GENRE: LN

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner seems to have sprung into action, especially after Chief minister Siddaramaiah’s  'surprise' city tour on September 7, 2013. Taking the directions of Siddharamaiah forward, BBMP Commissioner Lakshmi Narayana, told Citizen Matters that all arterial and sub-arterial roads in Bangalore will be pothole-free by end of February, 2014. However, citizens have heard such claims and promises many a time in the past.  High quality concrete roadsA pilot project worth 25 lakhs to develop Park House Road in front of Karnataka Public Services Commission office, behind Vidhana Soudha, into a high-quality concrete road, was underway. The…

Bangalore Literature Festival (BLF), the flagship literary event on the cultural calendar of Bangalore city, is all set for its second edition from September 27 to 29 at the Crowne Plaza, at Velankani Park in Electronics City. From (L-R) Shinie Antony, Vikram Sampath, Srikrishna Ramamurthy - cofounders of Bangalore Literature Festival (1) Building on the successful 2012 debut edition, this year BLF will  feature over a 100 authors and speakers, including several distinguished literary names like Gulzar, RamachandraGuha, William Dalrymple, U R Ananthamurthy, Rajmohan Gandhi, Chandrashekhara Kambara, Nabaneeta Dev Sen, Rakesh Omprakash Mehra, Farhan Akhtar, David Davidar, Wendell Rodricks, Prasoon…

While everybody else in the city were busy celebrating Ganesh Chaturthi last weekend, 73-year-old Sakuntala Narasimhan, who writes the column Civic Reflections for Citizen Matters, had a different task to do. She spent her weekend fighting the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) contractor and officials, urging them  to restore the sewage connection to her flat. Her connection was suddenly cut off without any prior notice from the BWSSB, who are on a drive to replace old sewage lines across the city. Sakuntala, a resident of Jayanagar 3rd Block, 27th cross, is unable to use the toilet in her…

Waiting for the Chief Ministers. Many officials, security personnel, political leaders were present. Pic: Meera K. The first thing that hits you is the strong smell of bleach all over. Then you realise something looks different, cleaner. The roads look recently cleaned, potholes have a temporary filling of wet quarry dust. The debris dumped on the side, that was there till yesterday is now missing. This was the scene at Kaikondrahalli lake. And at Agara lake, Mekhri Circle, Malleshwaram and probably a few other places in the city on Saturday. All thanks to the chief minister who was on a…

Metro Phase II work takes off, with KIADB starting the land acquisition process. File pic. Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board  (KIADB) conducted the first hearing for the owners of properties to be acquired for alignment of Metro Phase II on 4 September, 2013. The properties notified were for Ragigudda and Silk Board stations, on RV Road- Bommasandra line. Metro is all geared up to start the Phase-II work by January 2014. To achieve this target, the process of identification of properties was already initiated by KIADB officers deputed to the Metro, in the last few weeks. In the first hearing,…

Ganesh festival is around the corner, on Monday 9 September 2013. BESCOM has urged public and the Mandallîs/ assocìatíons/ groups who set up Ganesha at public places not to tap power illegally."It has come to the notice of the Company that in the past during festival at several places Ganesh Mandallis/ associations/ groups plug wires to street light ports and some tap electricity from street light poles. (sic) This can prove fatal during monsoon and may cause electric shock or electrocution. BESCOM will not be responsible for any such untoward incidents owing to unauthorised power connections," said the press release.Unauthorised…

Chalet Hotels Private Limited, promoted by K Raheja Corp Group, has sued Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), for revoking the No Objection Certificate (NOC) given for the construction of  Raheja Vivarea, near HAL surroundings. The hearing of WP 37571/2103, Chalet Hotel V/s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, took place on 28 August, 2013. Revoking of NOC for Raheja Viverea by HAL has led to a law suit. File pic - representation purpose only. Earlier, residents of Koramangala, under the banner of Koramangala Infrastructure Task Force, had written to Defence Minister A K Antony urging him to take action regarding what was supposedly an…

The Bangalore Development Authority’s ambitious project of selling apartments has no takers. The demand for a decent home does not seem to end in Bangalore, but people are not interested in BDA flats. The last date by which buyers had to apply for the flats was 31 June, 2013. Under Phase-I, total 4502 flats were constructed by the BDA, in Nandini Layout, Halagevaderahalli, Malagala, Gunjur phase-1, Thippasandra, Doddabanahalli Phase -I, Alur, Kothanur and Doddabanahalli units. Of these, according to BDA, only 700 have been allotted. BDA apartment constructed near Kengeri. Pic: Bosky Khanna Why did BDA get into apartment business?…

Former Citizen Matters staff journalist Navya P K has won an Indo-German environmental journalism award, in the online category. The All India Environmental Journalism Competition award was given to one of the stories written by Navya on the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project by Mantri Developers coming up on Bellandur wetland - Mantri’s 72 acre project encroaching Rajakaluve: IISc Report, published on May 31, 2013. The expose is part of a series Navya had reported on the SEZ project that violated environmental norms. The project promoters had also obtained partial NOC from the BWSSB with no alternative arrangement for water…

If you feel Bangalore has received good rains this year, here’s another news for you. Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted more rainfall for Bangalore in the coming months. This also means that there will be less power cuts and less drinking water problems, at least for this year, say experts. Monsoon rain has been good in the city this year. From June 1 to August 31, 2013, Bangalore received 410 mm of rainfall. The actual rainfall for the south-west monsoon (SWM) season from June to September is a total of 549.6 mm. Rains have brought along smiles and hope…