GENRE: In Focus

Located in the north-east part of Bangalore, the Sarvagnanagar Assembly Constituency has seen a lot of development in the recent past. With several educational institutions, hospitals and other commercial establishments, the area is thickly populated. But with the drastic rise in development and an influx of people, Sarvagnanagar is lagging behind in infrastructure. The foremost of problems faced by residents is that of drinking water. Key issuesMost northern and eastern parts of the city are facing acute water shortage. The peak of summer is a further testing time. The current MLA of the constituency, K J George (Congress) says he…

BTM Layout Assembly Constituency is home to some of the city's coveted addresses as well as some its worst slums. The constituency has seen a sea change with the IT boom: apart from being home to many IT companies, it also connects Electronic City with the rest of Bangalore. If swanky malls and restaurants are one part of this story, choked roads and unplanned development are the other part. The constituency was one of the seven carved out the erstwhile Uttarahalli constituency before the 2008 assembly elections. Koramangala, BTM Layout, Adugodi, Madivala, Lakkasandara and Ejipura are some of the areas…

Malleshwaram is a peaceful old locality in the city, the central part of which is filled with age-old buildings like IISc, CV Raman’s house, MLA School and many old houses. Central Malleshwaram has BJP and KJP state offices. Among popular personalities in the constituency are Sudharani (film actress), Ananth Nag (film actor) and Vimala Rangachar (president of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat). This strong-hold of Janata Dal had catapulted the BJP to MLA’s chair, following the wave of sympathy for the Yeddyurappa-led BJP soon after Kumaraswamy burned bridges with the BJP and state went to polls again.   Incumbent MLA and his…

Go anywhere in Mahadevapura, you can see the ubiquitous water tankers. Ask anybody about their key demand from the candidates - you will hear, water, water and water. The election campaign here seems to be a mainly a two-party fight between the reasonably well-known BJP sitting MLA Aravind Limbavali and his Congress rival A C Srinivas. Most candidates are focussing on road shows, but many voters are still not aware of the candidates. It is a tough challenge for candidates to cover the large constituency, especially the apartments and gated communities who do not give permission for campaigners within their…

A massive Rs 2,300 crores industrial project is coming up in Agara, adjacent to Koramangala, along Sarjapura Road, the first of its kind here. But it might be coming at a cost to the people staying nearby. The project, by Manipal ETA Infotech Pvt Ltd, is a township that includes an SEZ, retail outlets, hotels, office buildings, two residential apartments etc. The project is a joint venture between Century Real Estate and Mantri Builders - while Century is providing land, Mantri is taking care of the construction. A SEBI document of 2011 mentions Sushil Mantri as Chairman and Managing Director…

"Not only did I have to point out the corruption, I had to do the complete investigation and support it with proof. It took me two full years to gather all the documents required to expose the corrupt BBMP engineers," says S R Venkataram, 82, a veteran RTI activist.Venkataram realised the power of RTI early on, "I started using the powerful RTI tool soon after it was enacted in 2005 which enables any citizen to fight corruption and ensure good governance in Government offices." Venkatram S R, RTI Activist with his neatly documented set of RTIs. Following up on public…

The much talked about and hyped Aadhaar card still remains a mystery to many, but the rush at the registration counters tells a different tale. On closer look one finds that though people are rushing to the centres to get their Unique Identity (UID) cards, they do not know the exact purpose. Most citizens believe that since it is a government document, it is required. However they do not know if it is mandatory to have an UID or not. UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani with residents receiving their Aadhaar cards. Credit: uidai.gov.in Narayan K, a businessman operating from Chickpet, got…

The debate about including IT/ITES industry under the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act has been going on for a while. Here is what IT employees think about their work conditions and about the IE Act. Pic: Wikimedia Commons Most employees that Citizen Matters spoke to, opined that the Act will help employees. There was skepticism though, on a government department's interference in the industry and on its ability to actually help employees.While most employees complain about favouritism, overtime without compensation etc., some complain about being affected by serious malpractices. Ravi (name changed), who used to work in Yahoo, the multinational…

For the past 12-13 years, IT/ITES industry in the state has been exempted from a key labour law which is applicable to other industries. From coming April, this law - The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, aka IE Act - is supposed to be applicable for all IT companies in India. While the state Labour Department is waiting for IT/ITES companies to start implementing this, the industry is said to be actively lobbying for exemption. Pic: Wikimedia commons The crux of the IE Act is that each company will have to define its employment conditions in ‘Standing Orders' (SOs),…

Residents of Sobha Daffodil apartment in HSR Layout Extension have been waiting for water for the last 4-5 months. They had paid around Rs 10 lakh to the BWSSB for water from Cauvery Stage IV Phase II project; they got pipelines laid and meters fixed. But no water comes here yet. Pic courtesy: BWSSB.org "We paid a few crores some 3-4 years back too, for water. In the last few months, we went to the local BWSSB office some 10 times. Every time, we were told that water will come the next day or next week, but there has been…