City: Bengaluru

30 vendors, including ten women protested overnight (apr 7) at the BBMP office. They were told that the Mayor will meet them on April 8th at 3 pm. On April 7th, more than 400 street vendors from all parts of Bangalore city, under the banner Beedhi Vyapparigala Hakkotaya Andolana, began an indefinite sit-in at the BBMP Head Office. The organisations that participated in the protest today, included Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (Ambedkar Vada), National Alliance of Street Vendors of India (NASVI), National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM), Bridge network, Maraa, Sangama, Samara, Garment and Textile Workers Union (GATWU), People's Democratic Front(PDF),…

In a hearing on April 7, the High Court directed that the report submitted by the committee on March 3 should be implemented. The court order said that the following should be taken up on war footing: surveying lakes to demarcate boundaries and erect fences, identifying and removing encroachments, removing silt and weeds and laying bund where necessary, and stopping sewage flow into lakes. These tasks should be completed and reported to the court for further directions. Chief Justice J S Khehar said that the process initiated to protect Bangalore's lakes will be applied across other districts.  Excerpts from the…

Starting April 5, citizens in different parts of the country will fast for five days demanding implementation of Jan Lokpal Bill, to fight corruption. The campaign is organised by India Against Corruption, a coalition of NGOs, activists and other social organizations. In Bengaluru, 51-year-old Mahendra Kumar Gandhi, a marketing professional, has gone a step ahead - he plans to go on an indefinite fast until the Bill is implemented. He has decided not to consume water also during the fast.Jan Lokpal Bill is a modified version of the draft Lokpal Bill 2010 mooted by anti-corruption activists. The amended version gives…

Residents of L&T South City in Bangalore have taken their fight against their residential complex's builder L&T, and original landowner Dinesh Ranka, to the open. On April 1, about one thousand residents from the apartment complex assembled in Freedom Park and held a demonstration against L&T and Ranka. Court cases are already going on between the apartment owners' association SUGRUHA, L & T and Ranka. Over thousand South City residents including children demonstrated at Freedom Park. Pic: Navya P K The issue is that L&T and Ranka had relinquished 12 acres of land within the 34-acre apartment complex to the…

Even after winning a court case against the builder for misappropriation of open spaces in their layout, residents of Reliaable Tranquil layout near HSR layout, off Haralur Road, are a long way away from getting any justice. Residents had found that a park and a Civic Amenity (CA) site, which were originally part of the layout plan, was actually someone else's property. Reliaable Developers (RD) is the builder of the layout, with offices at Museum Road, Bengaluru. (Civic Amenity sites as per town planning rules are meant for public utilities like banks or recreation centres, and are open to public)  …

Shutterbugs of Bangalore have reason to rejoice. 'Weekend of Photography', a three-day event is being organised by two photographers based in the city- Mahesh Bhat and Mahesh Shantaram. The event kicks off on 8th April. Speaking to Citizen Matters, Shantaram said that Weekend of Photography is an event of events which will unite photography enthusiasts, professionals who specialise in different kinds of photography such as wildlife, lifestyle fashion and many more. "Paris has a whole month for photography and we felt we could do something on a small scale," says Shantaram. The event is open to anyone interested in getting…