Blogs

Several of the visitors to the lake, have marveled at how the level has gone up in just two or three days of pre-monsoon showers. The reason of course is that the rain has been heavy this year and more because, for the first time, some of the surface run off from the Brigade Millennium road is getting diverted into the lake through the new conduit. The story doesn't end here.Visitors would have seen the enormous iron frame that was getting assembled on the ground between the security cabin and the gazebo. Thick iron rods have been placed over the…

The Managing Director of BESCOM, Mr Manivannan, has been spearheading a movement on FaceBook, to bring various facets of this hitherto opaque Government organization to the public. Various initiatives have been launched, and the latest is his attempt to describe how electricity makes it into our homes from where it is generated. Here is the process, in his own words: HOW does electricity, generated at the Raichur Thermal Power Plant (RTPS) come to your home in Bangalore? It's interesting and important to know how electricity reaches your home. It may explain you why the supply is cut off at times,…

BBMP has taken up the rejuvenation of upstream lakes in the chain of seven lakes, of which Kaikondrahalli Lake is located just before Soulkere. A few months ago, the contractors had started to dewater the upstream lakes, which meant the sewage water present in these lakes had to be pumped out. Unfortunately diversion pipes were not in place at Kaikondarahalli lake so this polluted water was getting into our rejuvenated lake. So dewatering work was suspended to build the channels, and later the election code of conduct delayed the work further. With dewatering work restarted, we suddenly found that the…

Summertime always brings fond childhood memories of summer vacations, lazing around with a good book, ice creams and yummy mangoes. With the temperatures already soaring, looks like we will be having one long and hot summer. Luckily there are some great summer foods and beverages that can help in keeping you cool. Here are some of the foods to include this summer: Pic: Marisa DeMeglio from NYC USA via wikimedia commons Water: Dehydration is a common problem during summers and this may be one of the reasons why you feel tired and drained out for no apparent reason during summers.…

Based on a total station survey done by Enzen Global in Aug. 2011, PNLIT got the BBMP to install a  new diversion channel (DC) to harvest surface run off from the Brigade Millennium road into the lake. After some unavoidable delays, complicated government procedures, worker issues, etc. the major DC was finally completed a month ago.The intermittent drizzle over the past couple of weeks indicated that the DC could work but we were not sure just how well it would till the downpour last night. Glimpses of the lake lit by lightning last night were exciting, raising our hope that…

There are a number of things that the CM can do, to clearly signal a break with the failures of the past. As the new Chief Minister takes office, many Bangaloreans must be wondering what lies in store for our city. We are all hopeful that along with a new government, we will get a new direction too. We've had enough of irresponsible apathy and outright criminality of the political leadership over the last decade. The city is virtually gasping for a new politics, focused on solving problems and being accountable to the public. There are a number of things…

Election reporting is an interesting area. One gets to see the real faces of candidates and their followers, besides coming across a bunch of funny experiences. Here's a collection of such experiences from the Citizen Matters team.It was about 6.30 in the evening. Around 40 people were going around shouting slogans for Shobha Karandlaje, in Rajaji Nagar. She would reach there in another half an hour.Except a handful of middle-aged men leading the pack, no other supporters seemed as loud or dramatic as supporters usually are. About half of them were women. The men seemed young and sophisticated, some with…

As long as we allow two systems of sale of water - one through pipes and another through tankers - we can never have affordability, equity, reliability, or any of the other things we associate with this basic human need. The water tanker business is nothing more than a mafia, which exploits a public resource for private gain. We absolutely have to shut it down.All water supply must be by the government only. If there has to be tanker supply in un-piped areas then let the government run those tankers. And let there be uniform pricing of water, regardless of…

My friend Sravana Dasary posted this: That's a great way to document the fact that her family's voted! Each of us needs to vote, to take an active part in our own governance...to ensure that the nasties and the goons don't reign over us. So...what does YOUR finger say? Have you voted? I hope you have! ⊕

It is election season in the city and the rest of the state. Most of the local news is about the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates and various political parties, campaign activities, problems existing in different constituencies and . In addition to this, are stories about voter awareness drives, poll code violations, contestant support campaigns by groups such as B.PAC and Praja Rajakiya Vedike, a political platform launched in 2010. Apart from all this, there are some specific groups of people who have brought out what they expect of the representatives to be elected, through detailed manifestos. These include…