citizen matters

Do adults go to watch children's plays? Or to be more precise, do adults go to watch children's puppet theatre...without children accompanying them? The answer, for me, was a resounding yes. I had been hoping to take my grandchildren to at least some of the puppet theatre festival be at Ranga Shankara, under the AHA! banner. The "Same-Same" theme of the festival. Pic: Deepa Mohan Language and music classes in the evenings prevented my grandchildren from coming along with me, but when a friend, Harini Srinivasa Rao, told me that she could not utilize her three tickets, I jumped at…

Bengaluru's first Indie Comix Festival (ICF) showcased a host of self-published, alternative stories from over twenty comic book artists. The free, all-day event was held Bengaluru on May 20th, 2018, at the Rangoli Metro Art Centre. Art in Transit project of the Srishti Institute of Art Design and Technology collaborated with ICF to host the festival. On display were a wide range of comics from tiny 10 rupees pop-up comics to original comic covers costing up to 3000 rupees. Started by a group of volunteers with aim of bringing independent, self-published comic writers and readers together, the event was dazzling…

Citizen Matters and ApartmentADDA invite citizens of Bengaluru to submit articles on the topic “If I were the Bengaluru Mayor”. Entries can be in Kannada or English and between 800 to 1200 words. The best entry in each language has a chance to win a cash prize of Rs 10,000, sponsored by ApartmentADDA. The contest, which is open to all citizens above 15 years, is an opportunity for participants to articulate their vision for Bengaluru, and a plan that they’d execute if they were the mayor. The contest encourages Bengalureans to think on and engage with issues of importance to…

This week’s highlight: Decoding illegal hoardings in Bengaluru A huge advertisement hoarding erected on a rajakaluve in Koramangala. Pic: Akshatha M Ever wondered why the hoardings that are not licensed are not removed in Bengaluru? It's because the BBMP has no proper policy for removal of hoardings. The terms are different each time, which is why the removal of illegal hoardings has become impossible. Here's the story on the enforcement mafia. Also read: Advertising hoardings worth crores actually get no revenues to BBMP. Data: Part I of Mathai’s reports on illegal hoardings in BBMP, obtained via RTI. Fee hike in…

After a long delay, the BMTC has finally launched the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to help commuters. The ITS  is expected to help passengers track BMTC buses, and the BMTC monitor bus movement. Read: All you should know about BMTC’s ITS. Decoding illegal hoardings in Bengaluru One can find ad hoardings everywhere - on buildings, storm water drains, skywalks and parks, even private residences. But no one knows the numbers, and no one knows how to stop them from coming up, or make money out of them. What’s going on behind the scenes? Read: Advertising hoardings worth crores actually get…

In the past month, Citizen Matters raised a little over 2.31 lakh. This was made possible by five people, who we are so pleased to have collaborated with. Here’s our thank you note to them: Our champions at the TCS World 10K. A big thank you to all the folks who pitched in this time around too! Your contribution will ensure that we continue to stay afloat. We will be keeping the payment gateway for our summer fundraiser open for one more day. If you’d like to contribute past the 11th hour :), please click here. This week’s highlight: Planting…

In the run up to the TCS World 10K which happened on May 15th, Citizen Matters was looking for runners who we could collaborate with to raise funds for our journalism. And now that the run is over, we couldn't have asked for a better set of people to collaborate with. With their help, we managed to raise Rs 2.21 lakh in a span of a month for the journalism on Citizen Matters. Thank you, all of you for being a part of our fundraising.    The TCS World 10K is over, as are the runners' campaigns, but Citizen Matters…

Before we get into our stories, two quick announcements. Citizen Matters now in Chennai… Any readers from Tamil Nadu gearing up to vote in the upcoming Elections? We have alpha launched our portal for Chennai, with all the news on the Elections. Who's contesting from where, what are political parties promising in their manifestos, how to find your polling booth… All this and more in the Chennai edition of Citizen Matters: chennai.citizenmatters.in. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. Please share the news with your friends and family from Chennai! Help our 5 runners reach their target! You…

The National Green Tribunal has delivered a landmark judgment against the massive SEZ project coming up on the wetlands of Agara and Bellandur lakes. The Tribunal has imposed a penalty of Rs 130 crore on Mantri Techzone and Core Mind Software Services, along with passing other important orders related to the case. What's more, they have also pronounced orders to regulate construction near lakes. A picture of the construction on the lake bed as on April 6th 2016. Pic: Shree DN Presenting a detailed report: NGT fines Bellandur SEZ developers; orders demolition of encroachment. Today, with this judgment, as citizens…

Before we get into our stories for the week, two quick announcements... We are organising a two-day workshop for teens - Journalism for Young Citizens - at Atta Galatta on May 3rd and 4th. For more information and to register, click here. Several Bangaloreans are running at the TCS 10K in support of Citizen Matters, to raise funds for coverage on specific topics. See Shilpi for Lakes and Thej for Open Data. Pledge your support today! Property Tax No update yet on extension of deadline for 5% discount on property tax; if you are paying today, here is the guide:…