City: Bengaluru

"Be pleased! Your area has been moved up into the commercial zone," said a builder to us. "What you paid for your house in the `80's has now jumped to more than ten times the price." Should you be pleased? If you plan to live in the same house, get ready to see a slow and steady decline into a nightmare - just like what happened to us. Castle Street was a little quiet street in the ‘80's with bungalows and small families that happily knew each another and enjoyed the peace and quiet of being in the heart of…

The High Court case on Sankey Road's widening, which citizens had filed against BBMP and state government, will include BDA as a party. Five citizens and the residents' association Malleswaram Swabhimana Initiative had jointly filed the PIL last month when BBMP cut 17 trees across Sankey road stretch.HC ordered a stay on BBMP's tree cutting at the time, when two of the 17 trees were still standing. Hundreds of trees are expected to be cut for road widening from Cauvery Circle to CNR Rao Circle, and subsequently till Yeshwanthpur flyover.The High Court bench headed by Justice N Kumar passed the…

Karnataka State Billiards Association (KSBA) announced the first '6 Reds Snooker Karnataka State Ranking Tournament 2011', for men and women. 6-red, also known as six-red, is a shorter format of snooker which is played with six red balls instead of the standard fifteen. All oter rules remain the same. The tournament will begin on 20th Augustand will be heldin the Billiards hall of KSBA. The tournament will be conducted as per BSFI guidelines. The entries are open to all and the same should reach KSBA along with the entry fee on or before 17th August 2011. The entry fee for…

David Ramanath, former Karnataka State hockey player who also played for Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Bangalore, passed away in Illinios, Chicago, USA on 7th August after protracted illness for some months. He was with RBI for 15 years and there after migrated to USA. Karnataka State Hockey Association offered their condolences for his passing away and noted in their press release, "He was a jovial person and endeared himself to one and all." This info was provided by Karnataka State Hockey Association. ⊕

If Pride and Prejudice is a timeless novel turned in two films, a TV serial and more, so is Greed and Connivance. Except, stand back. Greed and Connivance is not a piece of Victorian-era fiction, it's the title of a report published by V Balasubramanian, Chairman of Karnataka's Task Force for Recovery and Protection of Public Lands on land grabbing in the state, particularly Bangalore. Each chapter in this book is a story in its own right, and the entire report is perhaps worth a television series of the length of Ramayana. TASK FORCE FOR RECOVERY OF PUBLIC LAND AND…

Twelve hockey teams, based on the ranking in the first phase will be chosen to compete in the eleven games of the second phase. The second phase of the fixtures begin from 18th August.The matches were held at Karnataka State Hockey Stadium at Shanthinagar.  The following are the match results of the first phase from 4th August to 11th August.  4th August 1st Match: R.D.T, H.A Beat Naveen Hockey Club by 3-0 2nd Match: ASC Boys Beat Om SAI H.C, Dharwad by 7-0 5th AugustHassan H.C Beat Kodava Samaj by 4-0 6th August 1st Match: Anglo Indian Guild Beat OM SAI H.C,…

Very few things in life can compare to the joy of becoming a new mother. The nine months' wait, severe labour pains, all find expression in the joy of mother when she hears the baby cry at birth . However, this joy transforms into sleepless nights, when the parents return home from hospital. If the baby cries too much, it is disturbing. If the baby cries too little, it is worrisome. The absence of a senior person (read mother or mother in law), compounds the situation in a nuclear family. Our professional experience is interspersed with frantic calls, from mothers…

BMTC fares went up a month ago, and hikes in petrol/diesel prices were cited as the reason. The story is more complicated than that. The real reasons are the three C-s -- ‘Collection' , Corruption among staff, and Complete apathy towards commuters' convenience or rights. 364E is a route that plies from Boopasandra in north Bangalore to south Bangalore (beyond Jayanagar) so it is very convenient for people like me who travel from north to south regularly. If I get 364 E, I can go directly to Jayanagar, otherwise I have to take two buses, one to Majestic or Shivajinagar…

BBMP has taken up road widening work up again and talk of TDR is afloat. But for the first time the agency is saying that if the people do not want TDR, financial compensation may be offered. K R Niranjan, BBMP Special Commissioner, says, "In core areas we can minimise road works by doing junction improvement etc. But in outer areas these works are necessary and land will be obtained through TDR; but if public do not accept TDRs we need to have reserve funds for acquisition."Road widening in outer areas is part of the ship load of projects worth…

Residents of Sadashivanagar have submitted a representation to the Commissioner- BBMP against the proposed road widening of Sankey Road, arguing for a holistic solution to Bangalore's traffic problems instead of using Road widening as a universal solution.The representation was accompanied by 455 signatures (mostly one per household) representing about 1500 residents.The background of the representation is as follows:1. The President and office bearers of the Sadashivanagar Residents' Welfare Association were quoted in the press a month ago as saying that the residents of Sadashivanagar were in favour of widening of Sankey Road. However, no residents were consulted by the Association…