City: Bengaluru

As a first-time apartment buyer in Bengaluru, in 2016, I heard of many instances of builders/developers simply walking away without creating/forming an "Owners' Association" and handing over the apartment's assets in a systematic way for various reasons, including The lack of bandwidth with the builder to create/form an ad hoc-committee of the Owners' Association and take them through the association formation and registration The extent of deviation from "sanctioned plan" to "as constructed" exceeding 5% (allowed deviation)The builder's desire to retain control of the property and sometimes even plans to add additional built-up area. Improper calculation of undivided share (UDS)…

Floods in Bengaluru make for big headlines. The plight of monkeys rarely does. In this case, the particular species named Bonnet Macaques, which can usually be seen in the vicinity of the city's temples. As the city's urban sprawl spreads inexorably, natural habitats of many species are getting overrun. Monkey habitats are one such. Causing what some Bengalureans call the monkey menace. Meaning when they spot a monkey sitting outside their apartment's kitchen window in search of food. A Scroll report, citing the work of Mewa Singh of the University of Mysore and HN Kumara of Salim Ali Centre for…

City reels under post-rain distress Since June 1st, the city has received 1,032 mm of rainfall against the average of 661mm. The slums in Munnekollal, Brookfield, Palyam, Whitefield, and BEML Layout have been severely affected. Even four days after heavy rains, the migrant labour colony in Munnekolal was still flooded, without any means to prepare food or sleep. Those who live in tents alleged that they had received little help from the government and were being provided food, water and other necessary items through NGOs and other CSR initiatives only. Some migrant workers in Whitefield said that work and daily wages had stopped…

Acquiring private land and property for major infrastructure projects like the Bengaluru metro has always been controversial. Especially the amount and manner of compensation to those whose land/property is acquired. Various laws and court verdicts have laid down norms for such acquisition. But the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) has drafted its own rules on this issue, as it speeds up work on Phase 2, or what it calls the Blue Line, a 57-km stretch that connects Central Silk Board to Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) via KR Puram. Slated to be completed in 2024, this project linking the Outer Ring…

Bengaluru’s Namma Metro has one major advantage. It does not get caught in the city’s notorious traffic jams. The ground reality however is, metro construction is today a major cause of these traffic jams. Which the humble Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus does get caught in. At the drawing board stage, the metro was touted as the solution to Bangalore’s two key issues. One, getting private vehicles off the roads, thus reducing traffic congestion and vehicular pollution. Two, as being a much greener, affordable and accessible commute alternative as compared to to other options such as the city bus…

"At midnight on August 30th, we woke up to thigh-high water flooding our homes," recalls Bheemesh, a resident of an informal settlement located in Tigalarpalya, adjacent to Brookefield's BEML Layout. "We rushed outside, barely having had the time to collect our things. When we came out, we found out that the entire settlement had been submerged". The last few weeks have been difficult for citizens across various regions in the city. Several bouts of heavy rainfall has inundated roads and flooded residential layouts. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said this was Bengaluru's second wettest August with 369.9mm of rainfall. The…

On 30th August, a resident of Rainbow Drive, a layout on Sarjapur Road, passed away as he could not get to a hospital in time. His community had been flooded and its residents marooned for hours during which even tractors could not reach them. On 5th September after the heavy overnight rains of up to 90 mm, residents of this area and the larger Sarjapur Road-Outer Ring Road area continue to suffer, with large sections of even main roads inundated. Rainbow Drive is one of the parts of the city that has had far too many trysts with flooding. Even…

Yellow alert, second wettest August The meteorological department has issued an yellow alert for the city, as more rains are predicted for the coming days. This year the city experienced the second wettest August, as the city observatory of the IMD (India Meteorological Department) recorded 369.9 mm of rainfall, second only to 1998's recording of 387.1 mm. Traffic got crippled on ORR (Outer Ring Road) due to Savalakere lake overflowing. About two to three feet of water on the ORR from Silk Board junction to Bellandur, Marathahalli and Sarjapura Road stopped two-wheeler riders. Hundreds of employees working in and around…

The recent Kannada blockbuster 777 Charlie attempts to tell a story that can change hearts and perceptions about dogs; Indie dogs in particular. The film, directed by Kiranraj K is the story of Dharma, a man who suffers from terrible trauma having lost his entire family in a road accident. Dharma, played by Rakshit Shetty, becomes a recluse and attaches no significance to his life till a rambunctious, pesky pup shows up at his doorstep his life upside down for good. Dharma takes in the abandoned pup Charlie. In turn, Charlie gives him a sense of purpose in life. Making…

""Kitne aadmi the?" The scene featuring Gabbar Singh's famous question in Sholay has a rarely noticed sideshow. A small lizard scampering across the rocky terrain of Ramanagara, located just outside Bengaluru, where the iconic movie was filmed. That lizard is the Peninsular Rock Agama, or Psammophilus dorsalis, which can be found today mainly in Bengaluru's rocky outskirts. The city's ever expanding urbanisation has not only altered natural landscapes in its wake, but also destroyed habitats of species like the Rock Agama lizard. And although not endangered, the Peninsular Rock Agama is no longer a common sight across the city as…