GENRE: LN

Co-authored by Doel Jaikishen and Vindhya Jyoti Disillusionment, divide and doubt. That is the distressing picture media paints of almost every Indian city. People are fighting for their basic rights—a secure home, to pursue livelihoods with dignity, to practice their religion, to access basic health, sanitation and education amenities….the list is endless! In the struggle to just get by each day, the power to rebuild and restore the city through a better understanding of each other’s position and challenges—both individually and collectively—is often the last priority. Justice, equity and dignity continues to elude us, most affecting those who are poor…

Walk past the pedestrian subway adjoining Chennai Central station on Wall Tax Road and you won’t be able to avoid the strong, pungent odor of urine. It appears pedestrians come here to relieve themselves more often than they use the subway to cross the road, according to the subway cleaning staff!    “It’s mostly the autowallahs waiting outside the station who urinate at the entrance of the subway. People only use this subway, when the traffic police stop them from crossing the road by putting up barricades,” said A Kasturi, a government-hired cleaner who also routinely picks up empty liquor bottles from…

On March 2, women from several walks of life assembled at Jayanagar’s Kittur Rani Chennamma stadium and used their art to oppose sexual violence against women and gendered minorities. Organised by several women’s and civil rights organisations, the ‘Aman Chowk’ or Peace Square meet, was in line with One Billion Rising (OBR), a UN campaign aimed at stifling sexual violence against women. There were workshops, dance and musical performances, poetry recitals, conversations and artwork. Amid exhibitions depicting women rising against injustice, there was an 'aman ki razi' or harmony quilt that was being meticulously stitched by women. This was followed…

More H1N1 cases, suspected corona cases Two positive cases of H1N1 or swine flu were detected at the city office of the e-commerce giant Amazon. Sources said that, as a precaution, the company is sanitising its offices, but none of the workspaces have been shutdown. Another swine flu case was reported on Wednesday at Mercedes Benz Research and Development India on their Brigade Tech Gardens Campus, Whitefield. The office was sanitised, evacuated and shut down for two days. Five persons, who travelled from COVID-19 affected countries and showed symptoms, have been admitted to hospitals in Bengaluru, Udupi and Bidar since…

The delimitation of BBMP wards is being initiated ahead of the civic polls scheduled this year. On March 2, the Urban Development Department (UDD) notified the draft BBMP delimitation proposal in the gazette. With delimitation, ward boundaries will be redrawn so that the population of each ward will be nearly equal, at 42,645 on average. Objections/suggestions to this notification, can be submitted, along with with reasons, in writing to the Deputy Commissioner, Bengaluru Urban District, Bengaluru, by 16 March 2020. The idea behind delimitation is to reduce the huge disparity in population among wards. Currently the population in outer wards…

In the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH), Central, a corpse which was brought in seven months ago lies unclaimed even today; another such has been at the Kilpauk Medical College and Hospital (KMCH) since December 2019. These are not isolated cases. Major government hospitals in Chennai are struggling to tackle the pressure of unclaimed dead bodies in their mortuaries. "The situation is concerning because the unclaimed bodies are taking up the capacity of the mortuary. Our morgue has the capacity to hold 60 corpses," said a doctor at the Dean's office in Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital (RGGGH).  The…

Steps to rejuvenate Bellandur lake at a cost of Rs 245 crore could begin soon. BDA, the custodian of the lake, had floated a tender for the project in January this year. The lowest bidder now awaits approval from the BDA Commissioner to begin work. From the starting date, the contractor will get 18 months to carry out the works. Besides mammoth works such as de-watering and de-silting of the lake, authorities have revealed plans to also have a children’s play area, an enclosure for immersion of idols during festivals, facilities for water sports, a gymnasium and an amphitheatre. BDA’s…

BBMP moots controversial Pet Dog Licensing Bylaw again BBMP has again drafted the Pet Dog Licensing Bylaw, which had been withdrawn in 2018 following opposition from dog lovers. According to the draft Pet Dog Licensing Bylaws 2020, a flat-owner can rear only one dog, and a person living in an independent house can keep only three. Owners need to fix a microchip and sterilise their pets. But the rules have been relaxed for those who rear abandoned, rescued and local breeds after getting the necessary certification. Dog owners who don't have license will have to pay a fine of Rs…

In the last couple of months, many apartment complexes in Bengaluru got notices from the state Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), asking them to pay a penalty of Rs 5 lakh, for discharging untreated sewage outside their premises. Many of these apartments were already running Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), and these were functioning well as per routine lab tests that the apartments used to get done. So, the apartments wrote to KSPCB instead of paying up. But the Board did not respond to the residents’ concerns. Instead, it issued them a ‘show cause’ notice, mentioning that they hadn’t paid the fines…

Translated by Mukund Gowda ಅನೇಕ ವರ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ಸಿಲ್ಕ್ ಬೋರ್ಡ್ ಮತ್ತು ಕೆ.ಆರ್.ಪುರಂ ಮಧ್ಯೆ ಬಿಎಂಟಿಸಿ ಬಸ್ ಚಾಲನೆ ಮಾಡುತ್ತಿರುವ ರಾಮು ಬಿ.ಪಿ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಕಳೆದ ನವೆಂಬರ್ 1 ರಿಂದ ಜಾರಿಯಾದ ಬಸ್ ಆದ್ಯತೆ ಪಥ ನಿರಾಳತೆ ನೀಡಿದೆ. "ಮೊದಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಈ ಮಾರ್ಗ ಮಧ್ಯದ ಸಂಚಾರಕ್ಕೆ 75 ನಿಮಿಷ ಬೇಕಿತ್ತು , ಕಳೆದ ಮೂರು ತಿಂಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದು 45-50 ನಿಮಿಷಕ್ಕೆ ಇಳಿದಿದೆ." ಎಂದು ಹೇಳುವ ಇವರು "ಬಸ್ ಆದ್ಯತೆ ಪಥ ಸಂಪೂರ್ಣವಾಗಿ ಜಾರಿಯಾದರೆ,‌ ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಸಮಯ ಉಳಿಯುವುದು" ಎಂದು ಅಭಿಪ್ರಾಯ ಪಟ್ಟಿದ್ದಾರೆ.  ಇದೇ ಮಾರ್ಗದಲ್ಲಿ ಬಸ್ ಚಲಾಯಿಸುವ ಇನ್ನೊಬ್ಬ ಚಾಲಕ ಸಂಜಪ್ಪ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಬಸ್ ಆದ್ಯತೆ ಪಥ ಮಾನಸಿಕ ನೆಮ್ಮದಿ ನೀಡಿದೆ. "ಮೊದಲೆಲ್ಲಾ ಜನರು ಬೇಜವಾಬ್ದಾರಿಯಿಂದ  ಅಪಾಯಕಾರಿಯಾಗಿ ವಾಹನ‌ ಓಡಿಸುವುದರಿಂದ ಹೆಚ್ಚು ಒತ್ತಡ ಇತ್ತು, ಇದೀಗ ನಮಗೆಂದೇ ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕ ಪಥ ಇರುವುದರಿಂದ ಬಸ್ ಚಲಾಯಿಸುವುದು ಸುಲಭವಾಗಿದೆ" ಎನ್ನುತ್ತಾರೆ. ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಸಾರಿಗೆಗೆ ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕ ಪಥ ನೀಡಿರುವುದಕ್ಕೆ ಸಂತಸ ವ್ಯಕ್ತಪಡಿಸುತ್ತಾ, ಎಲ್ಲಾ ವಾಹನ ಸವಾರರು…