CITIZEN JOURNALISM

RERA for Karnataka is an open, public group, devoted to the welfare of home-owners of apartments, villas or plots. We seek to improve the legal framework and its implementation, by working for quick and proper implementation of RERA and reforms in existing laws. We are also seeking reforms in the procedures and policies of agencies, such as KSPCB, BWSSB, BESCOM, BBMP, BDA etc to make the rules fair and more practical to comply with. Objectives To work for speedy and effective implementation of the RERA in the state of Karnataka. To drive reforms in various acts related to apartment ownership…

With persistence and passion, citizen volunteers supported by progressive BBMP rules, have been working tirelessly and successfully at bringing about a paradigm change in managing waste in their homes and waste reduction. This has been stopping once and for all the nasty careless habit of swinging a plastic carry bag full of mixed waste at the tip of the fingers, walking out to the nearest electric pole or open space and swinging it with a flourish. However, public waste bins have made a come back in Bengaluru, after a gap of 15 years. These waste drop boxes bypass all of…

I had visited recently a centre that issues Aadhar card in Banaswadi which is just a few kilometers from my home. They issued tokens and asked us to wait. As the time went by, the queue became longer. Suddenly I saw two men carrying a handicapped man in a bed sheet as he needed Aadhar card for himself. Even after seeing his condition, the staff working at the centre did not want to help him. He was siting down in the heat. Almost two hours went by but no one in the queue supported this handicapped man. I felt sad.…

From taking water for granted, to discovering water scarcity and now managing water sustainably without depending on water tankers, our Sarjapur Road community is very different from the rest of the neighbourhood suffering from water problems. Rainbow Drive (RBD) is a gated community established in 1998-99. Till 2004, no meters in individual houses, water was supplied free. A few houses had private borewells for their own use. After the Residents' Welfare Association was formed in 2004, they started to meter the supplied water at a nominal charge to recover the operational cost. They also decided to ban the digging of…

A dry for years lake finally looks like a proper water body. Ever since we took up the cause of Puttenahalli Lake over seven years ago, this had been one of our goals - to see the entire lake bed submerged. 20th May 2014 6th June 2015 For over a year, excess treated waste water from the STP at South City Apartment Complex is being discharged into the lake. This has percolated and saturated thoroughly the earth below before showing up on the surface. The rain water added to this increasing the level to an unprecedented height. While we were…

Deepanjali Mishra. Pic: Pravir B. Sukanti and Bhagirathi Mishra are on cloud nine. Since May 28, when the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) declared the results for Grade 10 board examination, these Whitefield residents are elated. Their daughter, Deepanjali, has done exceptionally well, securing A1 score in all five subjects. “My parents were really happy because it was their dream that I score well in 10th,” she exclaims when asked for her reaction. Her father is employed as a plumber in a housing complex, where her mother works as a cook. Her uncle is an electrician. “I was able…

I needed that drink after just an hour out in the sun on Saturday morning near the Puttenahalli Lake, at Nataraj Layout in JP Nagar. More labour under what looked like a deceptively dull sky that morning and it quietly saps you. At that point, all resolutions incinerate instantly and the body rejects what appears like salad, fresh though it may be. Instead, the body wants to chill on a mat, or even better, on a seat with liquid much stronger. And voila! Nothing like the kind consideration of my fellow nationals in the thoughtful accompaniment of the glass with…

Let us first analyse what is Khaatha. It is just an account number allotted to property owners by BBMP so that property tax paid by them is credited to that particular owner's 'account'. It is in no way different from a Bank Khaatha (account in English). It is directly derived from the earlier Property identifcation number like Survey number or previous Khaatha number. After allotting Khaatha, BBMP Officials move further to assess the property tax which is dependant on the area (how developed the area of the property is), and sq ft area of the relative property. It is also…

This is the Akshayanagara Lake. Less than three years ago, it was a nothing but a patch of land with overgrown weeds and sewage as seen below.  The transformation is the work of a group of enthusiastic residents of the layout led by Ramesh Kumar who have toiled to restore the lake to its present form. In 2009, one side of the lake bund was strengthened and fenced, most of the sewage was blocked, and the entire lake was cleaned up at a huge cost running into lakhs. The cost was borne by the residents along with the local MLA.…

Fig. 3.5.1: East View of Bangalore in 1792 AD by Robert Hyde Colebrooke, British Library, Shelfmark - WD4461 Courtesy: Yashaswini Sharma Were there waterways inside Lal Bagh once upon a time? How did the famous garden get the unique design? How did the famous glass house came to be in it? This chapter from a book on Bangalore's early history — Bangalore - the early city - AD 1537-1799, authored by Yashaswini Sharma, an architect from Bengaluru, to be released on June 4, 2016, at the British Council, Bangalore, provides some insights. Exclusive images collected from archives make it an…