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Bengaluru is almost entirely dependent on the state of Karnataka for its electricity supply; nothing wrong in with that in appearance. However, inability of the state to respond consistently to the city’s power demands coupled with the failure to diversify its power generation sources impose a large hurdle on the city’s competitiveness and quality of life. BESCOM, the institution responsible for power distribution in eight districts of Karnataka including Bengaluru Urban and Rural, accounts for almost half of the state’s total demand out of which 2,400 MW are reserved for Bengaluru. With a total electricity demand of about 7,000 MW…

Bruhat Bengaluru Nagara Palike (BBMP) has its branches in every ward. They are called ward offices, and they will have the assistant engineers, junior health inspectors, work inspectors, garbage supervisors and all other important stuff related to your ward. So, you need to know where your ward office is, to get anything done from BBMP. To help everyone in Bengaluru who is searching for their ward office, Opencity.in is mapping the ward offices of all 198 offices of Bengaluru, through this form. Since the form involves collecting the location data, you might be prompted to share your location. You can…

Last October, we spoke about several instances of individual and community initiatives towards solving water problems of the city. Sewage water treatment and rainwater harvesting are tools households and communities can use for decreasing their water dependency. These are small initiatives in comparison with the water issues Bangalore faces, but aggregating initiatives at the city scale holds potential; such is the discourse, right or wrongly, held by some activists, public servants, businesses etc. Stretching the idea slightly we have: the water problem of Bangalore can be solved through collective action. Stretching it even further: the BWSSB can do its own…

ST Layout Bed, 9am on a Tuesday. In a vacant plot of land, street sweepers gather the fallen leaves and garbage on the streets into two piles. They set them on fire and go on with their business. Meanwhile, all the surrounding houses are getting smoked up with toxic fumes and the ambient air is getting significantly worse. Burning leaves or any garbage is a forbidden practice in Bangalore and yet it remains a common way to dispose of garbage. Composting of leaf litter is an alternative whether it be local or at a composting plant; its mere existence should…

A quick glance at the BBMP budgets of the recent past show over-estimated revenues - check them out and learn how keep track of city budgets using our Open City platform. BBMP has just set up an online budget feedback form, but before you communicate views make sure you have all the information you need!   On March 28, 2016, Chairman of BBMP Taxation Committee M Shivaraj gave a speech on the 2016-17 BBMP budget. An analysis by Bharathy Jayaprakash - an analyst with Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy - showed that the budget was largely over-estimated, a consistent phenomenon over the…

It's that time of the year when young parents worry the most about their childrens' school admissions. We would like to work on a story on school fees in Bengaluru. Do help us with your inputs! Please fill the form. You are not obliged to leave your contact, but in case there's something that you want to talk to us about, please leave your contact in the form. Thank you! Related ArticlesDemand high but schools not keen: The story of Right to Education in BengaluruGovt fee guideline draft confuses schools and parents, stirs hornet’s nest

Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli from Azim Premji University, and Vijay Nishant, Project Vruksha, conducted a study of trees to be felled for Jaymahal Road widening and proposed steel flyover. According to government documents the number of trees to be cut was estimated to be 1668. But an independent survey by citizens done between October 2016 and January 2017 estimates the number to 2244, and 205 saplings, all belonging to 71 species and 26 families. The report prepared by the team also lists out the number of trees to be cut, their species, scientific names etc,, and the environmental impact…

67250… 7328…. Are they mere numbers? No, they are the number of people involved in road accidents in Tamil Nadu and Chennai respectively in the year 2015. With timed traffic lights that are mostly in working condition, police personnel at the signals and an efficient emergency management system, Chennai’s roads appear safe. But statistics tell a different tale. As per NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) data, Tamil Nadu records the highest number of road accidents; among 53 Indian cities studied, Chennai topped the list, accounting for 11.9% of total road accidents – a fact that the city cannot be proud…

On Sunday, the 10th December, 2016, the Lake Census effort across the lakes(kere) of Bangalore got under way with an orientation program for those who had registered to take part as volunteers in this month-long initiative. The event was held at the Venkatappa Art Gallery on Kasturba Road, from 1.30pm to about 5.30pm.   Dividing the lakes that could be observed and documented under 22 different areas, those who are organizing this year's effort welcomed the gathering, introduced the sectors and the lakes falling in each of them. At this stage, a lot of the water bodies came under discussion…

TenderSURE roads in Bengaluru have been the topic of debate for a few years now. While the designs shown in presentations are only schematic and not open to public scruitiny, the execution of the project on many roads has drawn criticism from public. Jahnavi Pai, an environment enthusiast, has done a study on the environment-friendly quotient of a TenderSURE design. According to her, The space for roots is not enough to help the tree grow, according to the drawings of TenderSURE design available in public domain. This could be a major drawback as far as trees are concerned. The rainwater…