BENGALURU BUZZ

New BBMP Chief Commissioner appointed On Thursday, Tushar Giri Nath replaced Gaurav Gupta as the BBMP Chief Commissioner. Giri Nath, a 1993-batch Karnataka-cadre IAS officer, was serving as Principal Secretary in the Revenue department. Gupta will now be Additional Chief Secretary in the Infrastructure department. The state government has transferred several other IAS officers as well. Of late, BBMP has been mired in controversies related to pothole accidents, waterlogging and incomplete infrastructure projects. Source: Indian Express Govt yet to approve BBMP budget BBMP is still awaiting the state government's approval for its 2021-22 budget which has an outlay of Rs…

Increased vigilance as COVID cases rise On Thursday, 142 COVID cases were reported in Bengaluru Urban out of 154 in the state, with zero deaths. The day’s TPR (Test Positivity Rate) was 1.49%, while the weekly TPR touched 1.16%. The TPR in Bengaluru has been increasing slightly since April 9th. Cases of mucormycosis or black fungus were back in at least one private hospital, Manipal Hospitals in Hebbal. This is despite the absence of risk factors such as sharing of oxygen cylinders or unhygienic treatment facilities, which were suggested as the possible causes of black fungus in the second COVID…

Action after garbage trucks cause fatal accidents After three fatal accidents caused by BBMP garbage trucks, the city traffic police conducted a special drive and booked 307 trucks for violations such as signal jumps and defective number plates. BBMP has made fitness certificates mandatory for the trucks, and marshals have been deployed to inspect the vehicles at mustering points every day. BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said the new garbage contracts would include a clause mandating the use of new vehicles. BBMP also decided to install speed governors in 600 compactors to restrict their speed to 35 kmph. BBMP, along with…

Low demand for booster dose Only 8,041 people in the 18-59 year age group had taken the COVID booster dose in Karnataka as of April 14, five days after private hospitals were allowed to administer it. Of them, 86.97% (6,994 people) are from BBMP limits. Bengaluru has the highest number of private hospitals and private vaccination centres in the State. Given the low demand, the offer by vaccine manufacturers to compensate the slashed vaccine prices with additional doses has not gone down well with private hospitals. Many want a refund from the manufacturers instead. Dr H M Prasanna, president of…

Azaan row Bengaluru City Police has seized microphones from many religious establishments, on the charge that they defied court orders on noise pollution. The police have booked cases and will monitor the prescribed decibel levels. Notices had been issued to 301 shrines, including temples, churches and mosques, with strictures to stick to KSPCB (Karnataka State Pollution Control Board) guidelines. Many right-wing Hindu organisations had launched drives against azaan in mosques, vowing to counter it by playing Hanuman Chalisa and bhajans through loudspeakers. The Imam of Jamia Masjid, one of Bengaluru's largest mosques, said they have installed a decibel meter 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.…

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…

Bandh against hijab order partial, peaceful Several parts of the city were deserted on Thursday in response to the bandh called by Muslim groups to protest the Karnataka High Court’s ruling on hijab. Establishments owned by Muslims on Commercial Street, Shivajinagar, Yarab Nagar near Banashankari, Mosque road, JC Nagar, Central Business District (CBD) and Chamarajpet were closed and people’s movement was low. Bengaluru Police Commissioner Kamal Pant oversaw security arrangements in Kadugondanahalli, DJ Halli, JC Nagar and RT Nagar police station limits. The bandh passed off peacefully. Before the High Court pronounced its verdict on Tuesday morning, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of…

BMTC slips to second rank in fleet strength The BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) which held the top spot for running the country's largest bus fleet for several years, has lost it to the DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation). DTC's fleet strength is now 7,001, whereas BMTC's is 6,911. BMTC had recently inducted 90 e-buses, of which 60 are not operational due to the delay in setting up charging infrastructure. A senior BMTC official said that 300 non-AC e-buses will be inducted under lease model by October, and 900 aged buses will be scrapped in a phased manner. The state government's…

High allocations for Bengaluru in State budget Presenting the State budget 2022-23, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who also handles the finance portfolio, said that the State's revenues have increased. He did not propose to impose any new tax. He announced allocation of Rs 3,661 crore to all 28 assembly segments in Bengaluru, up from allocation only for BJP MLAs' constituencies earlier. The CM also said that Rs 8,409 crore has been allocated for the comprehensive development of Bengaluru. Of this, Rs 1,500 crore has been earmarked to develop mega stormwater drains to prevent floods. An 'Atal Bihari Vaypayee park' of…