City: Bengaluru

Come rains and most roads of the city are flooded. Some roads see potholes and muddy water all over, some lose their asphalt cover and some others are deformed. You may be surprised to know that the BBMP appoints private consultants to repair flood damage on roads with its own engineers. But the roads remain in bad shape even after that.In 2006, the BBMP formed a Flood Damage Control cell to carry out such road works. A total of 26 roads in the city were shortlisted for repairs with a budget of Rs.19 crores. All these road works were awarded…

From time to time newspapers report that an effort is to be made to improve footpaths (sidewalks, pavements) to benefit pedestrian movement. In 2005 and 2006 such statements came from the office of the Commissioner, BMP. In 2007 the Deccan Herald reported that the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic & Security) had announced work on, ‘a policy dedicated to construction and maintenance of footpaths’. There is hardly any evidence on the ground of results from either initiative.Footpath access blocked by Police (Pic: S.G.Narayanamurthy)16th Cross kerb 2007 (Pic: S.G.Narayanamurthy)Bank van customers block Footpath (Pic: S.G.Narayanamurthy)Car equipping work on Footpath (Pic: S.G.Narayanamurthy)Cars…

In part 1 of this article, we saw the the various types of encroachments that hinder pedestrian mobility. Here we take a look at what is involved in finding a solution. Ward level staff will not be able to deal with these different types of encroachment without a sound operational framework and good training.The best starting point could be an official mission statement. This should emphasise that provision of encroachment-free pavements for pedestrians is an essential measure of public safety. It is not only pedestrians who will benefit, but it can go a good way towards making driving less stressful.It…

The aim of the CSR Team at Infosys Bangalore is to build awareness about the socially relevant initiatives of the organization, enroll people and execute the initiatives. One of the noteworthy initiatives (among the many programs initiated over the last 2 years) of this well established CSR team at Infosys is the Notebook Drive. This was made possible through the contribution made by 25,000 employees of Infosys. It helped the CSR team to distribute notebooks to 19238 children from 235 schools across Karnataka. This initiative for the underprivileged government school children raised Rs. 7 Lakhs in three days. The partnering…

Calling for nominations for the third The Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award 2009 for young women journalists. For: Women Journalists 25 years and below.Topic: Human rights and social justiceDeadline: 15 October 2008Language: Any Indian LanguageThe press meet was held at Press club, Bangalore and addressed by Ms. Ammu Joseph, senior journalist and founder of the Network of Women in Media, India; Ms. Nirmala Jayaraman, Anupama' mother and Ms. Anita Cheria a human rights writer.Award DetailsThe Jayaraman family and the Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI) jointly announce the Anupama Jayaraman Memorial Award for young women journalists for the year 2009.…

Since its commencement in 2004, the annual Ranga Shankara Theatre Festivals have brought the best of Indian and international theatre to Bangalore. This year's Festival will provide six interns the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of how a theatre works and to work with India's leading theatre professionals in a positive and energised environment.The Festival Internships run for 45 full days, starting on 1 October 2008 and concluding on 15 November 2008. The internships are open to graduates available to work full time for the 45-day period. Graduates in Journalism, Mass Communication and Event Management are especially encouraged to apply.…

Form a groupThis is the first thing to do. CSR initiatives are always rooted in small beginnings. So, look around and gather a group of people who are interested in such initiatives. Approach your HR department and higher management with your findings and suggestions. How do you find people? Well, one easy way is to organize a screening of movies related to social initiatives. There are institutions like VisualSearch, FilmsForFreedom and Vikalp, who have social consciousness related films and they would be delighted to give you the copy for screenings.First, do no harmStudy your business and its impact on people,…

Business & Economy No deadbody, no insurance Basavanna, a retired KSRTC driver from Malavalli, lost his son, daughter-in-law and two grandchildren in the 2004 Tsunami, when they were on tour in Chennai. However he was not able to get their dead bodies. The insurance company denied compensation, contending that there was a possibility of them being alive as the dead bodies were not recovered. Basavanna argued that he had performed the last rites of the dead. He has now filed a writ petition in the High Court against the insurance company for their refusal to release compensation. (Prajavani, Tuesday, Sept…

Looking at the schedules of various theatre venues in Bangalore, and there don't seem to be too many venues where theatre is happening on a regular basis. Indeed, when I went to this link on ‘Bengaluru Theatre’, asking for theatre performance spaces, www.bengalurutheatre.com, I found the message, "This Category is currently empty"! Chandrashekhar Kambar's "Thukra's Dream" - A play at Ranga Shankara (Pic: Deepa Mohan)The most used space, of course, is Ranga Shankara, with its commitment to ‘a play a day’; a variety of theatre groups have been putting up shows this month. English, Kannada, Punjabi, and multilingual theatre is…