GENRE: Explainers

Did you know that BBMP is liable to pay you compensation if you get injured in a pothole accident? This is as per a High Court order in July. BBMP refused to act on the order initially. But after warnings from the court, it published a newspaper ad last month saying compensation would be given on a case-by-case basis. However, currently there are no guidelines on the process for applying for compensation, a point of contact, or on the compensation amount to be paid for different types of injuries. BBMP has also challenged High Court's order in the Supreme Court.…

On December 19th at Bengaluru, eminent historian Ramachandra Guha was dragged away by the police while protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), on the charge that he had violated Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC). Guha later retorted that the crowds had been protesting non-violently in a disciplined way to uphold the values of the Constitution and told the Police Commissioner: “You have used a colonial-era law to suppress us and our voices."  Not Guha alone, hundreds of protesters, that included included Swaraj India chief Yogendra Yadav and politicians D Raja, Sitaram Yechury, Umar Khalid, Sandeep Dikshit and…

Karnataka government has imposed curbs in Bengaluru and some other parts of the state, under Section 144 of the CrPC. The government move came amidst widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Registry of Citizens (NRC). Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao said yesterday that those who violate Section 144 would be booked. But what do our laws say about protests? If you want to hold a protest, what rights do you have and what permissions do you need to take? Do citizens have the right to protest? The word ‘protest’ is not explicitly mentioned in the…

This is the second video of our series, "Oora Therinjukitten Ulagam Purinjukitten with Raaghav" that deals with common problems faced by citizens and ways to solve them. If you have ever lost your wallet or misplaced your driving licence, the once-daunting process of acquiring a duplicate has now been simplified. In a few short steps you can get a duplicate licence within days. The steps can be completed online followed by a visit to the RTO at your convenience. Watch this video to find out how. https://youtu.be/QtQkCOMq2Po

Translated by Sandhya Raju 58 வயதுக்கு பின் மாத ஒய்வூதியமாக ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் பெற முடியும் என எத்தனை வீட்டு பணியாளர்காளுக்கு தெரியும்? திருமணம், கல்வி போன்றவற்றிற்கு அரசு நலத்திட்டங்கள் பெற முடியும் என எத்தனை பேருக்கு தெரியும்? இவர்களை விடுங்கள், வீட்டு வேலைக்கு அமர்த்துபவர்களுக்கே இதை பற்றி தெரியாது. "மாநில அரசு இந்த திட்டங்களை போதுமான அளவுக்கு மக்களிடம் கொண்டு போய் சேர்க்கவில்லை,  வீட்டு வேலை பார்க்கும் பல பணியாளர்களுக்கு இது பற்றி தெரியவில்லை," என்கிறார் பெண் தொழிலாளர் சங்கத்தின் அமைப்பு செயலாளர் எஸ் பழனிசாமி.  இந்த அமைப்பில் முப்பதாயிரம் தொழிலாளர்கள் உறுப்பினர்களாக உள்ளனர். உறுப்பினர்களின் சமூக மற்றும் நிதி பாதுகாப்பு,  அரசாங்கத் திட்டங்களைப் பற்றி அவர்களுக்கு உணர்த்துவது போன்ற செயலில் இவர்கள் ஈடுபடுகின்றனர். இந்தியாவில் உள்ள பெரும்பாலான வீடுகளில் வீட்டு வேலை பார்க்க பணியாளர்களை அமர்த்தினாலும், ஒழுங்கமைக்கப்பட்ட தொழிலாளர் துறையில் இவர்கள் இல்லை. மத்திய அளவில் இவர்களின் மேம்பாடு, …

After Nirmala’s mother was hospitalised with suspected dengue, she spent Rs 25,000 over three days to learn that it was only a case of general weakness. It was no small sum for the domestic worker to cough up in three days, not to mention the physical stress and emotional trauma. Nirmala had not even heard of health insurance for workers like herself, let alone have one. And those who do know about health insurance don't necessarily have it. Parvathamma, also a domestic worker, who is about 65 years old, asks: “I need to have a cataract operation. Will you help…

The Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to make illegal immigrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who entered India on or before December 31 2014 eligible to apply for Indian citizenship. According to the 1955 law, a person must have resided in India (or been in the service of the Central Government) for at least 11 years in order to be eligible for citizenship. The amended Act reduces that period to five years for all migrants from these three countries belonging to these six religious communities..…

A year after ward committee meetings began in Bengaluru, we look at how effective they have been. A recent study by Sensing Local Foundation reveals that many wards have not had these monthly meetings at all. In the seven months between December 2018 and June 2019, each of the 198 BBMP wards should have held seven ward committee meetings. But 52 wards had no meetings at all, and only 12 percent of the wards conducted at least five meetings. While the meetings are supposed to discuss new projects, budget allocation etc for the ward, they are functioning more like grievance…

Many of us have multiple health insurance policies such as a retail policy, a corporate plan and a family floater plan. And yet, we almost never consider claiming health benefits using them together for a treatment. The reason is that most people don’t know how to leverage multiple policies for a maximised claim. Yet, multiple policies can help you recover the maximum amount of treatment cost at times. But an important point to note here is that you can never claim an amount more than the treatment expenses. To benefit from multiple policies when filing a medical insurance claim, here…

Crores have been spent on cleaning up lakes in the city, but these lakes still receive sewage. This is because of the peculiarity of Bengaluru's lake system - lakes here cascade into one another, and the land gradient supports this. So, once a lake is cleaned up, it will remain so only if the lakes and rajakaluves upstream of it are also clean. The infamous Bellandur lake is being rejuvenated now. But this exercise would be pointless unless the upstream Doddanekkundi and Kaggasadapura lakes too are cleaned, because it's from these two lakes that sewage enters Bellandur lake. So, even…