CITIZEN JOURNALISM

BMTC Bangalore runs two types of ordinary services - the black board routes covering upto 15 kms (numbered 1 to 209) from city centre and the red board routes covering areas longer than 15 kms from city centre (numbered above 210). The bus passes cost more for red board buses than those for the black board buses. But in reality - the red board buses are at times cheaper and faster than their black board counterparts. Despite the longer distance, they have lesser stages. However boarding a red board bus might mean walking a few more yards to the appropriate…

Has BBMP learnt a lesson or two from the Sampige Road-Malleswaram mess?  Why on earth does the BBMP keep sanctioning multi-storeyed apartment complexes flouting building Bye-laws/CDP norms?  We have a crowded narrow road of 9.5m wide in Ward No. 179 (Shakambarinagar) in JP Nagar Ist Phase.  The road has quite a few bottlenecks and the Traffic Police have barred entry of heavy traffic vehicles from 46th cross Jayanagar (Inner Ring Road) and from Indira Gandhi Circle on the other end.  Recently BBMP has sanctioned 250 high-end apartment buildings on an 8 acre land adjoining this narrow road.  The Comprehensive Development…

Eid Prayer at Jama Masjid, Bangalore, 2010. Muslims observed Eid-ul-Fithr, which is locally known as ‘Pernal’, offering special 'dua' (prayers), namaz and exchanging wishes, in Bangalore It is a tradition that all community members should distribute ‘Fithr Zakath’ (alms) to the poor on the day of Eid-ul-Fithr. ⊕

Springfields Apartments near the Outer Ring Road junction. Pic: bhooshan Iyer. The kingdom of heaven was discovered at an apartment complex on Sarjapur Road last weekend. We are referring to the Onam celebrations conducted at Springfields Apartments near the Outer Ring Road junction. In this massive complex of over 550 apartments, close to a thousand people turned up to view the festivities that were spread over two days. Lighting of the Lamp & Crowd. Pic: Bhooshan Iyer. The singular event, organised by a handful of people from various walks of life under the banner of Springfields Welfare Association, boasted of…

On Sunday August 29th , the Kannada translation of Prof. S N Balagangadhara's book, "The Heathen in his Blindness"...Asia, West and the Dynamic of Religion (1994) was released at the Kannada Sahitya Parishat in Chamarajpet. The book titled 'Smriti, Vismriti: Bhaarateeya Samskruti', translated by scholar-historian Dr Rajaram Hegde, was released by writer-journalist Ravi Belegere. Published by Akshara Prakashana, the book is priced at Rs 415. An introduction to the book was presented by Prof. Sivarama Krishnan, retired Sociology Professor, Bangalore University. Centre for the Study of Local Cultures (CSLC), Kuvempu University organised the event with support from Nagasri Book House,…

Located in Kammanahalli in east Bengaluru, Jal Vayu Vihar or JVV is a residential colony of 540 houses spread over 22 acres. Built in 1990 by the Air Force Naval Housing Board, the apartments were meant for officers of the Indian Air Force and Navy, after they retire from service. The East gate entrance of Jal Vayu Vihar. Pic: Captain M V Prabhakar Whilst in service the men in the Indian Air Force and Navy lived in government accommodation and paid less attention to life after retirement. This was a very serious shortcoming and in the late seventies the Air…

The XSEED Preschool, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore, celebrated a children's carnival on Saturday, August 28th at their school premises. The carnival was primarily aimed at creating an awareness in the young minds the importance of going green. The preschool emphasizes appreciating and protecting the environment through the principles of the 3 R’s –Reduce, Recycle and Reuse.  To put these into practice, the school has a vegetable garden, a vermicompost  pit and a bird bath.XSEED Preschool was formally inaugurated by Manjul Gupta, parent of the first student of the school followed by the lighting of the lamp by parents and Dr. Harini…

Recently, a few of us from the ‘Save Our Lake' group of L & T South City and Brigade Millennium apartments formed the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT), and formally registered it under the Trust Act of the Government of Karnataka. We have been working for a while to restore Puttenahalli Lake, and turn it into a place of conservation and recreation amidst our homes. Citizen Matters too has helped in this cause. Thanks to the BBMP, allied agencies and individuals, this restoration is now showing visible signs of success. PNLIT will also be procuring saplings to help attract…

When we set about hunting for a house, our seven-year old declared very matter-of-factly that we should ensure at least one balcony that would offer a view of a forest with the sky above. He had been into Tarzan and Mowgli and had also gone for an overnight camp in the city outskirts near a small forest. For him it was ‘cool’ to dwell just next to a jungle. The denser it was, the more the thrill. I was of course not alarmed with this condition he laid down. As far as his imagination stretched, an orchard over half an…

I hate to wake up on winter and rainy mornings. Bangalore weather is so perfect that the comfort of the bed is impossible to leave; only the strong aroma of filter coffee can shake me awake.   Over the past two weeks, however, I have found newer reasons to spring out of bed - ever-surprising plants! With the monsoon rains, my 15 feet by 3 feet balcony has transformed into a live garden, blooming with flowers and tons of leafy vegetables (kadipata, kothmir, dhantu, chukaku, palak), chillies, beans, ridge gourds, bitter gourds and so on.   Plucking fresh vegetables and leaves right…