City: Bengaluru

On 31st March 2009, Citizen Matters reported about a proposal for a cycle track around Madiwala Lake (see here). Initiated by RideACycle Foundation (RAC-F), the proposal was submitted to the Bangalore Metropolitan Land Transport Authority (BMLTA) on 17th February 2009. Former BMLTA Commissioner Gaurav Gupta got the sanction of the Chief Secretary Sudhakar Rao for this project during his tenure. Madiwala lake (pic: Meera K) On speaking to Gaurav Gupta (when he was the BMLTA Commissioner) about this project, he said it would be carried out by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) with BMLTA providing technical expertise. “We have requested…

“For men may come and men may goBut I go on for ever”.In the spacious library in the basement of St Joseph’s College on Langford road, I read these lines of Lord Tennyson’s poem that aptly captured the spirit of St. Joseph’s educational institutions, which have been in existence for more than a century. However, in May this year a piece of history was lost for ever; the 84 year-old magnificent gothic building that housed St Joseph’s Arts and Science College on Residency Road was brought down.A few years back, while working out of one of the glass and chrome…

Bangalore's administrators have been long-accused of letting down the public.  Cases abound from corruption in tendering to recklessness and negligence in execution of works. This month S Subramanya, BBMP Commissioner was transferred after a debacle over the washing away of a boy in a monsoon downpour. Just before that he was involved in a public spat with the head of the anti-corruption watchdog, Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde. Despite its status of a toothless tiger, the Lokayukta has still been able to deliver justice for complainants from the humblest of backgrounds - poor citizens who have been victimised or deprived…

Savitha Swamy, a research scholar from Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) is initiating an urban ecology project which involves surveys on  biodiversity in various neighborhood parks in Bangalore. Savitha is looking at the long term sustainability of Bangalore's urban green spaces. This study will be used to come up with models to conserve urban green spaces and the biodiversity that it shelters which is disappearing in an alarming rate. People’s attitude influences environmental conservation action in the city (pic: Jahnavi Pai) The central question of this study is “how do the urban green spaces function…

Indians are perhaps the most forgiving lot. They are also one of those who give up a fight too easily. How can anyone explain why a wife, whose husband was drowned to death in a storm water drain in Bangalore couple of few weeks ago, accept just Rs One lakh from the civic authorities and resigned to the fate saying – “Can any amount of money bring back my husband?” While no one can question this sentiment, it is this lax approach that is making the civic authorities take it easy, even if they endanger the lives of the citizens.…

On Saturday May 23rd, Meta-Culture Dialogics (MCD) convened the tenth session of its popular community dialogue series, Bengaluru Speaks. Held at the Ashirvad Community Centre, the dialogue explored the topic: “Dare to be an Agent of Change? Your wish list for the new government.” The Bangalorean participants varied in age and profession, and there was a fairly equal ratio of men to women. To kick-off the dialogue, the Meta-Culture facilitators asked the participants to reflect on the election campaigns and results. Many participants felt the candidates put forward party-oriented issues instead of focusing on social development. Some participants said they…

A Colonial era law makes millions of sexual minorities in India, second class citizens. This law leads to harassment, denial of justice, inheritance issues, healthcare denial and more. This year, individuals and organisations, under the banner of Campaign for Sex-workers and Sexual Minorities Rights (CSMR), organised a week-long festival beginning with a cricket match on 21st June and culminating with the Bengaluru Pride March on 28th June. The march began at National College, Basavanagudi and ended at Puttanachetty Town Hall. Bangalore’s sexual minorities demanded their rights in this colourful annual protest parade, most of them with their faces covered in…

“I never got any benefits from my contractors when I was working on my own but from the time I am working for LabourNet, I have my health insurance and was even paid when an accident happened a few months back. All my friends here are benefiting from LabourNet,” explains Suresh who is working all day at a construction site near the Tin Factory, KR Puram. He rests on a boulder to talk, wiping sweat off his forehead with his hands full of cement dust. Bengaluru-based LabourNet provides access to information about jobs and labour to construction workers and clients,…

I have run a full marathon and a couple of half marathons but I never really enjoyed running. I did it more as a chore, somewhat like eating healthy food and doing laundry. That is until I started running with Asha, an NGO working on children's education in Bangalore. Initially it started with a curiosity as to what drove Santhosh Padmanabhan, an Asha volunteer and marathon runner in Bangalore to do a 24 hour/156 km non-stop run. I learnt that it was a fund raising activity for education related causes. Padmanabhan, a software engineer, spends innumerable hours in education related…

Theatre has always been a media that awed me. The whole idea of performing live is fascinating and challenging. I have been attending plays for a long time, but being part of a theatre crew was a totally different experience. I got an opportunity to be a part of the production team for Evam’s “An Idiot for dinner” that was recently staged at Rangashankara on the 12th, 13th and the 14th of June. A stage adaptation of the Hindi movie, Bheja Fry, which is based on the French play Le dîner de cons. Sanjay and his friends have a tradition…