GENRE: In Focus

Those who care to pause and observe would have perceived many interesting political developments in Tamil Nadu in the last few years. Of these, one of the most recent has been the student protests in support of investigating war crimes in Sri Lanka. Going by the reactions that one normally sees in the mass media, different events are perceived in isolation in the Indian media, resulting in some degree of empathy, some sympathy, but mostly dismissal, if not disparaging reactions, about the position of the state and how it has forced the foreign policy initiatives and so on. However, like…

Citizen Matters had earlier reported about a 72-acre SEZ-cum-township coming up in Agara village, near Koramangala 1st block. The project, named Manipal ETA Infotech, had got approval saying that BWSSB will meet its water needs. Citizen Matters had exposed that BWSSB’s NOC (No Objection Certificate) was only for a tiny area of the project, even though NOC is compulsory for the entire area. Also, the BWSSB said it did not even know about the project in its full size. The project site. Pic: Meera K. The project is a joint venture between Mantri Developers and Century Real Estate, with Century…

In Part I of this series, Citizen Matters blew the lid off the IISc report that revealed the encroachment of a major Rajakaluve by the SEZ project by Manipal ETA Infotech Pvt Ltd. This part will explain the random changes made by the BDA in the status of the project land, resulting in a change of status, from being a ‘valley zone' to an industrial area. The site has seen some rapid changes in the last decade. In ‘95, BDA had classified this land as largely residential and park area. In 2005, BDA started revising its master plan. In the…

Frail women carrying bricks or sand on their head and walking in the heat, sometimes with a small kid tagging along. Men in dusty, faded clothes with dry, rough hands smearing cement on the well-laid bricks or sprinkling water on a building that has just been cemented. This is a pretty common sight in a city like Bangalore that is ever-growing, ever-expanding and constantly in the process of being built or rebuilt. Building construction workers are growing in numbers every day, with constructions going on in any given road at any point in time. Labourers at work in the construction…

Basavanagudi - the very word summons the image of the big bull’s statue from which its name has been derived. Famous Bull Temple and annual Kadle Kai Parishe make this oldest locality very special to every Bangalorean.However, this area has been witnessing rapid development over the years. The extent of greenery has proportionately reduced with trees being cut everywhere. Many sewerage and water lines are almost 50 years old and need replacement. Garbage disposal, erratic water and power supply and lack of parking facilities also plague this constituency. The Tagore Circle underpass is another issue that needs to be addressed.…

Rajaji Nagar was among the first few ‘planned areas' in the city. The size of this constituency is about 5.5 sq km. After remaining a traditional, residential area for long, there has been haphazard development here. Many residential areas have commercial developments now; unplanned growth and illegal buildings is an issue.This area has many educational institutions, hospitals and temples. Rajaji Nagar Industrial Area houses many large and small industries.The constituency is BJP-dominated - six out of seven wards here have BJP corporators. The wards here are Dayananda Nagar, Prakash Nagar, Rajaji Nagar, Basaveshwar Nagar, Kamakshipalya, Shivanagara and Sriramamandir. Of these,…

K R Puram constituency has areas that were newly added to the BBMP. Hence the civic issues here are also many, compared to core city areas. HAL Airport and DRDO division come under this constituency. So do ITPL, Tin Factory and ITI (Indian Telephone Industries).K R Pura is a large constituency covering nine wards - Horamavu, Ramamurthy Nagar, Vijnana Pura, K R Pura, Basavanapura, Devasandra, A Narayanapura, Vijnana Nagar and HAL Airport. The constituency is BJP-dominated. Eight out of nine wards here have BJP corporators; only Basavanapura has a Congress corporator. The main issue here is water shortage. Until recently,…

Shanthi Nagar constituency includes many of the posh areas in the city. A large part of the Central Business District - including MG Road, Brigade Road, Richmond Town etc - comes under this constituency. In addition to malls, this constituency also has traditional markets like Johnson Market. Shanthi Nagar bus stand is also located in this constituency. Even then, there are many basic infrastructure issues here. There are many slums that do not even have basic facilities like toilets or water. The constituency comprises seven wards - Jogupalya, Shantala Nagar, Domlur, Agaram, Vannarpet, Nilasandra and Shanthi Nagar. In these wards,…

A constituency situated in central Bangalore, Shivaji Nagar which consists of trading hub in and around the iconic Russell Market and Bamboo Bazaar and affluent wards like Jaymahal and Vasanth Nagar, is in the general category. Known for edifices of religious and historical significance such as St.Mary's Basilica and Jumma Masjid in Shivaji Nagar and Someshwara temple and Gurudwara in Halasuru ward, the constituency has a large Tamil and Urdu-speaking population. With a total of 19 contestants including 11 independents but no women, this area houses the Karnataka headquarters of the Indian National Congress (INC) on Queen's road, Janata Dal…

All wards in Yeshwanthpur constituency are recent additions to the BBMP. This is a large constituency which also includes villages outside the BBMP limits. Hence many areas lack basic facilities compared to old BBMP areas.Kengeri railway station and Kengeri satellite town come under this constituency. It also has many industries. NICE (Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises) ring road and BMIC (Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor) passes through the constituency. There have been protests about NICE Ltd acquiring more road than is required, and using it to build private layouts. There have been various court cases on this; but in a recent affidavit,…