bangalore journal

Since the formation of Bruhat Bengaluru in January 2007, the BBMP's first ever council session took place on April 23rd. All 198 corporators were sworn in and the city got a new mayor and deputy mayor. The session itself was rather eventful with both bouquets and brickbats thrown about.See the pictures in a special Citizen Matters slideshow. While most came dressed in their best, Ashwath Y N, Corporator of Kempegowda ward (Ward 1) took it a step further. He came riding on a horse and dressed as Kempegowda himself. Pic: Vaishnavi VittalThe council building decked up for the first session…

BBMP has started accepting payments for 2010-11 BBMP property tax, at BBMP Help centres and Bangalore One centres; one can also obtain the forms there. Payment has to be by cheque or DD in the name of the Commissioner, BBMP. ONLINE PAYMENTSOnline payment of property tax can be done at here. BBMP allows you to pay online for the year 2009-10, if 2008-09 details are available online You can pay online for 2010-11, if 2008-09 and 2009-10 details are available online. If your property details have not been uploaded, however you have paid and have the receipts, you will have…

It has been two months since Bengaluru witnessed the fire at Carlton towers. Nine lives were lost. Then came the fire at Gold towers on Residency Road and another in a godown in Peenya. Just four months into 2010 and the fire department has attended to over 900 fire-related calls.All this and there is still no system in place to periodically check for fire safety violations in high-rise buildings in the city. While officials of the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services (KSFES) are toothless as they do not have powers to reinspect Bengaluru's buildings after issuing the Occupancy Certificate,…

Malavalli Chikkanna Charities (MCC), a trust that donated its land in Sheshadripuram to the Karnataka Government for construction of a dispensary is reclaiming it, as the unit has been converted into a storeroom. The dispensary was built in 1957 by the health department on a land spread across 3,000 square feet. There were two doctors along with four other staff for attending patients. It was converted to a medicine storeroom around eight years back. From some years now, the trust has been asking the health department to hand over the dispensary to it since it was converted into a store…

Imagine you are in a time capsule. You open the door and peer out to see the Bengaluru city, especially the Gavipuram-Gandhibazaar area at different periods in time.Circa 1540: Work going on at Kempambudhi. Kempegowdaru is building a huge lake for the settlement here which later comes to be called Kempambudhi lake. He visits the Gavi (cave) Gangadeshwara temple and prays to the lord.1900s: Basavanagudi is a spacious settlement for the pete people with huge roads and wide open spaces. A little beyond are the some villages in Gavipuram. There are a few who venture into this area. It's a…

IT has been announced recently for the collection of tax for the year 2010-11 with a rebate of 5% only upto 30th April 2010.This period being the bottleneck of the year, where previous years dues of loan, interest etc would have been paid by 31st March. The burden of children education, holiday expenses ( either you have to move out or relatives move in), the current cost of essentials - food and vegetables, etc. which are unavoidable to be postponed and has to be met.In many cases, contributions to the recently held elections have also been met by many indirectly,…

There is joy in making delicate terracotta jewellery or ceramic utility pots. Though pottery is a profession for a few, it is more often one of the most enjoyable hobbies today. “You can be an adult and still play with clay”, says Pavan Sathya of gopni.com who is in his mid 30's. Gopni.com is an organisation for pottery enthusiasts, which conducts pottery and ceramic art classes as well as provides firing and kiln support and related activities. Sathya, who has been a professional potter for over 4 years says it a viable profession provided you have the right contacts and…

Arumugam, 19, is a school dropout. A machine operator at a shoe factory, he has learnt to take photographs. Along with his neighbours Asha, Mani, Saraswathi, Radha and Sita, Arumugam learnt to use a digital camera from Sumeet Malhotra, a volunteer from Association for India's Development (AID).A few technology savvy AID volunteers had transformed a dingy room in the slum of Sudarshan Layout, off Bannerghatta Road as their tuition centre. The Ambedkar Community Computer Centre (AC3) was started almost two years back. They have been equipping the poor children and youth in the nearby area with the basic computer skills,…

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls and foodies of all ages - It's showtime. In the blue corner, priced between Rs 249-299, claiming to offer "old Dilli" cuisine, please welcome More than Paranthas (MTP). Its challenger, in the red corner, with their Set-Menu priced always at Rs 299 and claiming to offer authentic Mughlai cuisine, put your hands together for Umerkot! Veg Starters at Umerkot. Pic: S K Shivashankar. Round 1 - Decor and DecorumWhile MTP offers a much better lit and aesthetically pleasing decor, it loses out in terms of customer service which is simply not brisk.Round 1 is…

Bengaluru Infinite 2010 is a photo contest organised by InfinityF, a photographers collective.The event is organised in partnership with INTACH, Citizen Matters and Lifeblob. Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) is a group of volunteers dedicated to conservation of the city's heritage. Lifeblob is a city based startup in the Flickr groups Bangalore Weekend Shoots and Bangalore Photowalks are also lending support.The day long event is to be held on April 25th, from 8 am to 8 pm. The contest is open to all. Participants can photograph any aspect of Bengaluru, in any public space on the…