City: Bengaluru

The end of life of textiles is creating a huge cost that no one is bearing right now. Only forcing textile industries take back or pay for storage or own the end of life costs will this very problematic textile waste be treated in a more sustainable manner. This is the first of a two part series on the mounting textile waste that Bangalore generates and the various issues in disposing-recycling-reusing them. “There is something about online shopping from home, from the array of choices, not to mention the cheap prices,” says Sheeja, a senior HR Manager who recently relocated to…

BBMP presents Rs 10,480 cr budget The BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) released its budget copies to reporters late on Thursday night without prior notice, probably to avoid taking questions and clearing doubts. BBMP has projected for 2022-23 a total revenue collection of Rs 10,484 crore from various sources, including property tax, state and central government grants. It hopes to collect Rs 3,680 cr from property tax and cesses. The expenditure is estimated to be Rs 10,480 crore, higher than the budget of the last financial year. The budget document accounted for a positive opening balance of Rs 5.58 crore.…

MyCityMyBudget, the annual participatory budgeting campaign run by the BBMP in collaboration with Janaagraha and community organisations, was held between February 23 and March 20, 2022 . The campaign reached all 198 The campaign reached all 198 wards under the leadership of community groups, apartment associations, federations and resident welfare associations. A total of 7238 budget inputs were provided by Citizens to make Namma Bengaluru a walkable, public urination-free and green city— 3290 for Public Toilets (46%)2188 for footpath improvements (30%) and1760 for parks (24%). MyCityMyBudget inputs from citizens. Pic credit: Janaagraha Among these categories: In footpaths ‘new footpaths’ has…

I don’t drive a four wheeler. I don’t ride a two wheeler. I don’t even cycle. I WALK everywhere in my neighbourhood, Sanjaynagar, for all my daily needs. Hence I understand the need for good, walkable footpaths. Which are essential to motivate citizens to get off their vehicles and choose to walk, at least short distances. When I heard about BBMP allocating Rs 20 lakhs to each ward for footpath improvement, where the footpath was to be identified by the ward residents, I was thrilled and looking forward to being a part of this initiative. But nothing really happened till…

Faced with mounting criticism of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for inflating revenue receipts, the Karnataka Government earlier this month brought the BBMP under the Karnataka Local Fund Authorities Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2003. The government also issued a draft notification of the BBMP Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Rules, 2021, inviting suggestions from citizens within 30 days before issuing the final gazette notification. The objective is to ensure basic that BBMP’s expenditure doesn’t exceed income. As per the notification, BBMP must prepare its budget on the basis of actual revenues collected in the last fiscal year. The draft notification…

Ashwin, 27, an IT employee. Sharmila, 38, teacher. Khurshid Ahmed, 65, madrassa teacher and vendor. Tasdik Bushra, 19, MBBS student. These four Bengaluru citizens have only one thing in common--they all lost their lives recently due to potholes and poorly-maintained roads. In many cases, the victims were thrown off their two-wheelers, or hit/run over by other vehicles when they swerved to avoid potholes. According to a report in the Hindustan Times, Bengaluru was the city to register the maximum such cases (18) in 2020, as per data from the NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau). With a series of such incidents…

Chin-Chin is 46 years old and neurodivergent. To her and her family, a simple restaurant visit can be an arduous journey navigating through an inhospitable space. The lights are too bright, the chairs are hard-edged, and there is too much happening all the time. It’s almost as if she’s been dropped in the middle of a battlefield with all the bullets aimed at her. Chin-Chin’s story isn’t unique. Both children and adults who are neurodivergent, or to use the medical term in the ‘neurodivergent spectrum’, experience a world designed for the neuro-typical in a very different way. “When I take…

Changes in door-to-door waste collection system proposed The door-to-door waste collection system may undergo drastic changes. BBMP may deploy one garbage contractor for every three wards, instead of one per ward. The Palike may also increase the garbage contract period for a minimum of three years, and introduce four-wheel tippers that are mostly electric or CNG-enabled. There will be no separate vehicles for collecting wet and dry waste; instead, each tipper will have separate compartments for wet and dry waste. The proposed changes will be discussed in the next board meeting of the BSWM (Bengaluru Solid Waste Management) Ltd. Once…

N Krishna remembers it was precisely 4.49 pm on November 9th, 2003, when the block next to his government-allotted flat in Ejipura collapsed. It was just moments ago that Krishna had been inside the block, built for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in the 1990s, along with a photographer and BBMP engineer whom he had invited to inspect the damaged building. "People outside saw the block collapsing and shouted at us to come out, so we escaped," he said. (Some residents have lost their lives in similar collapses.) Krishna and his family had happily moved into the newly built EWS…

This is the second in our series of Cycle2Work interviews from men and women employed in diverse sectors. The series will bring to you stories of these green commuters who cycle to work. We hope that these stories will inspire and encourage more Bengalureans to cycle, and not drive, to work’ Karthik Ranganathan is an engineer with Texas Instruments in Bengaluru and has been cycling to work for over 10 years. “I started cycling in 2011 and found no reason why I should not cycle to work”. Karthik finds cycling saved lot of commute time and events like annual cycle…