CITIZEN JOURNALISM

This is an idea of how Chalukya Circle (CC) Junction and surrounding areas can be made signal-free with existing infrastructure. The idea if implemented will make the following four bottle necks signal free and cross-traffic free. Chalukya Circle AG's Office signal on Palace Road Palace Road-Sankey Road Junction Miller Tank Bund Road-Sankey Road.  The following roads lead into and away from the circle.  Raj Bhavan Road - one way from Raj Bhavan to Chalukya Circle Race Course Road - two way Palace Road from Maharani's college side - two way Palace Road towards Cunningham Road - one way towards Cunningham…

Bangalore has a lot of problems. Here is a  guide to solve Bangalore's problem in 20 short steps. Cut some trees. Form a committee with a catchy name - B-SOMETHING. Involve famous citizens - KMS, NM, NN etc. Don't analyse the problem. Analysis is for losers. Cut some more trees. Come up with an absurd suggestion which will cost several thousand crores. Cut some more trees. Lament the loss of green cover in Bangalore. Assure everyone that for every tree you cut, you will plant 10 more. Hand out lucrative contracts to your friends for planting `saplings'. Start your absurd…

Pic courtesy: Quickr.com Every year as the raindrops start falling on other parts of the nation, freshly graduated software engineers start dropping on Bengaluru and hence starts their battle of finding an inhabitable place. They say you appreciate your life after you overcome some struggle. The good people of Namma Bengaluru took it by heart then, I guess. The “To Let”, “PG for gents” or “PG for ladies” boards in this city are as ubiquitous as the baristas. And the thing is, they are all equally bad in value for money. When immigrants move to Bengaluru, one of the first…

Changing name on the electricity bill is easy. Pic: Shree D N I am a resident of Belathur in Kadugodi(Whitefield) area. Being a new apartment buyer, I started looking for getting things done, such as Electricity name change, Khata registration and others. I was surprised when the builder offered to get the name change in electricity metres done by paying bribe, without me having to visit any government office—he demanded Rs 2,000! I thought of understanding what the actual process is, and what are the fees involved, and tried to do it on my own. To my surprise, after a…

There is not even a name for it, not Sangama, not anything, but just Kudlu... the meeting point. Here the Vrushbhavathy, which rises from the Bull Temple in Basavangudi, Bengaluru meets the Arkavathy, which rises from the Nandi Hills range. Urban rivers have become 'nullahs' carrying sewage, the rural rivers—if you can even call it such—are dammed for urban water needs, for irrigation and for electricity. The Arkavathy is born here. At the birth place of the river, the well water is full and clean... The gentleman has been crossing the Arkavathy daily for the last 50 years... he wades across…

Nandini curd and milk packets bought on the same day. Both show different dates, with no clarity on whether it is use-by date or date of manufacture. Pic: Shree DN Milk has benign associations – of innocence, goodness and wholesomeness, unlike other (invigorating) drinks. But Nandini milk, marketed by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF which boasts of being one of the largest in south India) is calling those images of wholesomeness into question with tactics that flout statutory guidelines. KMF issues clarification, agrees to put 'Use By' on stamping Additional Director, Quality Control Division, KMF, has issued the following clarification…

With Ganesha Habba right around the corner, preparations to celebrate the festival are in full swing. Traditionally, the idol would be sculpted out of earth from river banks. After worshipping divinity in this earth icon, it was returned back to the earth by immersing it in a nearby water body. This represented the cycle of nature, from creation to dissolution. However, with the advent of Plaster of Paris (POP), things changed. Idols are now made of materials that are detrimental to the environment. POP idols should never be immersed in water; it is insoluble in water and releases a host…

  I recently discovered this site and it was a pleasure to find a forum to engage with fellow residents of Bengaluru city. While I am not a Kannadiga, or indeed a localite, I have been in Bengaluru (on and off) for a total of about 11 years now. I woke up this morning to several news items, across India, about the horrendous behavior of men. Eve-teasing... what not...? It got me thinking... Isn't Bengaluru too a victim of this? I have never understood why (predominantly) Indian men, do not seem to understand the difference between staring, letching, ogling and…

Just concluded BBMP Elections saw ward no 198 - Hemmigepura stand second in voters turnout. This ward reported 59.4% voter turnout, to stand next to Siddapura where 62.14% voted were polled. This is because, various layout residents of Kanakapura road are together and having a good net work among themselves. They have prepared a vision document for their aspiring corporators and submitted when they met them during the election campaign. The Residents Welfare Associations together decided to ensure they followup with their residents and ensure they go out and vote. Infact many associations helped the residents to find out their name…