City: Bengaluru

The Joy of Giving Week (JGW) is India's largest "festival of giving"! Launched in 2009, the festival is celebrated every year, in the week including Gandhi Jayanti, i.e., October 2, and brings together Indians from all walks of life, to celebrate "giving" The first event from JGW - Bangalore will be ‘The Road' event. (www.theroad.fr) A Royal Enfield Ride has been organised where three French bikers and one Indian biker will ride on their bullets from Bangalore to Paris. Purpose of the ride - JGW Awareness and fund raising for NGO - Baale Mane. The ride will be flagged off…

The Metro is becoming a reality. The first leg is getting ready. The trial run has begun. The stations are getting ready. The foot over bridge is nearing completion at many stations. The stations have been named sensibly. The glass facade is being errected at many stations. The appearance is one of class and style that every Bangalorean can feel proud of whether or not he belongs to Karnataka.Now comes the risk. Political groups and anti social elements who are used to damaging public property have another beautiful target. It is very essential that apart from the government and civic…

Resident Welfare Associations of Malleshwaram, college students, members of Malleshwaram Swabhimana, activists and volunteers from Green Peace and Hasiru Usiru, gathered on Sankey Road yesterday to protest road widening and cutting of trees. The Green Peace activists arrived early evening and climbed onto the surviving tree. This tree was saved from cutting when the stay order came on July 1. They tied banners saying ‘ No Trees No Future !'on it. Activists are camping on the rain tree till the Court decides its fate. Pic: Shailaja Varma The two activists Brikesh Singh and Shiva who climbed the rain tree will…

I had written an email to BMTC Managing Director, K R Srinivasa, IAS, regarding various issues related to BMTC buses on June 29th. On July 8th, I got a reply from CTM Operations for the same. He replied, "BMTC appreciates your concern about the matters related to its operations and thanks for your valuable suggestions". He provided a point by point reply  with details of action taken. 1.   General lack of punctuality with unreliable services: Bus timings are rarely maintained. Drivers are forced to follow the old time sheets in spite of the worsening traffic conditions and hence many drivers…

Shivanasamudra is a beautiful place near Malavalli, Mandya. River Cauvery splits in to two branches, Gaganchukki and Bharachukki; each branch cascades down the rocky cliffs as a waterfall. Bluff falls during summer. Pic: Usha Hariprasad Gaganachukki is 106.6m tall and it has the Asia's oldest hydro-electric power station (set up in 1902) located near the waterfall. The power generated here was used to supply electricity to Kolar gold mines, Mysore and Bangalore. During monsoon the waters are in full volume and though luring it is not advisable to swim here. Bharachukki is about 13 kilometres from Gaganchukki. This waterfall is…

This is an analysis based on measurable data that shows running buses on time will reduce traffic on roads to 1/3rd its current value. Next, a strategy is outlined to get buses running on time -we can take a hint from the metro: the metro will run on time since it has its own track, so we can do the same for buses: a dedicated lane for buses or specific roads earmarked only for buses. Additionally, the cost of having traffic wardens (who will maintain traffic discipline) for every kilometre of road works out roughly to be Rs 5 crore…

71 academicians from Bengaluru submitted a public statement to BBMP on Thursday, slamming the road widening plans. The statement was addressed to S Suresh Kumar, Minister for Urban Development, Mayor Sharadamma, Deputy Mayor, S Harish, A Ravindra, Advisor to the CM on Urban Affairs, K Jairaj, Additional Chief Secretary, K M Shivakumar, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department (UDD), S K Lohia, Director, Urban Transport and BBMP Commissioner Sidddaiah.In the statement the researchers and academicians from IISc, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), IIMB and astrophysicists from Raman Research Institute, requested BBMP to look at the…

When you feel really really satisfied after a meal, it's worth a mention. "In the Pink" is tucked away on a road where you least expect it; a thoroughfare but maybe you missed noticing it because you were trying to beat the traffic? Pic source: inthepink.in But what's so special about the place anyway? Well, for one it boasts of being "Organic", a restaurant and a store all in one. The store has been around for over a year now and stocks vegetables, bulk rice, lentils, wheat flour etc., as well as organic brand names such as 24 Letter Mantra…

At our Resident’s Welfare Association (RWA) in LB Sastry Nagar, we started working on anti-plastic cause right from Apr 2006. Our association Uthkarsh had conducted a door to door campaign convincing people about hazards of plastics. Dry waste being sorted and stored in Sarovar Apartment. Pic: Anamika Gupta While talking to people, we found out that most people take plastic bags to throw away garbage, since the dustbins get dirty because of wet waste.  It was, therefore, a natural progression to waste management. We began to think about how to avoid plastic bags being used as garbage bin liners. If…

In a world dominated by crass commercialism, mindless madness and sterility, cinema with a soul is a rarity. In this, director P Sheshadri's Bettada Jeeva distinguishes itself from the cinema of our age.The film based on Dr Shivaram Karanth's novel of the same name has also won the national award for the best environmental film. It tells the story of a freedom fighter on the run from the law, who takes shelter in the home of an aged landlord and his wife, both unaware of his identity. Through this situation, the film explores the relationship that develops between the young…