City: Bengaluru

Politicians irrespective of their party line shared their concerns about looming water scarcity that is fast approaching Bangalore and pledged their commitment in support of the action plan prepared by two city NGOs. The Centre for Policies and Practices (CPP) and Bangalore Environment Trust (BET) presented their plan at a conference on "Bangalore's water famine 2020 A ticking time bomb" held on 29 January at Gandhi Bhavan. Pic: The event organised by the Centre for Policies and Practices and the Bangalore Environment Trust. Pic: Kishore S U. CPP and BET have proposed a detailed action plan to address water scarcity…

In a major ruling, the High Court has ordered that commercial buildings not be allowed in residential zones in Bangalore from now on. The court passed the interim order on January 25th in a case filed by Citizens' Action Forum (CAF), Sadashivnagar RWA and 12 individuals in 2008. Petitioners had challenged BDA's Revised Master Plan (RMP 2005-2015), based on which land use zones are demarcated. A division bench of the court lead by Chief Justice Vikramjit Sen asked the government to go back the city's master plan of 1995-2005 for limits on commercial activity in residential areas. News of this…

With the academic year for schools nearing the end, most parents say it is the time for them to empty their pockets. Private unaided schools are hiking their fees for the coming year and expectedly, parents are worried. "They give us no option but to pay the amount," says a parent of a child studying in St Francis de Sales High School (SFS), Electronic city. Resignation appears to be the state of most parents in the city."The management gave me an option of 3 installments instead of 2 installments," says another parent whose child studies in Deccan International School, Padmanabhanagar.…

Clint Eastwood continues to increase his repertoire as a director. This time, he returns with the historical documentary film J. Edgar.The film is FBI director J. Edgar Hoover’ story, and a glimpse into the life’s work that went into the making of the FBI. Besides giving us an interpretation of Hoover’s personal journey, the film also has a telling take on contemporary American political life. Source: Wikipidea Yet within a genre of films perfected in Hollywood, and epitomized in the work of directors like Oliver Stone (JFK and Nixon) and Martin Scorsese (Aviator), Clint Eastwood’s attempt seems to fall short.…

About a month ago, I was waiting at the bus stop opposite Cubbon Park to catch a bus home to JP Nagar. Since the frequency of buses to JP Nagar is low, I waited for a bus to Jayanagar from where I could change over. I avoided the 13 series buses that were terribly crowded. Within minutes came an empty bus with the board T4 (Nagavara to Jagajeevanram Nagar via Corporation). Seeing the name Corporation, I boarded the bus. I alighted in front of the BBMP office and walked down to Mission Road stop, where within minutes the ever frequent…

One of the events at Lalbagh that the citizens of Bangalore, always look forward to is the Republic Day Flower Show. The weather is always very pleasant, and the beautiful displays in the Glass House are a great attraction for the visitors to this lung-space of our city.Having seen the displays each year, I thought I will go and see how it's all put together. So, by 630am, I was in Lalbagh with some friends. When I told the guards that I was from Citizen Matters and wanted to cover the preparations, they allowed me into the Glass House. I…

Someone famous once said, “Life is what you make out of it.” How true is this adage, considering the death of a 17-year-old boy from JP Nagar 7th Phase who was mercilessly mowed down by a car? The incident was reported in local newspapers, and it makes us wonder if your life is in fact what others make for you. What is needed is road discipline by people behind the wheel. If one steps into the four-road junction in front of Brigade Millennium apartment complex in JP Nagar, one can observe that:•Despite traffic signals in place, two wheelers whizz past…

"Have you ever tracked down and located your garbage?" questioned Akshay Yadav, coordinator, Green Commandos of Youth For Seva Organisation(YFS) to a group of residents. The question left the residents wondering.An Awareness presentation for Waste Management was held by YFS, at Raja Helix Apartments, Bilekahalli on Saturday, 14 January. The poster outside the apartment. Pic: Deepthi M S The presentation was on the importance of segregation of waste at source. Yadav explained that more than half of the daily waste was organic waste, which could be treated at home and turned into manure. He also added that by segregation, recycling…

An organic waste converter plant has been set up at Jayanagar 3rd block, next to the Veterinary Hospital. All the wet waste collected from houses, hotels, market and parks in Jayanagar will now be treated at this unit. Jayanagar Waste converter. Pic: Deepthi M S This solid waste management unit built at `40 lakhs, collects organic waste, processes them and converts them into organic manure. Minister R Ashoka, inaugurated the unit on 19th January.BBMP is distributing red and green coloured bins to around 1500 houses in Jayanagar. Residents are asked to put in their dry waste such as paper, glass…

There's more to being a parent than posing prettily with the cherub, wrote a slightly hassled friend on Facebook. The reason? Her son's upcoming birthday or at least the decision making process of it. I could not resist an evil and slightly relieved laugh. So it wasn't just me who dreaded the birthday juggernaut- the planning, the presents, the cake, the theme and of course, the return gift, which is a must give these days unless you have been living under a rock or are very brave and do not care for public opinion, especially from pint sized people.At our…