City: Bengaluru

In a previous article, we looked at how personal data illegally collected by the NGO Chilume can impact the privacy and safety of voters as well as affect the integrity of our elections. The News Minute (TNM) and Pratidhvani reported that workers and external vendors, hired by Chilume, posed as booth level officials (BLOs), complete with identity cards signed by BBMP election officials, to illegally collect voter data. This is the second part of a series looking deeper into the implications of the Bengaluru voter data theft controversy. Part I: Illegal voter data collection: Does it really matter? Part II:…

HC nod to axing trees for metro line The High Court, on December 7th, said that the BMRCL (Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Lmt) can go ahead with the felling and translocation of trees, as outlined by the Technical Expert Committee (TEC). It has permitted the BMRCL to fell 466 trees, translocate 21 trees, and retain four trees on the Kempapura to Shettigere stretch on the Phase-2B of the Metro line to Kempegowda International Airport. The BMRCL can also remove 114 trees, translocate 12 trees, and retain three trees on the Central Silk Board to Kodineesanahalli metro station stretch of the…

The  voter data scam, uncovered by The News Minute (TNM) and Pratidhvani, has raised concerns over the breach of privacy and the misuse of voter data. At the heart of the issue is the actual voter data. This is the first part of a series looking deeper into the implications of the Bengaluru voter data theft controversy. Part I: Illegal voter data collection: Does it really matter? (this article)Part II: Illegal voter data collection: How can we protect our privacy?Part III: Illegal voter data collection: Frontline workers of election management The crucial allegation against the NGO Chilume Educational Cultural and…

The power of consistent campaigning and pursuing a movement to its logical conclusion can be seen in Dattatraya T Devare's and his team's efforts. Since 2007, Devare, trustee of Bangalore Environment Trust (BET), has been working to preserve trees in the city, as part of which he filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking amendments to the Karnataka Tree Preservation Act, 1976. This eventually translated into path-breaking legal amendments to preserve Bengaluru's trees. "When I moved from Pune to Bangalore in 1986, I remember the city was very green," says Devare, "But it began losing its trees due to development…

With the world’s attention on the FIFA Football World Cup being hosted in Qatar, one tends to wonder what Bengaluru has to offer budding sportspersons in terms of quality sports training facilities. Unfortunately, such exploration offers little hope that athletes from the state, especially women, can make waves on the international sports arena. Cricket in Bengaluru can boast of world class names like Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and others, but what about other sports? What kind of sports policies and infrastructure are available for training and development of athletes more interested in games such as badminton or football, or even…

When I go for my daily run in the mornings I always carry a bottle of water in my hand. As I run around the periphery of Kaggadasapura Lake, my lungs heaving and me struggling on, I see several individuals joining me with similar bottles in hand.The bottles are intended for different purposes though: one to quench thirst and the other for open defecation. Unlike me, however, these individuals are not trying to attain the higher needs of life, such as running for fitness in the morning. They are here to fulfil the basic needs of a human being: answering…

Some Bengaluru-based startups are innovating on solutions to develop efficient batteries for electric vehicles or recycle used batteries to reduce the carbon footprint of these batteries.Electric vehicle adoption is increasing in India and in Karnataka. Key components of electric vehicles are lithium-ion batteries, which are currently mostly imported.Several of these companies claim that due to the paucity of organised markets for recycling and conventional methods, recycling of batteries remains a concern for the environment and public health. As the popularity of electric vehicles (EVs) grows in India, there are concerns about the environmental impacts of the waste they could leave…

SEC seeks to speed up BBMP polls The SEC (State Election Commission) filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the government to issue a fresh notification to fix the reservation for the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) wards immediately. The SEC alleged to the courts that the state government is seeking three more months to issue a notification, so that it can delay the BBMP elections beyond May 2023. The Assembly polls are due before May, so if the election schedule is declared, then the BBMP elections would get postponed indefinitely. The hearing on the state application…

As we look forward to observing World Disability Day on December 3rd, it is pertinent to question whether Bengaluru is satisfactorily accessible, in terms of public spaces, buildings, mobility, public transport, for persons with disabilities or if there is a lot left to be desired. “The most difficult thing is accessibility to resources and information for people living with disabilities,” says Parinitha P, a resident of Bengaluru and a Person with Disability (PwD). Disabled-friendly infrastructure - only on paper The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPWDA) notified the Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier Free Built Environment for…

If you could time travel to the 1800s, how would Bengaluru's lakes and water channels look? This passage from the ‘Deccan Traverses’ by Dilip da Cunha and Anuradha Mathur gives us an idea. ‘The sugarcane and rice crops looked most flourishing in the low wet land under the great tanks, which have all the appearance of natural lakes. Many of these have been most skilfully constructed, giving proof that the natives knew something of engineering, long before English rule and public works were thought of.’ The passage, referring to Bellandur Bund, is from a letter written in 1868 by Mrs…