GENRE: In Focus

If the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) goes into a government authority's books, you might expect a hundred scams to emerge. This, especially if it has to do with a land authority in Bengaluru. This CA site in JP Nagar 6th phase was designated for a park-cum-playground after many disputes. But, part of the site was encroached for building two temples. File Pic. Bus stands, schools, hospitals, markets and other public amenities in the city usually come up on Civic Amenity sites. Such sites are allotted by BDA to Trusts or government agencies, for development. But many of…

Of late, many suggestions have been floating around on ensuring security to women. One recent suggestion has been by electricity utility BESCOM's Managing Director P Manivannan (IAS), known for his reformist efforts. In a discussion on Facebook last week, Manivannan said that having a 911-like helpline will be a major step in improving police responsiveness. If police tracks calls automatically and reaches a spot within 10 minutes of the call, it will deter criminals, he argued.The current 100-helpline for Bengaluru is inefficient to the point that many do not consider it to be working at all. For a city of…

There has been outrage in the country after the recent Delhi gangrape case. The ripples have been felt in Bengaluru too. Different groups in the city, ranging from feminists, political parties, students and IT employees have been protesting. There have been protests in the city earlier, on issues of violence against women with barely 20-30 activists participating. The number of male protesters would be negligible. The protest would often be seen as so irrelevant that the public would not give a second glance. If there was no police permission given, there would be no gentle treatment from the police either.…

The tin sheet shacks in Ejipura EWS (Economically Weaker Section) quarters are lined up so close to each other, that it is not easy to tell one house from the next. Outside the shacks, little girls and boys are seen carrying small pots of water which they have collected from somewhere. In one of the houses stays Aisha (name changed), with her husband, four children, and parents-in-law. Like most families here, this family of eight also does not get water to their house. Aisha, 38, spends a lot of her time standing in queue in front of public taps. Children…

Even as the Mandur landfill region is threatening to erupt into yet another conflict zone, the AP-headquartered Lok Satta political party has organised a walk 'Dumping SAAKU' on Saturday, December 22nd. Lok Satta party cartoon released for the walk. Lok Satta party, active in Bengaluru politics since 2010, has organised the walk from Mandur village (north east of the city) to Bengaluru to raise awareness in Bangaloreans about incessant dumping of garbage at rural-area landfill sites outside the city. The party does not have an elected representative in the state yet.Mandur is located in the northeastern rural fringe of Bengaluru,…

Saroja, a domestic worker staying in Ambedkar slum in Ejipura, spends much of her time waiting near a public tap every day. There is no individual water connection to her house, and the only sources are two public taps nearby. The tap gives water for 2.5 hours everyday, but this could be at any time during the day. Saroja checks up on the tap every now and then to collect this water, even though she knows that it is mixed with sewage. Both she and her 24-year-old daughter Mangala, are responsible for collecting water for the household. This story is…

What will we do with all the garbage produced is the biggest question on majority of the apartment residents these days. BBMP's ambiguous statements on the issue is not making it any simpler.While apartment residents are miffed about this treatment meted out to them, they cite practical reasons as to why asking apartment complexes to handle their own waste is not such a good idea. Though, the BBMP website says the waste has to be segregated into six categories, some residents complain that the pourakarmikas simply dump them into just wet and dry categories while collecting. In the core city…

Apartments are bulk generators; we won't collect garbage from them. No, apartments are not bulk generators; we will collect waste from them. BBMP has been going back and forth on this issue for over two months now. As the December 1st deadline, for waste segregation at source is here, there is still no clarity on where the waste from the apartment complexes is going to go. Media reports have quoted BBMP Commissioner Rajneesh Goel saying that apartments are now excluded from the bulk generators list. However BBMP's website has the notification dated October 1st, that has categorised apartments under bulk…

This month, new contractors will start garbage clearance work in 168 wards in the city. These wards are covered in 77 packages. Fifty of the 77 packages have gone to a single company, named BVG India Pvt Ltd. This company has also bid for extremely low amounts in most packages. In one case, its bid amount was 50% lesser than BBMP's estimated amount. The corporate office of BVG India in Vasanth Nagar. This company won the highest number of garbage tenders in the city. Pic: Navya P K But there is another story behind these low amounts - BVG seems…

A PIL, questioning the deletion of lakhs of entries from the current voter rolls has come up for hearing at the Karnataka High Court. The court heard the case on November 6th.The PIL has been filed by Commander P G Bhat of Daksh, a Bangalore based organisation working towards accountability in politics and governance, Ashwin Mahesh of Loksatta party and Smart Vote, a campaign that encourages people to vote. The petitioners have named the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Chief Electoral officer (CEO), Karnataka as their main respondents, along with four other Electoral officers from Bangalore zone. It…