City: Bengaluru

March 17, 2012 saw a small number of Bengalureans debate active citizenship. On the occasion of World Consumer Rights Day (March 15), Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) held a summit on the "state of Consumer Affairs in the City". The summit was held at Udayabhanu Kalasangha in Kempegawdanagar. From left, Sainath NR, Sakuntala Narasimhan, Ramamurthy, Maj. Pankaj Rai Pic: Anisha Nair The guest speakers included Dr. Sakuntala Narasimhan, national award winning journalist and consumer protection activist, N S Ramamurthy, former senior food inspector, Public Health Institute, Retd Major Pankaj Rai, who is currently helping people fight medical negligence cases, Sainath N…

BCIL ZED Foundation conducted an International Sparrow Conference on 20 March, to raise awareness about the fall in the House Sparrow population in Bengaluru. 20 March is celebrated as the International sparrow day. As part of the conference there was a panel discussion on the birds, held at the Xavier Hall of St. Joseph's College, Lalbagh Road. Poster displayed outside St.Joseph's College. Photo: Deepa MohanThe first to speak was Dr. Abraham Verghese, of the Indian Institute for Research, who touched on how, several decades ago, places like Rajaji Nagar were just open land helping sparrow population. He added that several…

Are you at work place worrying about your pet alone at home? Or having nightmares of seeing your dog caged in with no proper food while you are out on a holiday? Open spaces keep them happy. Pic: Petspace Be it for office-goers or for people planning for a holiday, pet care is a big convern. Most pet owners are left with very few options for their pet safety.However, there are dog care centers in Bengaluru that promise to take good care of your pets while you are away. Some of these centers are started by people who faced similar…

As you walk about in Bengaluru, you might often pass several reptiles without seeing them. Though it is not common to see snakes, they are sometimes sighted, and strike terror into our hearts usually, even if they are non-poisonous. Pic: Deepa mohan But apart from the snakes, lizards are a kind of reptile that we see very often, and which are very helpful in keeping the insect population down. The House Gecko or the lizard in the house, that we don't like to see at all, actually eats cockroaches and other insects. Some of the other reptiles we see are…

Cricket is his first love. He learned English language listening to cricket commentaries. He loves Kannada movies, he always scored well in his history papers. He never let visual impairment come in the way of life. Today he has made computer education easily accessible for visually challenged students and encourages them to participate in sports. 41-year-old Mahantesh G Kivadasannavar won the NDTV Sports Award, against the odds (lifetime achievement) in February 2012. Kivadasannavar founded Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled in 1997, along with his two friends. This JP Nagar resident, is today the Managing Trustee and has great plans for…

Governments may come and go. Land grabbers may be arrested and jailed. But the daylight robbery of auto drivers will still continue. In Chennai, you may have come across slightly different-coloured autos displaying the words ‘Tourists friendly’ and you may think these autos would charge you as per meter, or if not, reasonably. But these auto drivers are as bad or as good as others of their tribe. Of late I am shuttling between Chennai and Bangalore too often, so much so that I have become a frequent train traveller and can claim rebate in fare if the railway ministry…

Laxmi Murthy is the daughter of Vimala Murthy, the writer and great grand daughter of Amba Bai, former headmistress of Vani Vilas High school, Laxmi, has been associated with the women's movements for nearly three decades years now. This 49-year-old, resident of Jayanagar 1st block, has recently co-authored a book - "Our Pictures, Our Words." The book records the history of women's movement in India through posters. Pic: Anisha Nair Citizen Matters chatted with Laxmi Murthy on the women and writing. What inspired you into making the book "Our Pictures, Our Words"?I have been associated with the women's movement since…

On March 20th, BDA filed its objections in High Court on the Agara-Sirsi Circle signal free corridor PIL. Koramangala 3rd block RWA and others had filed the case last month, specifically asking for work in four Koramangala junctions to be stopped, and HC had ordered a stay on the works. At several places in its objections filing, BDA has gone so far as to say that residents' concerns are imaginary. Sarjapur road dug up for construction of grade separator. File Pic: Deepthi M S BDA has presented copies of approvals for the project given by Technical Advisory Committees (TACs) of…

Accompanying the pourakarmikas on road while they collect garbage and taking active part in inculcating civic awareness in the citizens of Bengaluru is her favourite thing to do. She is one of the oldest residents of Koramangala and civic issues are closest to her heart. Sheela Ladha, 50, has been a very active volunteer with Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) for the past three years.  This active home-maker feels that the city has grown old with her and she, with the city. Sheela Ladha. Pic: Anisha NairWhat does CMCA do?CMCA usually starts a civic club in the schools, and…

Garbage is now a resource for residents of Mayflower block in Brigade Millennium apartment in JP Nagar. With our Zero Waste initiative, we are getting revenue instead of paying for garbage clearance. Zero Waste Management Team: (from left) Sharanappa S, Gayatri Gopalkrishnan, Swarupa Daithankar, Prakash P. Pic: Sanjeev Daithankar The initiative started in 2008, but was not successful because of low response from residents. Earlier we had a common chute facility to push down waste. Today segregated waste is collected door-to-door from all 220 flats, and we have closed the chute. We thank residents for their support in achieving this.…