City: Bengaluru

This year started off with the Bengaluru Metro rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) being in the news for its promise to make nearly 40 kilometres of metro lines operational in 2023. This included the extension of the purple line from Byappanahlli to Whitefield and reopening the Yellow line from R.V Road station to Bommasandra. However, in early January this year, there were tragic reports about an under-construction metro pillar in HBR Layout, along the KP Puram- Airport stretch, collapsing on a mother-son duo, who succumbed to their injuries. An inspection report, submitted by Professor J M Chandra Kishen of the civil…

R-Day at Chamrajnagar Idgah Maidan For the first time, Republic Day was celebrated, on January 26th, at the Chamrajnagar Idgah Maidan ground amid tight security, as North taluk assistant commissioner, revenue department, Shivanna, unfurled the national flag at 8 am. MLA BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan and Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha MP, PC Mohan, were also present, under elaborate security. Naadageethe and Raitha Geete were played, and later, students from BBMP and government schools performed cultural programmes. The West Division police deployed over 150 police personnel and installed over 50 CCTV cameras. There were celebrations at a number of places in…

I am a final year student in one of Bengaluru's well known colleges and am currently living in a paying guest accommodation. But I have a health condition and have been advised to cook my own food and not eat outside food. Renting a flat would be an ideal option. So I went to look for flats in SG Palya in South Bengaluru. Aurum Inn, a recently completed residential building, was one of the first apartment complexes I walked into. “Madam, we don’t give flats to single women, it is only for families,” said one of the workers as soon…

The leather tanning industry employs 4.42 million workers in India and accounts for 13% of global leather production. However, the dark side of this industry is that leatherwork exposes its workers to several chemicals, most of which are carcinogenic or have substances that can cause cancer. Research reports the increase in risks for a number of cancers among tannery workers, highlighting their occupational exposure and the allied vulnerability. The tannery workers in Bengaluru are aware of the hazards. C Pasha, who collects skins or hides for the curing units, was quoted in an article saying "people in this work die…

As the morning peak hour rush begins to build up on Bengaluru’s roads, Ramesh Gowda (name changed) has been at the Goraguntepalya traffic signal, one of the most congested areas in the city, since 7.30 am. Till around 11am, he and his coworkers from the Yeshwanthpur Traffic Police Station, are on their feet, trying to ensure smooth traffic flow at the busy signal. Big trucks are allowed to ply on that stretch of road only post 11am. Traffic at the Goraguntepalya signal as shown in Google maps. Pic: Sherin Sunny Reasons for chaotic traffic The congestion at Goraguntepalya signal is…

Switching from polluting fossil fuel sources of energy to more environment-friendly renewable and other green energy sources is today, on paper at least, a major objective in most big cities, especially for public transport systems. Bengaluru's city bus service, run by the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC), is no exception. While on the one hand, BMTC is introducing more fuel and emission efficient BS-IV diesel buses, it seems to have decided to make a major switch to electric buses (e-buses). Procurement of electric buses BMTC has placed orders for over 900 electric bus orders from the Tata group, some months…

In a tragic incident in early January this year, a mother and her two-year-old son passed away when an under-construction metro pillar reinforcement structure in Outer Ring Road (ORR), near HBR Layout, collapsed on them. This led to righteous outrage among citizens. Questions were raised not only about safety at the metro construction site but also about the roads in front of the Metro stations. How safe is it to walk and cross the roads while construction is going on? How challenging is it to commute to metro stations? How much importance is given to fire safety? How are dust…

BBMP's annual budget preponed The BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) will present its annual budget day for the next financial year on February 15th, in anticipation of the start of the model code of conduct before the Assembly elections. Last year's budget, presented on March 31st, was delayed as the budget copy was released at midnight. This year, the BBMP is in a hurry to present the budget as it wants to get the state's approval before the code of conduct sets in. Meanwhile, former mayors and corporators have demanded that the allocation made in the name of corporator and…

Final voter lists have been released for Shivajinagar, Mahadevapura and Chickpet, the assembly constituencies at the heart of the illegal voter data collection issue in Bengaluru. With this, electoral rolls have been completed for all 28 assembly constituencies in the city, based on the special summary revision organised by the State Election Commission between November 9th and December 8th in 2022. The lists for Bengaluru were finalised by the BBMP revenue department, the agency in charge of handling election logistics within city limits. With the illegal voter data cloud still looming over election agencies, officials promised to put their best…

Consumers in Bengaluru would have noticed discrepancies in their electricity bills last year, considering the tariffs went through three revisions in 2022 alone. In April 2022, the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) revised the tariff for electricity consumers in the state by hiking the price by an additional 35 paisa for the fiscal year 2022-23. The report stated the hike in price was to recover a revenue deficit of Rs 2159.48 crore.  Following this, in June, the Commission accepted electricity supplying companies’ (escoms) proposal to recover the “money spent on increased fuel costs,” resulting in Bangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited…