BBMP

Translated by Madhusudhan Rao and Pavan ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 4 ರಂದು, 33 ವರ್ಷ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನ ಐಟಿ ಉದ್ಯೋಗಿ ವ್ಯಾಸ್ ರವರ (ಹೆಸರು ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಿದೆ) ಸ್ಕೂಟರ್ ಗುಂಡಿಯೊಳಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿದ್ದು, ಮೊಣಕಾಲು  ಮುರಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕಾಯಿತು. ನಂತರ ನಡೆದ ಶಸ್ತ್ರ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ, ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆ ಖರ್ಚು, ಫಿಸಿಯೋಥೆರಪಿ, ಔಷಧಿ ವೆಚ್ಚ, ಗಾಡಿ ರಿಪೇರಿ ಖರ್ಚು ಇವೆಲ್ಲ ರೂ.4,34,323 ಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು. ಆತ ಈಗಲೂ ಹಾಸಿಗೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿಲ್ಲ. ವ್ಯಾಸ್ ಪರಿಹಾರದ ಭರವಸೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದಾದಮೇಲೊಂದು ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಇಮೇಲ್ ಕಳುಹಿಸುತ್ತಲೇ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದ್ರೆ ಜವಾಬು ಮಾತ್ರ ಬಂದಿಲ್ಲ. ಕಾರಣ? ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ  ರಸ್ತೆಗುಂಡಿ ಸಂತ್ರಸ್ತರಿದ್ದರೂ, ಬಿ.ಬಿ.ಎಂ.ಪಿ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಒದಗಿಸುವ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥಿತ ಕಾರ್ಯಸೂಚಿ ಕಲ್ಪಿಸದೆ ಇಲ್ಲದಿರುವುದು ರಸ್ತೆಗುಂಡಿ ಅಪಘಾತ ಸಂತ್ರಸ್ತರಿಗೆ ತಲೆನೋವಾಗಿ ಪರಿಣಮಿಸಿದೆ.   ಇಲ್ಲಿವರೆಗೂ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಕೇವಲ ಮಹಾಪೌರರ ‘ವಿವೇಚನೆ'ಯ ಮೇರೆಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸೀಮಿತವಾಗಿದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ, ಎಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಸಂತ್ರಸ್ತರಿಗೆ ಈಗಿನವರೆಗಿನ ಮಹಾಪೌರರು ಪರಿಹಾರ ಒದಗಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅನ್ನುವುದರ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಕೂಡ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಈ ವರ್ಷ ಜೂಲೈ ನಲ್ಲಿ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ…

Did you know that BBMP is liable to pay you compensation if you get injured in a pothole accident? This is as per a High Court order in July. BBMP refused to act on the order initially. But after warnings from the court, it published a newspaper ad last month saying compensation would be given on a case-by-case basis. However, currently there are no guidelines on the process for applying for compensation, a point of contact, or on the compensation amount to be paid for different types of injuries. BBMP has also challenged High Court's order in the Supreme Court.…

A couple of months ago, a mother and child met with a serious accident on the Varthur-Gunjur road. Passersby rushed them to a nearby hospital after they suffered injuries. Earlier this month, the condition of a Whitefield road became so poor that a school had to come forward to fix the road. A teacher from the school had met with an accident on the pothole-ridden road; one can only imagine how unsafe the school children would have been. We know of many such instances where commuters got injured or even lost their lives due to the poor condition of roads in Bengaluru. In…

Bangalore Apartments' Federation (BAF) has strongly condemned Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for its unilateral, unreasonable and illegal penalisation of apartments which have not been able to do in situ composting. BAF is a not-for-profit organisation with a membership base of over 500 apartment complexes across Bengaluru, representing almost one lakh households and three lakh people. Elaborating on Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, Vikram Rai, Treasurer and SWM Lead of BAF, said, “The SWM Rules of 2016 - notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 8th April 2016 - mandates only waste segregation. It neither mandates…

On October 4th, 33-year-old Vyas (name changed), an IT professional, fell and broke his right knee when his scooter bumped into a pothole. The surgery afterwards, recurring hospital bills, physiotherapy, expenses for medicines, scooter repair etc have drained him of over Rs 4,34,323 so far. And he is still bed-ridden. Vyas has been sending emails to one government department after the other, hoping for compensation. But there’s been no response. The reason? BBMP has never had a mechanism to compensate victims of pothole accidents despite the high number of victims. So far, compensation has been purely at the ‘discretion’ of…

Bengaluru's drinking water highly polluted Most Bengalureans are consuming highly contaminated water due to pathogens in BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board) supply, borewells and sumps, according to a study by the Ramaiah Advanced Testing Laboratory (RATL). Besides, heavy metals and toxic chemicals have contaminated groundwater, the study found. RATL analysed water samples from BWSSB taps, borewells and sumps from 100 residential areas for over a year. One-third of these samples showed traces of E. coli bacteria, which can lead to bloody diarrhoea and even kidney failure. All 80 samples collected from BWSSB taps showed some form of contamination…

Nov 30 deadline for Kannada signboards The BBMP has extended the deadline for commercial establishments to ensure that 60 percent of their signage is in Kannada. Establishments now have till November 30th to comply with the rule. If they don't comply, their trade licences will be cancelled or not renewed. The previous deadline was November 1, Karnataka Rajyotsava Day. Businesses were asked to have signages with 60 percent lettering in Kannada while the remaining 40 percent could be in any other language. So far, more than 8500 establishments have complied with the rule, says Vijayendra, Chief Health Officer, BBMP. After…

Last Friday, Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao issued a notification barring private vehicles on the bus priority lane (BPL) in Outer Ring Road. The BPL - between Silk Board to KR Puram and then towards Baiyappanahalli - will benefit around a lakh Bengalureans commuting in over 800 buses everyday, says the BMTC. Authorities presume that the BPL will increase the speed and efficiency of BMTC buses, encouraging more people to use buses, and thereby will reduce traffic in the ORR. But there's been a major concern since the inception of the project - how can Bengaluru's unruly motorists be…

Twenty six years ago, on 1st June 1993, the 74th Constitutional Amendment or Nagarapalika Act was effected to give “power to the people” in urban governance. Under the 74th CA, ward committees had to be set up in all municipal corporations with population over three lakh, to ensure decentralisation, citizen participation and accountability. In the municipal corporations of Karnataka, elected representatives have posed total resistance to the setting up and functioning of ward committees. In Bengaluru, with constant pressure from citizens, more than 50 percent of wards now have ward committee meetings, though infrequently. But how are these meetings being held?…

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