CITIZEN JOURNALISM

The other day I was having a rather interesting conversation/debate with some of my colleagues and friends which I thought was worth reporting here. This was a conversation about equity in Bangalore's BMTC buses. My friends were analyzing equity and accessibility in BMTC buses. Somehow the conversation veered towards the topic of Volvo buses and whether the city needs different kinds of buses, and this is where there was a sharp difference of opinion between my friends' thoughts and my own.My friends were of the opinion that there shouldn't be different kinds of buses for different kinds of people. By…

The work for tar road began, in December 2009. As part of that, the work for drains along the road, though started from scratch, has been going on in rounds, changing the course of the drain thrice. The work came to a halt with out proper cover for drains. Lack of proper planning before starting the work was quite apparent. A short drain running across of the road, opened for clearing the blockage because of debris and wasn't covered since then, has been big trouble for all the passing vehicles, especially four wheelers, and pedestrians when it rains, at nights,…

12 Bus Days till date. Officials say the initiative has been successful and it will begin the second year of Bus Day on Friday. It's been a year since the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) initiated the Bus Day programme. Started on February 4, 2010, BMTC introduced extra buses along twelve corridors of the city on the 4th of every month. Studies indicated that at least 5,000 cars were off roads on this day, bringing down pollution levels considerably. (Source: Times of India)But is Bus Day really a success. Did it encourage commuters to use BMTC for one day or…

On this Saturday, February 13, if you happen to be travelling to Mysore don't be surprised to see more than 50-70 cyclists who will take to this route for the Bangalore Brevets 300 km ride. This is part of a series of ongoing brevet rides in the city, held as qualifiers to the prestigious Paris-Brest-Paris event, an approximately 1200 km ride that happens once in four years. This year, the Paris ride will take place in August and a few lucky riders will travel from India to participate in the event.   A brevet is a self supported ride where a cyclist…

In a recent interview with an English news channel in India, Anish Kapoor, famous worldwide for his massive installation art work opined, "Art must be inclusive and not confined to galleries". The Chitra Santhe, hosted by Bangalore's reputed art school, the Chitra Kala Parishath (CKP) has been bringing art, artists and art lovers to the streets around Kumarakrupa road, on the last Sunday every January. Here are some scenes from this year's edition which apparently attracted over a thousand participants from across the country and three lakh visitors. (This is according to Sandhya A, an art history faculty member and…

12 bus days later, why not sit down to share around some notes on the concept. When some folks first talked about it (back in October 2009), it was meant to be a day to promote public transport. PT day, CyBaNa (cycle, bus, nadi as in walk) day were some variants floating around. The reality for Bengaluru is that, today and for next 5-6 years for sure, PT would mostly mean Bus. The modes Cy and Na are mostly going to hinge around the Bus. Read this Citizen Matters article on the initiation of bus day concept. The Bus Day…

Dalai Lama, the Noble peace prize laureate is scheduled to visit St. Joseph college of Arts and Science, Bangalore this coming Sunday. Source: Wikimedia Commons. (Jamling_with_HH_Dalai_Lama.jpg) "H.H. the Dalai Lama has been invited to attend S Nijalingappa memorial function at Chitradurga, 500 km from Bangalore on coming Saturday", said Tashi Phuntsok, the chief representative of Central Tibetan Administration in South India (CTA). Nijalingappa was the first Karnataka chief minister, and the one who initially welcomed the Tibetan refugees into Karnataka state. The address at the college will be followed by a public talk on “Finding Happiness in Troubled Times,” organized…

Anjali Sapra's "Timeless travel" exhibit done in Egg Tempera style is on display at Mahua Gallery, Sadashivanagar. Egg tempera paintings by Ajnali Sapra Anjali Sapra is an artist who is greatly influenced by Mughal architecture and the rich traditional heritage of India. She has been trained at Triveni Kala Sangam and has specialised in the art technique of vegetable dyes and other natural pigments .She has hosted a good number of shows from 2003 and some of her works are in private collections in London, Germany, USA etc. Most of her works in the "The Ephemeral Playground", "The Timeless travel"…

For most of us, our domestic help are critical to managing our household work better and many of us recognise their importance. We also wish their wellbeing and often, we try to help them by contributing, over & above monthly wages, with tea, food, old clothes, festival gifts etc. Sushila Amma with her Insurance card (left) with Urjita Lolla. Pic courtesy: Urgita Lolla. However, not many of us are well aware of the major difficulty they face in managing their and their family’s health care. Since the conditions under which they live, make them easily susceptible to illness and they…

Vijay Diwas was observed on December 16th in Bangalore by placing wreaths and paying homage to the statue of Unknown Soldier at the National Military Memorial Park premises. The day marks Indian victory in the war over Pakistan in 1971 which resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh. 65-year-old Bakya Mary, widow of late Sapper Philomina Raj, being honoured by Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde. Pic: Flag of Honour foundation. The Flags of Honour Foundation honoured families of martyrs from Karnataka - Rifleman K.S. Ravindra who was killed fighting terrorist in Jammu & Kashmir and BSF Constable Bheema Shankar Hadapad, who lost…