CITIZEN JOURNALISM

I am keying in these words while commuting to office in a bus. As is the norm with most buses, the big vehicle stopped ahead of the shelter at Whitefield’s oldest stop, impeding movement at the T-junction, and causing hardship to waiting passengers. As it is, with the raised platform razed during the recent repair works, pedestrians find it tough to cross the busy street. Dozens of photos and emails, meetings and training sessions later, there is no visible change: BMTC personnel refuse to fall in line. Of buses and fares With a monthly bus pass in pocket, I am…

A week has gone by since I last wrote and about six days have gone by since I last heard from BBMP. BBMP called me several times last Friday asking me if the work was done — and in spite of numerous assurances — no work has been done.  The BBMP Sahaaya complaint number is 10506777 and the last SMS communication I received, informing me that the complaint has been 'assigned' was on June 23rd. I also have a Malleshwaram Sahaaya complaint number - 2760084. However, in this case, the SMS only says that the complaint has been created.  It is…

A few weeks back, while writing about Vibhutipura lake, I spoke with Shubha Priya of VIKAS, a citizens' group associated with the Vibhutipura lake. She pointed out a few interesting facts about the lake, which I missed out on during my previous visits. The idea for composing this essay originated from my interaction with her. As I had observed in my previous essay, Vibhutipura Lake is a fascinating case-study. On various tracts of the land around the lake, one can find people residing in high-rise apartments. A section of society that is not socio-economically fortunate, lives on some other parts…

It was any other quite Sunday morning in Malleshwaram. However, for us it was a big day that had dawned. Malleshwaram Parisara, our annual ecofair by Malleshwaram Swabhimanaa Initiative (MSI) was to take place at Hymamshu Jyothi Kala Peeta on June 28th 2015. This time it was a lot bigger than last year, there was a huge turnout which included a larger number of eco-friendly stalls. The fair was inaugurated by our MLA Aswathnarayan, Principal of Hymamshu Jyothi Kala Peetha BVA Rao, Vijayakumar and MSI president Sumathi Rao. There were 30+ stalls in all. Most of the stalls were by…

A few days ago I noticed that the streetlights and new LED streetlamps on 15th Cross, Malleshwaram, were not working properly. I thought I should complain and I did so on several fronts. 1. I complained to the BBMP Assistant Officer for Malleshwaram by email and `WhatsApp' 2. I wrote to the MLA - Ashwath Narayan 3. I also filed a complaint on 'malleshwaram.sahaaya.in' I got a call from someone a few days later but it so happened that the LED lights were working at that point. The streetlights were still not working. A few days later, on Monday, June…

BBMP Elections are here again. Candidates must make their stand clear about creation of Ward Committees / Area Sabhas as per Karnataka Municipal Corporation (Ward Committee) Rules 2013 and other Acts. Otherwise, people must reject them. Despite High Court of Karnataka orders in 2013, BBMP has failed to form Ward Committees / Area Sabhas in most of 198 wards under its limits; if existing, selection process of members is either skewed or manipulated to suit the whims and fancies of the ward corporation and local MLA. If existing, they are either defunct or the meetings held and recorded are far…

117 children of waste pickers in Bangalore received scholarships worth Rs 2,16,450. The scholarship programme, initiated by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment at the Union Government level, is extended to all pre-matriculation students, who are children of parents engaged in ‘unclean occupation’. When the scholarship programme was rolled out, the government had not included waste picking as an occupation in the eligibility list. The consistent efforts of the Alliance of Indian Wastepickers led to the inclusion of waste pickers as well. Many organisations across India pursued the case of inclusion at both the state and municipal level. In Karnataka,…

The ever-busy Silk Board junction. Pic: Abhishek Chandel The clock chimed seven on a balmy Wednesday evening, as I peered out of the dusty window of my motionless office bus. A cacophony of voices, the humdrum of engines, snatches of conversation and a curse word or two greeted my eardrums. The scene in front of my eyes appeared as dull and despondent as my day had turned out. A middle-aged lady driving back home from office killed her car's engine, and got busy yelling instructions to the domestic help about that evening's repast over her phone. A bored taxi driver…

  What a day at the "Zero Plastic Run" that was flagged off from Decathlon, Sarjapur Road on June 20th! This green event organised by Decathlon, Sarjapur, and well-supported by Kasa Muktha Bellandur, various local citizen groups and Runners High, saw a sizable group of enthusiastic runners of all ages show up in the early hours of a cold, cloudy and windy Saturday morning. As the name indicates, this event was organised to showcase that such an event can be conducted and enjoyed thoroughly by going completely green. Runs usually see a whole lot of trash generated through the course of the event…

Touts stopping non-KA registered vehicles opposite Kadugodi police station on June 8th 2015. Pic: Waseem Memon   Dear Sir, At the outset, let me express my sincerest thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet me in Nagpur on May 17th 2015. You gave me a patient hearing and assured me that my concerns with regards to freedom of movement of motor vehicles across all states, shall be addressed in the New Motor Vehicles Bill to be tabled soon in the Parliament. While we may still be able to Drive Without Borders across states, I believe we…