As 2013 draws to a close, we look back on key events that made a difference to our lives in the city. Read: Swalpa Sihi, Swalpa Kahi: 2013 – the year that was!

Earlier this year, we did a series of hard reports on scams unearthed by the CAG followed by investigative pieces on the violation-riddled Bellandur-Agara SEZ project. We did a special project on the MLA performance reports, interviews, candidate and constituency profiles that was welcomed by all readers.

We have also continually reported on how many of our local government’s claims, from fixing potholes to solving the garbage crisis, remained just that – a statement of intent.

Contributions from citizen reporters have been remarkable this year, with some fantastic reports covering cycling, waste management, fighting corruption and more.

The top articles this year include:

1. Congress wins Karnataka, but no hard grip on Bengaluru
2. Scenes straight from Lalbagh Flower Show – 2013!
3. How Manyata Tech Park got hundreds of acres
4. Will Bengaluru’s Metro expand from a miniscule 6 kms?

And the most popular guides and primers are:

1. How to link Aadhaar card to your bank account
2. How to check your name in voter rolls
3. How to get khata without bribe through Sakala
4. How to pay property tax

We have had some changes in our own team. Some moved to the next steps in their lives, and we have some new members in the team too (Satarupa Bhattacharya, Shree D N and Nikita Malusare!).

Organisation-wise, we have seen challenges and have taken hard decisions without compromising on our goal and integrity. We have created the Oorvani Foundation so that hundreds of readers like you can contribute and become stakeholders in the local community platform. Your monetary support will fund the best of local journalism. Click here to contribute.

You can hear co-founder Meera K explain our ideas in this interview.

Wish you a very happy, fun-filled, productive new year 2014!

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