CITIZEN JOURNALISM

It seemed like a bright sunny day. A working woman in her late thirties, left Powai for Matunga by Uber at 7.30 a.m. The route normally takes 45 minutes. But yesterday it took a little longer than usual, around 75 minutes. The rain gods had by then showcased a trailer of what was going to be an adventurous day. Even then, never had I thought that I would return to the cosy comfort of my home only after more than 24 hours! As a Mumbaikar, you can feel the vibe when rain, or for that matter anything, rises above the…

Property buyers often fall victim to unscrupulous real estate developers; hence there is a need for real estate development to be regulated. This is what the Real Estate Regulatory Act (RERA) intends to do. On Saturday, 19th August 2017, I attended an interactive Question and Answer session on RERA. IAS Officer Kapil Mohan, the Principal Secretary, Housing Board, Government of Karnataka, and also Interim Authority of RERA, was part of the panel. The event was organised by the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), Karnataka chapter, on  the Karnataka State Billiards Association premises. It was attended by many real estate…

For most people, a college campus is a place where you go through very routine activities of study and research. However, when I entered the IIT Madras campus, I was awestruck at the flora and fauna that greeted me. I learnt in the days post admission that the campus was located in the grounds of a national park which meant that I would get to see even some endangered species. This motivated me to photograph all that I could and share it with people I knew. What started off as a pastime quickly turned into my passion, especially as I…

I’m not quite sure why I chose to volunteer at the Dastkar Mela. There was this exhibition held between 11th and 20th August 2017, at Manpho Convention Centre, Spectrum Grounds 1 & 2, near Nagawara in Bengaluru. But nobody else I knew was volunteering, so it wasn’t as though I’d get to have a fun filled day with friends. The only reason I can think of now, is that when I got to hear about the mela, I was relaxing after a long, tiring shopping spree at the mall. Seeing attendants busily arranging displays, putting clothes back on racks, and…

BBMP’s outsourced garbage contract system failed continuously to deliver and rampant corruption and malpractices the order of the day. Yet the Council has again proposed that the tenders be called for again, supporting the comeback of contractors! As explained in Part 1, the stranglehold of the BBMP Council on the implementation of effective waste management, therefore, still continues, leading to a virtual paralysis in the SWM delivery and implementation. No new SWM proposals have been passed by the Council in the last five months and status quo is being maintained. This is a testimony to the lack of willpower to…

For three years, every attempt to bring in performance-based garbage contracts in Bengaluru have been stymied and the inefficient and corrupt outsourcing work order based contract system continues. Several attempts were made since 2014 to issue performance contracts. But the contractors abstained from bidding, and brought in stays from the court. The Council chose to go with an ad-hoc solution, through the informal arrangements with contractors, called ‘Departmental work order’. The outsourced contract system has failed continuously to deliver the required level of waste management services, while rampant corruption and malpractices galore in managing Pourakarmikas. Finally, the Cabinet took a…

Lalbagh - my beautiful slice of heaven was taken over for the past fifteen days for the flower show. A 250-year-old garden on 240 acres, with one of the most spectacular collections of trees in the world was trashed. Very disheartened to see the crowd fill the place with garbage even though there were dustbins kept all over the place. The heritage rock - a three hundred billion year old rock which is the major attraction of Lalbagh, was filled with plastic covers flying all over the place and soft drink bottles. Shame on us people! A so-called hi-tech city…

The commuter catchment for Byappanahalli and travelling to Whitefield actually comprises of many segments. The first one is the work force who commute regularly from and around Byappanahalli which is estimated at 20000 commuters per day. The number of persons working in Whitefield area, belonging to both industrial and service sector, is estimated to be 2.5 lakhs. One estimate suggests that 75% to 80% of this work force is coming from areas beyond Byappanahalli. The number of commuters therefore would be around 180000 to 200000. This is the second segment. The third segment comprises of persons who come to Whitefield…

When was the last time you saw a disability inclusive flash mob event? Can’t remember? Neither can I. On the evening of 13th august, in the spirit of Independence Day, people gathered in forum mall, Koramangala, beheld the awe-inspiring performances led by OSAAT-One Step At A Time, constituting of people from all walks of disabilities along with able bodied individuals, dancing their hearts out, to show the world that they’re danceabled. OSAAT is a nonprofit organisation striving to increase awareness on disability and build communities/ support groups for people with disabilities. They conduct programs encircling adaptive dance, theater and fitness,…

A girl lies bleeding for 30 minutes, in a park, after a ladder attached to a slide falls on her head. When she finally gets medical help, it’s too late. Who killed Priya? Each one of us! Those who are responsible for keeping the park safe and accessible for the kids... Passersby busy taking pictures and sharing it in Whatsapp instead of helping find medical attention... we residents who did not raising the issue of dangerous play equipment when we notice it… All of us are responsible. As long as it is not happening in our own backyard and oury…