CITIZEN JOURNALISM

  A Rainwater Harvesting system was implemented in Vivek Khanna's residence in Shubh Enclave in early 2009. The system comprised storage of rooftop rainwater in a large 15,000 litre sump as well as two recharge wells of 5ft diameter and 30ft depth.    A chance encounter with Vivek Khanna at Kasavanahalli lake today revealed that his sump fills up with water every time it rains, reducing his dependence on ground water. His recharge wells have not only kept his borewell running but also resulted in water in the newly dug borewells of his downstream neighbours (probably because of the recharge)…

It was a fine Thursday morning - 10 am. I was waiting near Krupanidhi Engineering College Signal on Sarjapur Road on my two-wheeler. Many girls were holding some pamphlets on road safety and traffic rules, and were distributing them to motorists. When a girl approached me with a pamphlet, I saw the content was purely in Kannada and I asked "English?" She probably realised that the pamphlet that was in Kannada can't reach everyone. Then, she rudely shouted: "When you are in Karnataka, you will have to learn Kannada!" The question that came to my mind is, whether we should…

A few years ago, when the Bangalore Metro began its work, several roads were either closed or their width was reduced due to the work. And some of those roads still remain closed or under repair. Somehow, the traffic continues to meander and find its way through other roads. In fact, traffic like water will always find its way; so the question which I ask is, ‘Can we permanently close some of these roads and put these spaces to alternate uses’?' This occurred to me the other day while crossing Chinnaswamy Stadium towards Raj Bhavan when I saw a set…

Kannada pride in Nagashettihalli. Pic courtesy: M S Gopal My daily commute takes me from Mallathahalli (which gets confused with Marathahalli a lot) to a place in Kadubeesanahalli, which lies next to Devarabeesanahalli. My colleagues commute from places like Konanakunte, Gottigere, Bilekahalli, Parappana Agrahara, Kaikondarahalli, Doddakanelli, Kaggadasapura etc.I sometimes wonder how a non-Kannadiga who’s just landed in Bangalore Bengaluru, or living here for a few years, would take to these names. He/she would also have the problem of having to live in places like Garebhavipalya, Bommanahalli, Tippasandra or even Kormanagala, or Madiwala that make you pull out the South Indian…

Picture taken in August 2014, just before the potholes were filled with mud and stones.Pic: Pavan KulkarniLocalites have filled this opening on the sidewalk to ensure that kids wading through water don't slip into it and drown. Anyone who fumbles here is certain to have a fall and get injured. Pic: Pavan KulkarniThis sidewalk with missing slabs is submerged under the flood water after a heavy shower. Will it be made an issue only after an accident? Pic: Pavan KulkarniPipeline road, besides the rear entrance of Golden Grand. Pic: Pavan KulkarniPic: Pavan KulkarniPicture taken only three days after the potholes…

  Here is the story of a frog: A scientist decided to test the resilience of a frog. He placed the frog in cold water and gradually increased the temperature of the water. Surprisingly, the frog just lay there, completely oblivious to its changing surroundings—till it was boiled to death! A spate of incidents in Bangalore schools Bangalore witnessed a brutal rape of a two-year-old by a bus-driver a few months back. A furore arose; a few activists wrote about it and protested. And then Bangalore was once again riddled with shock in July 2014, when a 6-year-old was raped…

A recent news report stated that the Karnataka government has notified amendments to some sections of the Karnataka Motor Vehicles Act. These amendments make way for a steep hike in the fines to be collected for incessant honking. The proposed fines are Rs. 1000 for the first offence and Rs. 2,000 for subsequent violations. This is not the first such initiative. The Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) launched the ‘No-honking Monday’ campaign long back. BTP had also roped in popular and respected faces of the city like Rahul Dravid to strengthen this campaign. BTP has engaged in this rhetoric of no-honking…

The garbage problem in Bangalore seems to be too high a mountain (literally) to climb! Can we afford to let things slide till we are sucked into a vortex of crisis? Do we need to face a plague epidemic, as Surat did some decades ago, before we wake up? What can we, as citizens of Bangalore do, to solve the apparently unsolvable issue? Let us look at the three major aspects of the problem. First, garbage generation. If we don't generate so much garbage, we would not have to face the problem. How do we generate less garbage? The 'wet…

A garbage dump in residential Electronic City. Pic: Nishit Sharma It was a bitter cold morning of January 2010 in Jammu when my phone rang. It was a landline number with STD code as ‘080.’ I answered the call only to realise moments later that I had been called back into service from a nine-month sabbatical. This time, I was posted at the ‘Garden city of India.’ I was excited to start my second stint in Bangalore as it was the preferred destination for all software engineers. I booked my tickets and landed in Bangalore a week later. As mentioned…

If you are an average person travelling in Bangalore, whichever mode of transport you opt for, can be a daunting task. If you choose to travel by your own personal vehicle, haphazard traffic and the moon-craters called pot-holes only make sure your stress levels rise meteorically. Recently, the menace of auto-drivers over-charging, arguing and misbehaving with passengers has been highlighted by many leading papers, citizen forums and on social-media. This has led to various endeavours to curb the problem such as the setting up of help-lines to report auto-drivers, Bangalore Traffic Police conducting an auto-raid in July and the Peace…