GENRE: In Focus

Pic: Subha Priya On June 29th 2015, a performance audit on Conservation and Ecological Restoration of Lakes under the jurisdiction of Lake Development Authority (LDA) and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in Karnataka by the CAG of India was tabled in the Assembly. The report brought into focus many of the ignored facts about lakes in the city and the state. This 75-page-long performance audit covering the period 2009 to 2014 highlights the deterioration in ecological health of lakes as well as issues among the institutions of management and governance of lakes. This audit scrutiny covers 56 lakes selected by adopting…

Talk about the Bangalore’s environment issues and most fresh on our minds are incidents involving lakes in the city, unabated and one after another. Be it the National Green Tribunal (NGT) pulling up companies for large scale construction between two lake beds, Bellandur lake on fire, foam build up on polluted Sarakki, Bellandur and Varthur lakes or actions like clearing ‘encroachments’ on lake beds; the state of the lakes and the environment makes us wonder how our city reached such new lows. Various studies have shed light on the fact that while urbanisation led to environmental degradation, the rate has…

A typical scene from BBMP Council meets during afternoons. Pic: Shree D N It's a meeting that is supposed to discuss the development works that must happen in your ward, every month. Your own representative, who is a councillor, better-known as corporator, is supposed to attend it and participate in it on your behalf. What if you come to know that the one whom you chose to do this job did not even attend the meetings? Or if you come to know that the person faked his attendance and went elsewhere to do his other works? List of councillors having…

A US-based non-governmental organisation and a Bengaluru-based engineering firm have prepared a Vision Plan for restoration and regeneration of lakes in Bengaluru. The Vision plan titled ‘Better Lakes, Better Bangalore’ advocates a “sustainable water supply plan for Bangalore.” Curiously, many of the stakeholders mentioned in the report have denied involvement in preparing the report. Bengaluru-based engineering consultant firm Invicus Engineering, along with San Francisco-based non-profit organisation working towards water sustainability—Sherwood Institute and an engineering firm based in San Francisco, Carollo Engineering, had signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the BDA on November 6th 2012 to provide a Vision Plan for…

KCDC is accepting more garbage than it can handle, due to  pressure from the BBMP and the High Court. Pic: Akshatha M The Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) which was recently mired in a controversy over sale of burnt garbage packed in bags meant for vermicompost, is in trouble yet again. This time the problem lies in the inability of the firm to process the existing waste. Unprocessed garbage dumped in a large quantity in the KCDC yard is emanating stench causing discomfort to workers at the unit and residents of the neighbouring areas. Ramakrishna K, a resident of Somasundarapalya…

The Karnataka Composting Development Corporation (KCDC) has decided to serve a notice to Terra Firma Biotechnologies Pvt Ltd, on cancellation of the agreement for supplying vermicompost, after the issue of garbage being sold as vermicompost came into light. A citizen and a Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) official spotted garbage being burnt in a site near Sarjapur Road in Bengaluru, at Choodasandra in Chikkanayakanahalli area. They were shocked to see that the sieved fine garbage powder was being filled into bags labelled ‘vermicompost’ with the name of KCDC on it. Citizen Matters had carried an exclusive story on this…

Abitha Shetty (name changed), a resident of Bellandur, found her two children complaining of severe headaches all of a sudden. She had seen garbage being burnt near the school where her children study. Being conscious about air pollution, she decided to check out what is happening, as she couldn’t bear the possibility of the innocent kids suffering because of air pollution. She, along with Lokesh, Deputy Environmental Officer, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), visited a spot in Choodasandra, near Chikkanayakanahalli, where she saw garbage being burnt regularly. This article has been made possible thanks to support from Aruna Green…

Three major incidents of sexual assault/molestation and abuse grabbed headlines in a span of two months in Bengaluru last year. These incidents also triggered public outrage, protests and campaigns demanding justice. However, the limelight slowly faded away with the passing of time. The demands for justice have faded down, with most of the public forgetting the cases. At this juncture, Citizen Matters brings you a brief note on those cases with latest updates. The three cases that were of significance not just for the incident itself, but also due to various angles attached to it, are: 1. Case against IPS…

Pic: Roopa Kulkarni After eating at a restaurant in Gandhi Bazar with his friends, Raghavendra (name changed), a resident of Basavanagudi, kept two currencies of Rs 500 denomination with the bill. The waiter who collected it returned red-faced and blamed Raghavendra as the notes were fake. “I somehow managed to use my debit card, pay the bill and sneak out of the restaurant,” says an embarrassed Raghavendra. Later Raghavendra dropped into Vijaya Bank ATM in Gandhi Bazar with his ATM slip, where he had withdrawn money the previous night. He was sure the forged notes came from this ATM. Without…

44-year-old Seema Rai died in Fortis Hospital on Bannerghatta Road in May 2010, due to complications after a pancreas transplant surgery performed on her. According to latest orders given by the Appropriate Authority and Appellate Authority, the surgery was done without an informed consent of the patient, and without a valid license. Following a five-year-long legal battle over her husband Major Pankaj Rai’s complaint against the hospital to the Appropriate Authority, the Certificate of Registration granted to hospital in March 2010, permitting it to perform transplantation of liver, kidney and homograft, was cancelled.     KMC exonerates the doctors While these…