BTM Layout

Air pollution on Outer Ring Road. Pic: Mayur Channagere According to the World Health Organization (WHO), air pollution is the fifth leading cause of deaths in India, resulting in about 620,000 premature deaths. Recent studies have largely focussed on Delhi, where air pollution is estimated to cause 10,000 – 30,000 annual deaths. What we don’t know with certainty, however, is the extent to which the quality of air in Bengaluru has been compromised and its impact, given the rapid and unchecked urbanisation, dramatic loss in tree cover, rampant waste burning all over the city and rising vehicle numbers. To understand rising…

The Prime Minister’s recent call for a clean India notwithstanding, the authorities are content dumping truckloads of rubble right in the middle of the city as a “solution” of sorts. In fact, this has been going on for almost at least two years and it is startling that this has gone on for such a long time. At Hosur road, coming from Bommanahalli, as you walk below the Silk Board flyover, you can notice mountains of rubble under the flyover – this, a solution to discourage the vehicles to go on the other side of Hosur road. There’s a No-Entry…

Ramalinga Reddy, MLA at his home office in Lakkasandra. Pic: Ganga Madappa Ramalinga Reddy, MLA of BTM Layout, is a busy man. In addition to holding the Transport portfolio in the State Government, he is also the Bangalore In-charge Minister. Citizen Matters caught up with the six-time MLA over tea at his home office in Lakkasandra, even as the rains lashed the city. Read on to know what he has to say about the BBMP bifurcation, the waste management crisis and where he sees the city four years from now. What development works have been initiated in your constituency? Is…

Metro Phase II work takes off, with KIADB starting the land acquisition process. File pic. Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board  (KIADB) conducted the first hearing for the owners of properties to be acquired for alignment of Metro Phase II on 4 September, 2013. The properties notified were for Ragigudda and Silk Board stations, on RV Road- Bommasandra line. Metro is all geared up to start the Phase-II work by January 2014. To achieve this target, the process of identification of properties was already initiated by KIADB officers deputed to the Metro, in the last few weeks. In the first hearing,…

Five-time MLA Ramalinga Reddy, now representing the BTM assembly was busy campaigning in Pothulappa Garden of Lakkasandra ward. Reddy visited an ailing supporter at his house after which he offered prayers to the local deity and then sat down for a chat with Citizen Matters during a campaign. As his supporters sang his praises in the background, Reddy talked about his constituency and his work in the last five years. Ramalinga Reddy Pic: Sriram V Here are the excerpts from the interview:  Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can…

I watched when this palatial house in BTM Layout was coming up. and some friends exclaimed at the lavishness of the construction.But then, I saw that several Honge (Pongaemia) saplings had been planted in front of the house. This must have been five or six years ago, I think.Today I was walking by...and those trees provide welcome shade to cars and pedestrians. I know some home owners who have cut down trees during the construction of their houses; so it is a welcome change to see a scene like this. ⊕

For some, it's a nostalgia of their cities and for some others, it's just something new to try. Prerna Soni, a professional who shifted to Bangalore recently, says, "I discovered these dosa stalls providing a wide range of dosas. I like them since the taste and flavours remind me of my hometown." Variety of ingredients used in Dosas. Pic: Anisha Nair Nikhil Banerjee, a software engineer in Koramangala, says, "I love the taste of it. And (I like it) more so, because it is quick, fresh and healthy. It is pocket-friendly and filling at the same time. And most importantly,…

“I feel like relocating to a different place. I will probably sell my house,” said a depressed, rather scared 70-year-old H N Pattabhiraman, a resident of  BTM I Stage, 9th Main, since 1992. Like Pattabhiraman, the other residents too live in fear. They feel helpless in the face of deteriorating law and order situation, they do not have much confidence in the police either.   The reason for this fear is the constant trouble created by miscreants and police inaction. The residents have to bear the brunt of motor-bikers drag racing with modified silencers at night, theft cases and rampant…

  That was how around 40 of us reclaimed our space vociferously and visibly on the roads of Madiwala (South Bangalore) and its environs between 5.00-7.00 pm last Saturday, 4th August. We energetically and emphatically expressed our views against various recent cases of moral policing and sexual assault across India including Guwahati, Mandya (Karnataka) and Mangalore. Ithi (meaning "a start" in Sanskrit), a support forum for women employed in the IT/ITeS industry organized the action which attracted necessary attention from local residents, college students and onlookers some of who joined us. Starting with a stationary protest at a busy corner…

In the last two months two people were attacked in South Bangalore. The first incident took place in BTM layout 1st stage where a woman was attacked by an intoxicated person and the recent attack in Jayanagar 4th T block by a man, suspected to be mentally unsound. In both cases, lodging FIRs was an uphill task. Family members of both the victims are concerned the way the cases were handled and fear that these incidents might repeat in the near future.On 18th July midnight, Suman’s (name changed upon request) family in Jayanagar woke up to loud screams of her…