GENRE: LN

Most of the lakes in Bangalore have vanished due to encroachment or construction activity. Arakere lake, one of Bengaluru’s biggest lakes may become a thing of past which has almost dried up due to negligence and is totally overrun by weed. Arakere lake's current state. Pic: Anuradha Janga Arekere lake may disappear if nothing is done immediately. Hence four residents in the vicinity have formed a trust - ‘Arakere Neighbourhood Improvement Trust’ (ANIT) to spread awareness and engage the residents in rejuvenating Arakere lake. The trust was registered on June 30th, 2012. “We formed the group keeping in mind two…

Residents in numerous layouts and apartment communities in and around the Kadugodi area north of Whitefield have something to cheer. After a long wait, BMTC launched an extension of the 335E Vajra (Volvo) AC bus service to Hoskote. The route is 335-EK and runs along the Whitefield Hoskote Road connecting the Kadugodi bus terminus to Hoskote terminus. 335-EK bus launch. Pic credit awaited Many citizens in this area have been asking for an extension of this service for a few years now. Petitions had been sent to BMTC in late 2010 and early 2011. At that time BMTC officials had…

Last year, BBMP initiated a plan to install Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) pits in roadside drains, parks etc,. to improve ground water levels. Rs 30 crore was approved for installing pits across the city, from emergency funds. Emergency funds are allocated as per BBMP Commissioner’s discretion, and is separate from funds specifically given for RWH in the budget. But going by BBMP’s plans, much of this amount might simply be wasted. An RWH pit built along a drain in 27th Main, Jayanagar 9th Block. File Pic The project is supposed to be implemented as per the design made by RWH expert…

Bangaloreans don’t need to look to Cauvery for augmenting water supply, the solution to the Bangalore's water problem remains in treating sewage water. A report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) says that around 60% of sewage water in Bengaluru remains untreated. It states that the city has 14 Sewage Treatment Plants with a capacity to treat 721 Million Litres per Day(MLD) but only 302 MLD gets treated. This report titled ‘Excreta Matters’ was released by Sunita Narain- CSE director-general in Bengaluru on June 28th. The report analysed water-sewage situation in 71-cities across India, including Bengaluru.    Sunita suggests…

“I did not know that Bangalore has good Hindi rock bands”, remarked Nandan Kamath. He had just listened to two soulful renditions titled Barsaat and Tum Hi Ho by Indi Graffiti, a four year old band based in the city. This was among the unique acts at the Fete de la Musique 2012 (Festival of Music) organised by Alliance Francaise de Bangalore (AFB) from June 21st to June24th. Comprising of vocalists and guitarists Bharat Rajagopalan, Pearl Mukadam and drummer Glenn Joseph, Indi Graffiti has played to cheering audiences across the city. Altered Scales. Pic: Pushpa Achanta A non-ticketed event, it…

On June 24th, the Bannerghatta Road Neighbourhood Association (BANA) organised "Connect", a knowledge sharing seminar at Purva Panorama Apartments at Bannerghata Road.  BANA is a federation formed by a group of RWAs of apartments and layouts in and around on Bannerghatta Road. The forum will be used to resolve common issues and create a strong local community. The founding members include resident associations of L&T South City, Purva Panorama, South Avenue Layout, Pride Regalia, Ajmera Green Acres, Vithola Apartments, Nandi Park, Mantri Woodlands, Esteem Enclave etc. BANA office bearers at the meeting. Prem Sarkar, Shankar Bharadwaj, Kedar Nayak, Vivek Baliga.…

Worried about your city? The Indo-German Urban Mela is hosting a major urban talk and discussion series titled 'our public sphere', 'our house' and 'our city' this Sunday at Palace Grounds. The talks are structured around a survey and practical design of urban development in Indian cities, and especially Bangalore. The talks start at 11am on Sunday July 1st and conclude at 4pm. The programme includes lunch and entry is free. The 10 day-long mela itself is already on with 4 more days to go. It runs from 10 am to 10 pm at Palace Grounds has 16 specially-designed pavilions…

In its March meeting, BBMP Council approved the new parking policy which would allow BBMP to collect parking fee from citizens. As per this policy, parking will be charged across the city, and parking lots will be set up in all areas. The policy aims to encourage public transport and reduce land use for parking. BBMP is now waiting for a study commissioned by state government’s DULT (Department of Urban Land Transport). This study will look at public transport and existing parking availability, identify parking demand and also areas where parking lots can be set up. DULT has commissioned the…

N S Ramakanth  and Dr Ashwin Mahesh interacted with residents of HSR Layout  on June 24 and a wide range of topics were discussed at length including Khata, solar power, solid waste management and reviving lakes. Balasubramanian Thirunavukkarasu, active citizen and resident of HSR Layout, was instrumental in organising the One Bengaluru meeting.  One Bangalore meeting. Pic: Balasubramanian Thirunavukkarasu One Bengaluru The meeting is the first such one as part of the One Bengaluru initiative. One Bengaluru is a platform to bring together people interested in public problem solving. Thirunavukkarasu said, "There are lot of well meaning citizens in our…

The third edition of Mashable's Social Media Day is being celebrated by social media enthusiasts all across the world on June 30. It  is a day to recognise the digital revolution happening across the world.Bangalore is playing host to a city wide celebration on the day organised by Graffiti Collaborative, a creative agency based out of the city (www.thegraffiti.co). Social Media enthusiasts from across the city are coming together to make the event a fabulous blend of fun and knowledge sharing – truly in the spirit of social media. The celebrations for the day will be span across different media…