Sridhar C R The audience witnessed 1110 Veena Artistes of Karnataka from age groups 7-70. Prominent among those who participated in the show were noted Artistes Suma Sudhindra, D Balakrishna, Anuradha Madhusudhan and Dr Hema Ranganathan, Vijayalakshmi from Shimoga.The programme was inaugurated by Sri Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Guruji of the Art of Living along with Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda and Suparna Ravi…

Over hundred families in Aatmajyothi Nagar in Nayandahalli are drinking toxic water, with nearly 12 times the acceptable nitrate levels, from borewells. "The permissible limit of nitrates per litre of water is 45 milligram. But in the underground water in Nayandahalli, the nitrate level is 554 milligrams per liter, which is very high. It can cause various health hazards," said M V Shashirekha, water researcher and former official of the mines and geology department. Pic: Sankar C G There is a further shortage of safe drinking water due to delay in the completion of the Cauvery Fourth Stage Second Phase…

Bengaluru has lost out on hundreds of crores of rupees in property tax revenue, only because it did not verify tax declarations and did not raise tax rates in over a decade. This is as per an audit of BBMP for the years 2008-2010, by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG). In a press release on March 28th, BBMP has sounded the gong for 2012-13 tax collections. According to the report, false tax declarations alone created loss of at least Rs 207.35 cr in 2008-10. This was based on a sample audit of 169 declarations alone, from 16…

Megha R, 32, a resident of RMV 2nd stage was eager to learn how to make compost at her home for her garden. She came with her husband to buy different variety of saplings grown from organic seeds to plant in her garden. She wants to use organic, natural manure and compost for her plants and organic seeds to grow new ones. And she thinks "Oota from your Thota" held in Malleshwaram, on March 25 was the perfect place for her.This was the fourth edition of this event by Garden City Farmers Trust, Bangalore (GCFT) after BTM Layout, Electronic City,…

With the increasing water shortage problems in Bengaluru, Ayappa Masagi is today's "Water Gandhi" with solutions to almost every kind of water problem. He is on the mission to increase groundwater tables and construct lakes by collecting rainwater. His mission has got him a mention in the Limca book of records, 2012. Pic Courtesy: Ayyappa Masagi Ayappa Masagi, 55, heads the Rain Water Concepts Private Ltd and Water Literary Foundation. He specialises in coming up with solutions for the increasing need of water in rural, urban and industrial sectors.These foundations run by Ayappa Masagi are involved in charging around 1000…

It is illegal to run a hospital or a clinic without first registering with Health Ministry and Bengaluru has around 15,000 private medical establishments that are running without registration. This essentially flouts the Karnataka Private Medical Establishment Act 2009. Pic: Sankar C G But the doctors who run these clinics seem to be unaware of the process. "I have not registered my clinic anywhere because I didn't know about it. I don't have any kind of certificates from medical waste management, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board or BBMP," says Dr. Asha D. Patil of Santhi clinic in Kengeri.KPME Act 2009…

EntertainKids is a group working to make entertainment reachable to underprivileged children. If your question is "Why entertainment?", my answer is that food, shelter and education were not my only necessities as a child; I loved watching movies too!EntertainKids tries to bring some fun in the lives of underprivileged children, and also motivate them towards education.We plan to achieve this by:• Getting access to children by connecting with government schools, NGOs, orphanages etc. We are in talks with many organisations including Friendship Foundation, Hope Foundation, Sparsh, Runner's High, Ananya Summer camp and UW Bengaluru.• Getting cinema halls, theatres, circuses etc…