City: Bengaluru

Unless you have been living under self-imposed exile, you have probably seen the ads. Bangalore's besieged by banners, hoardings, posters and mailers with your morning newspaper, announcing the vacation inevitable - The Summer Camp.Most camps start early April (April 5th) and continue till the end of the month. Some continue even in May. If you are reluctant to pack them almost as soon as the holidays begin, some also have batches starting from mid-April. Unless the camp aims to teach the child a specific new skill altogether and requires continued attendance, most camps give you the option of enrolling your…

As part of their wall painting projects, BBMP painted a compound wall of a 1 acre plot in BTM Layout with social and cultural awareness messages last month. Residents welfare & Cultural Association of BTM and Director of Central Library approached BBMP to get the compound wall painted in November 2009. The work started in February. It took more than four painters about a month to paint the compound wall.The plot located at 7th Main 9th cross BTM Layout belongs to Karnataka state Central Library. Nagesh, Director of the Central Library, based in Jayanagar says the proposal for a library…

According to a response given by BBMP to a Citizen Matters RTI application of 2009, four BBMP toilets are shown as having been approved for construction in JP Nagar way back in 2006-7. They are mentioned in the BBMP ward works list.At the cost of Rs 6.80 lakh per toilet, Rs 27.2 lakhs is the total cost for building all four. (A copy of the work order list is with Citizen Matters). In late March 2010, on a check by Citizen Matters, three of these toilets are missing (not constructed at the locations at all) and one is built and…

The electoral rolls of Bengaluru have now become a point of conflict with evidence showing they are in a mess. And both in the recent BBMP elections and last year's Parliamentary elections, Bangalore recorded a dismal 45 per cent voter 'turnout'.Not far from here, in the metropolitan city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, a whopping 63 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. Of the 32 lakh voters in the city, around 20 lakh citizens had gone out and voted. Whereas in Bangalore, of the 62 lakh voters, only about 27.5 lakh cast their vote in…

It was a short-lived campaign for the BBMP elections with little sound except for the occasional auto rickshaw blaring loud music and unintelligible squawks alternately. There were fortuitously none of the usual cut-outs, banners or buntings which end up ultimately as so much garbage. The only signs which indicated that a campaign was on, were the colourful pamphlets strewn on the roadside, muddied by the footprints of passers-by.After all the hype and excitement drummed up by the media, the State Election Commission says that only about 44 per cent of Bengalureans voted. But given that the electoral rolls are such…

The venue is Lalbaug, the time two in the afternoon. It's a hot day, the kind where you'd prefer to be in the cool confines of your home indulging in a siesta but, under the shade of a spreading tree, an enthusiastic group is getting ready for a session of food and fun. They settle down with glasses of pulpy grape juice to watch the magician among them perform card tricks. Once the informal show is over, the food that each has brought is laid out and collectively partaken of. There's a variety of items - things like samosas, pasta…

Bangalore Metropolitan Transportation Corporation (BMTC) provides city and suburban bus services in Bangalore. Here is some info to help you start using BMTC buses. Are their helplines to help me find my routes? What are the various BMTC routes? Regular routes, Big10, Big Circle, Inner Circle, Vajra Premium Services, Airport services How much should I pay for tickets? How and where can I get bus passes? Are their helplines to help me find my routes? BMTC Hot Line numbers: 1800-425-1663, 1266 (BSNL Only) and 22029935 They provide information on routes and bus pass information. It is available 24x7. What are…

With the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council elections having concluded, the city is all set to see the city council functioning after a gap of three years. But first, for the council itself to hold its first meeting, the state government's Urban Development department must issue a notification to conduct elections to the standing committees and for the posts of Mayor and Deputy Mayor. Within 30 days of the notification, the first meeting has to be held.According to Additional Council Secretary Mario Pires, the functioning of the BBMP Council is as per rules mentioned in the Karnataka Municipal Corporations…

“Whatever we are doing today is adding to the bank balance. One day you can draw from it”, consoled Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, founder, Lok Satta party and sitting MLA in the Andhra Pradesh state assembly. Addressing his party colleagues, well-wishers and supporters in Bangalore, Narayan asked them to not be disillusioned by the outcome of the BBMP election results. “I salute your courage”, he added.In the recently concluded city council elections, Lok Satta put up five candidates across five wards. Contesting in an election in the state and the city for the very first time, the party did not win…