GENRE: LN

Unique identification to properties in the city Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP)’s new system can now help you locate addresses easily. It has just launched DiGi7, a system that offers a seven-digit unique identification to 19 lakh properties. Launched by the Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George on March 15, the system was developed by a team led by Special Commissioner (IT) Manoj Rajan. The BBMP assigned unique IDs to about 19 lakh properties spread over 800 sq.kms. So will the citizens be able to use DiGi7 to identify properties, get directions and navigate? Certainly. DiGi7 can help to transport you…

After many promises of suburban rail system for Bengaluru, the central government has finally introduced two new routes for suburban rails within Bengaluru and has introduced eight new trains to travel in these routes. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal made the formal announcement on March 9, 2018. Close on the heels of this, the new trains were introduced on March 12th. Out of the eight trains, four are running between Hosur and Banaswadi, and two each on Byappanahalli-Whitefield and Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna (Majestic)-Byappanahalli routes. This has been considered as a relief to workers in the technology sector, and will be on…

At the inaugural session of Mandram, Dr Balaji Sampath spoke about the need to help our children understand science through experiments using simple objects of daily use. He said everyone is born a scientist, everyone has  natural curiosity about how things work, but sadly this curiosity and scientific temperament is stifled and subsequently lost in the current education system. Watch the full video of his talk below. அன்றாட வாழ்வில் அறிவியல் பற்றி மிக சுவாரஸ்யமாக விளக்கினார் பாலாஜி சம்பத். இவர் ஆஹாகுரு என்ற தளத்தின் மூலமாக நடுநிலை மற்றும் முதுநிலை பள்ளி மாணவர்களுக்கு எளிய முறையில் அறிவியல் மற்றும் கணித பாடங்களுக்கு பயிற்சி அளிக்கிறார். குழந்தைகளுக்கு அறிவியலை எப்படி அறிமுகப்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்று அன்றாடம் உபயோகப்படுத்தும் பொருட்களை கொண்டு…

A decade old civic battle being fought by residents of Chitlapakkam has reached a positive conclusion. In what could bring relief to many citizens suffering shoddy and hastily laid roads in cities, the Madras High Court on March 9th directed the Chitlapakkam Town Panchayat to mandate milling in the road relaying procedure. The direction would be applicable to the entire state of Tamil Nadu, including the Greater Chennai Corporation. Paving the way The court ruling came in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Madras High Court last week by R Balachandar, a cab driver from Chitlapakkam. The litigant…

The devastating floods of 2015 were a big jolt for Chennai. Since then there have been many conscious efforts in the city to start a dialogue around conservation of the extremely precious, and threatened, natural resource — water. Numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Resident Welfare Associations (RWA), activists and even ordinary citizens have started working towards raising awareness about waterbodies, reclaiming and rejuvenating them. To discuss the problems surrounding water, OpenAct (a forum to discuss solutions for problems surrounding social entrepreneurship, environment and sustainability) along with Goethe Institut in Chennai on 27 February 2018 hosted the confab as part of the…

I've been going to R V (Rashtriya Vidyalaya) College of Physiotherapy for, well, physiotherapy, and as I came out, this was what the avenue leading to the Jain temple and the Jayanagar bus terminus looked like: What a lovely sight for someone who walks along roads increasingly bereft of greenery, shade or walking space! This seemed to take me to the past when most Bangalore roads were avenues. True that these trees (rain trees) originally came from South America...but when they've been around for 300 years, and have caused no environmental upheaval, they are surely good citizens of our city!

As my bus was passing through Jayanagar, in south Bangalore, this sign caught my eye and I clicked it out of the window. It says that the Jayadeva General Hospital was inspected by "Lanchamukta Karnataka Nirmana" and found to have many staff who were demanding bribes to do their work, and gives a number to call in case someone finds a bribe being asked for. It was a very heartening poster to see, with at least the ability to make a complaint and the possiblity of redressal. I wish the organization success in its efforts. I do hope prospective patients…

At a time when many families still advise their women to maintain a low profile and adjust to situations, here are a few who chose to walk the path less trodden. Living the theme of International Women’s Day 2018 --#Pressforprogress -- are hundreds of women in Chennai, who have been working silently towards transforming society. Today is as good a time as any other to acknowledge and celebrate such women, who have broken the shackles of gender stereotypes. Citizen Matters turns the spotlight on six such women from various strata of society -- from a tough police official to a…

On a humid Thursday afternoon, a group of students, with torn maroon uniforms and bruises on their malnourished bodies, make their way out from the primary school in Perumbakkam resettlement colony.  Bunking the first class after the lunch break, students are busy making plans for the day. While one student suggests fishing in a swamp opposite the settlement, another wants to play cricket. The teacher-in-charge at the primary school turns a blind eye to the mass bunking, perhaps because it would take the load off her shoulders. It is only the noise made by the kids that could give you a…

I went to visit Lalbagh on 3rd March, and was pleasantly surprised, at the area where the majestic Ficus benjamina trees are (leading from Kempe Gowda's tower to the Glass Hoouse) being used to set up some beautiful wood carvings, done on solid tree trunks. This seems to me to be a beautiful way of making a dead tree come alive again. Here are some of the carvings. The work is only one month old The installation is still under way. Less appealing was the fact that the title of at least one work and the name of the artist…