City: Bengaluru

Ahead of the judgement at the Lucknow High Court, regarding disputed property in Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), steps have been taken here in Bengaluru to keep a check on the law and order situation. While the state government has declared that schools and colleges will not function for two days, September 30th and October 1st, many private companies have chosen either declare a holiday or work half-day. Prohibitory orders have been clamped on the city, with effect from 6 am today till 6 am on October 3rd. This means public functions cannot be held and groups of five or more people…

A complaint regarding tampered water meter has arisen in Jayanagar 4th T block. David S R, a resident of the area, noticed the issue of steep hike in his BWSSB's water bill around three years back. "The bill would come to Rs.4000 a month sometimes. Whenever I visited the local BWSSB office, I would be sent back saying that the case would be investigated, but nothing was done", he said. The Water Meter. Pic: David S R. During David's many visits over the past few years, he alleges that the officials not only demanded bribes, but also said that the…

According to BBMP's second quarter status report for JNNURM projects, 2009-10, the sanctioned cost was Rs 24.86 crores, with BBMP putting up 50% of the funds. The tender was awarded in March 2008, with the project scheduled to complete in January 2009 as per the Detailed Project Report. In the same report, BBMP gives reason for delay as:  "Sital conditions (faced hard rock which has to be blasted), traffic diversion are the reasons for delay. And another major problem is land acquisition." The Deccan Herald reported on September 13th about the Kadirenahalli underpass getting ready to be opened. It said…

Most of us are so self-centred, we take all the people providing us various services, for granted. One such group is the group of Pourakarmikas or municipal sweepers. Think what would happen if these people went on strike! Think of the garbage that many citizens throw on the road, into empty sites and at corners of pavements. Non-segregated, stinking garbage. Plastic bags torn up by street dogs and garbage strewn all over. Yet, we do not spare a thought for these poor workers performing a thankless task, and often abuse them. In an effort to sensitise the next generation to…

BMTC Bangalore runs two types of ordinary services - the black board routes covering upto 15 kms (numbered 1 to 209) from city centre and the red board routes covering areas longer than 15 kms from city centre (numbered above 210). The bus passes cost more for red board buses than those for the black board buses. But in reality - the red board buses are at times cheaper and faster than their black board counterparts. Despite the longer distance, they have lesser stages. However boarding a red board bus might mean walking a few more yards to the appropriate…

Bangalore has a small group of poetry enthusiasts with the numbers slowly growing. But with the rise of the internet, there are more avenues for poets to reach out, share their work and get feedback. According to Mohammed Fakhruddin, the founder of Poets International, a 27-year old poetry appreciation society, poetry is a form of wisdom. Fakhruddin, a well-accomplished poet and writer himself, believes that poetry is a form of lifestyle. Most poetry has its origin in topics of daily life - love, life, death or nature. "Poetry can be taken up at any age. What matters is the inspiration…

With most cinema houses postponing their big releases to later this week and the next, new films in Bangalore came from Hollywood and Malayalam cinema. Almost two decades after he made a film in a similar setting, director Oliver Stone returns with Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. In this sequel, Jake Moore tries to save his crumbling professional and personal life amidst the intrigue, corruption and huge egos of Wall Street. Only the agility of his mind can pull him through. In the aftermath of the recent global recession, the theme is topical and hard-hitting. As in films like JFK…

Did you know that rail connectivity already exists between KR Puram and Electronic City? Or between Whitefield and Yeshwantpur? Bangalore has grown so large over the past decade that many peri-urban South-Western Railway stations are now within the greater Bangalore region. The prospect of introducing commuter trains between major city hotspots located along SW Railway's network has therefore been attractive to many and increasingly so today, with Bangalore's worsening road traffic situation. [Click on Image to Enlarge]. Praja and CiSTUP's report proposes these routes for commuter rail services. Image courtesy: Bengaluru Commuter Rail Service, Call to Action, July 2010 But…

On September 7th 2010,  the Bangalore Mirror reported BDA Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena as saying that gated communities are illegal. Meena was reported saying every layout is required to earmark space for parks, roads and areas of common use. "When roads and parks inside the community are controlled by civic authorities, how can such layouts be called gated communities?" Meena is reported to have asked. Ashok Haranahalli, Advocate General of Karnataka Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal. In May 2008, the BBMP issued a public notice with regard to barricading layouts and preventing use by general public. The notice says that there is…

All the world's a stage...And all the men and women merely players These lines from Shakespeare's 'As you like it' goes beyond the conventional definitions of a performance space. In a regular theatre (proscenium), a transparent wall exists between the audience and the performers.  The illusion is based on creativity, sound, lights, music and set design. The audience are mute spectators - they can only travel with the performers on the emotional journeys. Contemporary artistes try to take performance beyond ‘a show' and recreate life through different mediums in real space. Deepak K Shivaswamy in collaboration with dancers of Bangalore…