BBMP

The empty plot became a garbage dump over the years. Pic: Praveen S During the end of November 2015, when the corporator and the ward engineer began cleaning up an vacant plot (plot number 60) located at the intersection of 4th cross-10th A Main in Indira Nagar 2nd Stage (Ward 80), close to the Indiranagar metro station, residents’ joy knew no bounds thinking that the garbage mess piled up over the years would finally be cleared from the vacant plot. What actually happened has instead left the residents frustrated.  The corporator and the ward engineer, instead of clearing up the garbage, have…

  Bengaluru this week February 11th 2016     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     Mobility is our theme for the week; we have several articles covering various aspects of commuting in Bengaluru, from why BMTC and BMRCL should not be allowed to monopolise, to shuttle aggregator ZipGo’s ongoing tussle with the Transport Department. Also, in light of the recent incident at Vibgyor school in Whitefield, we tell you what precautions you can take and what you should do when you come into contact with wildlife in the city. All this and more… This…

  Bengaluru this week February 4th 2016     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     We have lots in store for you this week! No more gas cylinders? GAIL’s plans for Bengaluru will get piped gas to your kitchen as they plan to connect the entire city, over the next few years. Do check out two important campaigns that you can easily get involved in - Green Spot Challenge and My City My Budget. We also have the first article in our series on Disappearing Professions. All this and more. This week’s highlight: GAIL…

By-election for Hebbal Legislative Assembly Constituency is just a week’s away. The Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka has announced the date for by-election to Hebbal and two other constituencies. The election for the three constituencies, Hebbal, Bidar and Devadurga, is scheduled for February 13th. The by-election in Hebbal is to fill up the vacant post that was created following the death of MLA Jagadish Kumar last November. As many as 20 candidates are in the fray in the Hebbal constituency. During the last election, the BJP candidate had won the seat. As this by-election is seen as a matter of…

Most of our neighbourhoods in Bengaluru are beset with infrastructure issues; issues that need to be fixed to ensure a better quality of life for us. In a city that is as cosmopolitan as ours, the issues are also not the same across the city; they differ from one neighbourhood to the next. Every year, our local government prepares an annual budget for the city, in which, budgets are allocated to all the neighbourhoods (wards). Also, a decision is taken on which issues would be taken up for work in each neighbourhood. So far, it was difficult, maybe even impossible…

Ever since the BBMP published a draft notification proposing to hike the property tax with effect from next financial year, there has been opposition for the proposal from various quarters. Citizen groups have termed the property tax hike as unscientific and non-essential. While the BBMP is gearing up to revise the property tax in less than two months time, the citizens groups comprising motley of residents welfare associations have been trying their best to convince the BBMP on why the tax hike does not make much sense.   On September 8th, 2015, the BBMP issued a draft notification on revising…

  Bengaluru this week January 28th 2016     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     This week, we present to you several stories that will make you think about the time we spend on the road - What is the toll that bad roads take on the economy? Should Bengaluru adopt the odd-even policy? Does the city really need dedicated lanes for cyclists? How a new railway track to Tirupathi could possibly decongest traffic on Old Madras Road. We also invite you to collaborate with us to document Bengaluru for a new series. This…

Vittal Mallya Road was built about five years ago. When it was built, it was proposed as a higher order of design than the roads that BBMP usually builds. The difference consists of three key elements: a level and continuous footpath ducting of all utilities a concrete surface of uniform width Plus some nice things like better lighting, and a little vegetation. In Tender SURE, most of these became standard, and in BBMP we improved the design by re-doing the way the storm water drains are built. The road cost a lot of money to build. But it was a…

Only one week after re-laying the road that leads to Ryan International School at Brookefields, the asphalt started pitting. Aggregate (jelly) started peeling, and undulations on road surface appeared. The road looked as though it tired of a couple of monsoons, although it was all of one week young. Demoralised but not defeated, Brookefields residents contacted Chief Engineer Parameshwariah, upon the advise of RK Mishra. In close tandem, Doddanekkundi's newly-elected Councillor, Vijaykumar, was watching. The new chief engineer is a dynamic man. He easily upsets when he sees shoddy quality in public works. He is widely recognised as the force…

  Bengaluru this week January 21st 2016     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     Can you imagine if it was possible to take a train for your commute within Bengaluru? For starters, it would be cheaper, it would decongest the roads, and you’d possibly get to where you wanted much quicker. This may become a possibility if you extend your support to the Namma Railu campaign. In this edition, we tell you how you can #SupportNammaRailu, ahead of the railway budget and beyond. Also read the latest updates on what is happening with…