CITIZEN JOURNALISM

About a year ago, the government of Karnataka approved a steel flyover road that would run from Basaveshwara Circle till the Kempapura junction after the Hebbal interchange, to ease the traffic congestion leading to the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) which was estimated to cost a whopping Rs 2,100 crore. Little did they know this project would become a lynchpin that would energise citizen activism like never before. Thousands of people came out on an early Sunday morning to form a human chain and tell their government that it was a terrible idea. The offset of a collective awareness that Bengalureans…

There's no denying that butterflies bring touches of bright colour to a dull, rainy day. At the Valley School near Bengaluru, on Gandhi Jayanti, (2 October 2017) we were singing the Blues.... Blues are Lyacaenid butterflies, which show a bright blue colour when flying (and which is often hidden when they alight and fold their wings.)  As Wikipedia puts it, Lyacaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfly species. Some species among them are known to be…

In 1942, it was ‘Vellayane Veliyeru’. In 2017, it is ‘Kollayane Veliyeru’ “Kollaiyane Veliyeru”, a large anti-corruption campaign movement to bring together all those who are against corruption is set to be launched at a public meeting this weekend on October 8th  at 4.30 Pm at Mylapore Mangollai. The event is facilitated by Arappor Iyakkam and is co-organized by citizens and various other organizations. Corruption affects all of us. Every day, from the traffic cop on the roads, to sand mining on our river beds, from RTOs issuing licenses to 2G spectrum, from stretcher charges in government hospitals to illegal…

The recent astronomical hike in tomato prices in the city weighed heavily on the household budgets of many Bengalureans. Here’s a look at some reactions to this price shock: “I usually go to the Yeshwanthpur city market to buy vegetables because it's much cheaper to buy from there. I was buying ½ kg of tomato when the prices shot up instead of my usual purchase of 2-3 kgs per week. The prices of vegetables fluctuate so much. On the day the rate is cheaper, I buy in bulk and preserve the vegetables at home.” - Housekeeping staff at a private company.…

Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is facing the public ire on the integration of Metro stations with other modes of transport. But this is not the only issue troubling the city's fastest public transport provider. Amith Pallavoor Subramaniam, a Citizen Matters reader, writes: During peak hours, Metro trains are packed, and the insolent home guards push commuters like sardines. A disaster like Elphinstone is waiting to happen. Some of the issues where BMRCL could learn from Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai's local trains and Metro: (1) Run trains till midnight: Kindly note that Bengaluru is no longer the provincial town of…

Once a year, Bengaluru becomes busy, being the poor cousin of Mysore, the grand-dasara city. The capital lives her dual life with Navrathris, the festive flashes of silk sarees and gold jewellery, surrounded by dry, autumn days of brown trees and dead leaves among trash piles. You do see women visiting each other hurriedly to exchange prasadams and if you peep into their houses, you can also catch glimpses of their droll doll sets, assorted gifts and the sound of bhajans. Still, the seasons run in parallel and it’s a bipolar city. The Durga, Laxmi and Saraswathi idols are prayed…

The survey of street vendors in south zone was to have taken place in the south zone between 25th September and 28th September. The survey has started in several wards but is not complete and in fact has been called off. Additionally there are several issues in how it has been done. In Some wards like ward 170, it has happened as per guidelines however in a lot of other places its not done. Here are some issues: 1) Not enough forms: In ward 123 and 168, there have not been enough forms. We are not sure if the forms…

There is one thing to be said for the Bengaluru monsoons – it pulls down the curtains on the city and puts you back into the float of your memories. If you wade through the waterlogged streets during the rains, you at least need not see the crowds, smell the traffic or taste the garbage. You just have to squint through your half-shut eyes as you walk under a straggly umbrella in the pouring rains and understand that this year, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike has not undertaken the recharge that you did not expect it to pursue, anyway. Not…

The decision of Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) to relocate the Cantonment Metro station has drawn flak from citizens. Why has this become such a big issue? The answer is something every urban transport planner will appreciate, every concerned citizen will appreciate, and every visionary will appreciate. Those who don’t, will appreciate it the moment they become aware of its implications in their daily lives. The answer is, integration. What went wrong? Metro is here for the next several decades from now–our next few generations will use the Metro to move around this sprawling, ever-expanding city. If Metro is…

I write this after a recent visit to the Animal Birth Control Centre on Basin Bridge Road run by the Corporation of Chennai. The official mandate of the pound is to catch our stray dogs based on regular inspection and specific complaints from the public, sterilize and immunize them against rabies and then release them in the same area where they were caught as per Animal Birth Control Rules. However, my visit has left me with such heart-breaking sights and experience, that I feel responsible to do all that is needed to relieve the dogs in the pound from the…