GENRE: In Focus

Mixed use of our roads has long been both a plus and a minus in Bengaluru, especially in ‘shopping’ areas like Commercial Street and Brigade Road. Recently, some children from Poorna Learning Centre, a school in north Bengaluru decided to address the issue by conducting a survey and presenting a report.  Khyati Shah (right) talking to a shopper (pic: T Deepan) Anyone who has gone to Commercial Street, especially on weekends, cannot be oblivious to the difficulties that pedestrians face, due to the traffic on that narrow street. G V Dasarathi (aka Das) and his daughter Amala saw a woman…

Water | Health Summer’s here, and so is crisis season. Every year, officials say power cuts and water issues will not plague Bengaluru but each summer the situation remains the same. And if all this were not enough, the heat and humidity of summer bring with it its own problems. Citizen Matters spoke to government officials to find out what people can expect on the power-water front and also to some doctors on how to combat seasonal ailments. Uninterrupted power…what’s that? "I have to depend on the generator as there are untimely power cuts. My business is getting affected. This…

CIVIC, an NGO working for participative democracy, in conjunction with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), conducted a pilot study on slum and urban homelessness in Bengaluru and an event was organized at Institute of Agricultural Technologists, Queens Cross Road on 28th February, 2009 to release the report and highlight some of the findings. BBMP had commissioned the study to understand the effectiveness of the services they provide to urban poor in the city. The study itself was conducted over two months in 19 habitations, through Focus Group Discussions and the use of secondary data. Some of the findings highlighted at…

Luxury apartments with world class facilities, half price sale at a clothes store, mobile phone with three-inch LCD, camera phones…just some of the advertisements on hoardings, serenading the consumer. But today as you drive through the city, more than advertisements for consumer products, you are likely to see advertisers calling for advertisements, their names and numbers given big and bold. Thanks to the economic downturn, say companies, they are taking it slow and cutting down on advertising expenses. But some in the advertising field say it has more to do with the mind than market conditions. Hoardings available on Koramangala…

Ajit Prakash drives from Iblur junction to his office in Koramangala everyday. The three kilometre drive generally takes him about 20 minutes. But on 12th February, Prakash took nearly two hours to get to his office; thanks to a traffic jam that extended from beyond Sarjapur Road all the way up to Agara junction and further. Manjunath R, also on his way to Koramangala, was caught in the jam for almost two and a half hours. B Lokesh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Adugodi, says the reason for the hold up was because of incomplete work by the Bangalore Development…

Between 9th and 11th February 2009, the Karnataka High Court dismissed 11 cases against land acquisition, filed by individuals regarding their residential and commercial properties, on Chinmaya Mission Hospital (CMH) Road. The court’s position was the acquisition were made for “public position” and hence cannot be challenged. This means that some of the tenant traders on CMH Road, who were part of the CMH Road Traders Association and had filed a PIL challenging the validity of the project, have also been asked to surrender their tenancy claims. The traders have time until 31st March this year to vacate their premises.…

A few months ago, two incidents made me uneasy. One involved white smudges on my fingertips from the newly painted railing of my apartment building stairs; the other was finding paint patches on my children's hands from the attractively painted blue-green-yellow-red playground equipment. These occurrences were troubling since I was aware of, yet not completely sure, about the facts regarding lead (paint) poisoning. Childrens play equipment may be coated with lead based paints (pic: Meera K) Internet research revealed surprising and worrisome information. Surprising because, while lead poisoning is an issue across India, indeed the world, Bangalore seems to be…

As one of the most well planned residential areas of Bengaluru, Jayanagar has been touted as a haven for the business class and the retired crowd. Home to prominent names like Infosys co-founder, N R Narayana Murthy, actor Vishnuvardhan and writer Shashi Deshpande, this hub in the southern part of the city has wide roads, tree lined avenues and excellent public transport. But problems like garbage, parking and sewerage have not only got residents fighting for a better Jayanagar, it has also united the various residents' associations. Jayanagar 4th Block Complex Twelve Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) came together in July…

Worldwide, a staggering four to five trillion plastic shopping bags are used every year. Most are discarded after a single use. Like all other plastics, the bags too are made from fossil fuels and are popular because they are durable, cheap, strong and lightweight. But these very characteristics are also what make them a problem. Plastic bags take extremely long to degrade: estimates range from 100 to 1000 years. Which means that all the plastic bags ever manufactured are potentially still around in the environment. And that is a problem. 'Biodegradable' plastic bags have been adopted by a local retail…

As parents, most of us want the world for our children; the right school, good manners, quality toys and the best of books. But few of us would probably do what Richa and Tarun Jain did for their daughter Suhani. Inspired by her willingness to learn, read and explore more, they set up Mindgym, a library for children! Out of the Box library (pic: Reshmi Chakraborty) As is with children, Suhani too would soon get bored of her new toys and books before moving on to other things. It led Richa and Tarun to talk to friends and come up…