GENRE: Explainers

Inderjeet Singh Arora, a 26-year-old IT professional recently inquired about purchasing a washing machine in one of the large format retail showrooms in Bangalore. The sales executive showed him various washing machines; from semi automatics to fully automatics. Even though he had multiple choices, Inderjeet couldn't pick the best one suitable to his needs. Many of us get stuck in similar situations. Our lifestyle needs, water and power consumption, noise generated from the machine, installation area required, frequency of usage, quantity of clothes and etc. are the major factors to buy a washing machine. Often, buying decisions are driven by…

At Sobha Althea & Azalea, we are a motley group of women coming from various backgrounds. We were thinking of putting a waste management system in place even before the BBMP legislation came into force. But for some reasons, it didn't take off.The legislation was just the kind of nudge we needed to get going and start thinking about the HOWs and WHYs. How to startNon-negotiablesNegotiablesTraining A string of meetings helped us frame certain guidelines for our own residential community while keeping in mind the larger picture: A waste-free zone. Housekeeping staff are key to the success of any waste…

What do you mean by waste segregation? Waste segregation basically means keeping wet and dry wastes separately, so that dry can be recycled and wet waste can be composted. Why should I do it? So that it reduces waste that reaches landfills and reduces pollution to air and water So that different processes- composting, recycling, incineration can be applied to different kinds of waste How do I practice waste management at home? Keep separate containers for dry and wet waste in the kitchen Keep two bags for dry waste collection- paper and plastic , for the rest of the household…

Here is a simple process to initiate waste management that results in maximum participation among residents and sustained evolution of the practice. Pic source: Green Commandos Preparation / Infrastructure The first phase of the entire drive is to set up the related infrastructure to support the waste segregation initiative at the apartment. The infrastructure involves the following steps: Determining the service provider who will collect the dry recyclables from the apartment on a regular basis. This step also involves coming to a common understanding on the frequency of collection and financial obligations of the service providers/apartments. Determining the collection mechanism…

Here is a simple process to initiate waste management that results in maximum participation among residents and sustained evolution of the practice. Pic source: Green Commandos Preparation / Infrastructure The first phase of the entire drive is to set up the related infrastructure to support the waste segregation initiative at the office. The infrastructure involves the following steps: Determining the service provider who will collect the dry recyclables on a regular basis. This step also involves coming to a common understanding on the frequency of collection and financial obligations of the service providers. The number of segregations required at the…

Bengaluru has historically been known as a badminton stronghold for several decades now. It has been the proud home to the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) which has groomed several champions at all levels. One only needs to visit Lalbagh or Cubbon Park in the mornings to see several of Bangalore’s citizens engaged in casual but keenly contested badminton encounters. A badminton club in the city. Pic: Dharmendra D Where can you play? There are a number of private and public facilities in the city catering to badminton players of various age groups. Both casual and competitive players can find…

BMTC bus passes come in seven types targeting different groups of citizens. This chapter will give you a quick run through.1. Vajra and A/C Suvarna Daily PassVajra Gold Day Pass: Rs.90 - valid for travel on all services except Vayu Vajra & Bangalore RoundsA/c Suvarna Day Pass Rs 50 - valid for travel on all services except Vajra, Vayu Vajra and Bangalore Rounds2. Vajra monthly passVajra Monthly Gold Pass: Rs 1450 (Requires a BMTC ID Validation- BMTC ID is valid for three years and can be procured at KBS for a fee of Rs 100 and stamp size photograph, Pan…

How can I find my name in electoral roll?Here is the final voter roll published in the website of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka: http://164.100.80.163/Teachers_Grd/a1.htmlWhere are the voting booths?The names of all voters and their respective voting booths are available at http://ashwinmahesh.in/mlcvote.htm. (Lok Satta compiled this list with data from CEO office.) In another tool http://mlc2012.herokuapp.com/, on entering your name, you can get the address and map to your booth. What is preferential voting?In the preferential voting system, voters should rank candidates in their order of preference. You have to put ‘1' against the name of the candidate you prefer…

Most of us have paid the taxes for the years 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 & 2011-12 by filling the appropriate form (From I - for properties with PID no./ Form II-for properties having only Khata no./ Form III-for properties with neither PID nor Khata no.). Now it is time to pay taxes for the current year.The forms are of two different types - White (Form IV) and Blue (Form V).For properties, where there is no change in any field - either in CATEGORY (Residential / Non-Residential), or DIMENSIONS (Any addition / Deletion to the structure), USAGE (Tenanted / Self occupied), you…

UPDATE: For Summary revisions of rolls open November 5th to December 4th 2012, click here. The Election commission of India has announced a special opportunity for the citizens of Bengaluru. You can enrol as a first-time voter or oncoming to reside in Assembly Constituency.If your name has been left out in the voter's list published in January, give the required information to the booth level officers when they visit your house, to enable them to include your name. Any kind of form filling is not required.You can get corrections done in your entry or the EPIC card issued to you.You…