GENRE: LN

The story of Ennore is neither new nor untold. However, there is a need to retell it, only because justice seems to be slipping further and further away. The dual onslaught of unplanned industrialisation and deforestation has taken away an important constitutional right from Ennore residents -- the right to life.  Both public and private sector industries have been drastically exploiting the natural resources of Ennore since 1993. Who suffers the consequences? The residents in eight villages of Ennore, for whom clean air and unpolluted water has become an unattainable luxury.  As the locality suffers the consequences of industrialisation in…

The #CycleToWork programme launched last year has made tremendous strides in catalysing commute in Bengaluru. The cycleto.work platform allows 'Bicycle Ambassadors' nominated in each company to take leadership to upscale cycle commute in their company. More than half the companies that clock rides on the #CycleToWork platform are situated in the IT belt. So it was just a matter of time before the ambassadors wheeled up to make a statement. Yesterday, we kicked off '#CycleToWork Fridays' as a critical mass event for bicycle commuters, under the leadership of Shilpi Sahu, Sameer Shisodia and Chidambaram Subramanian. The event was held on…

Over 800 'NimBus'es to ply on priority lane ‘NimBus’ or Nimma Bus is the new brand name the BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) has conferred on buses that would operate in the priority lane on Outer Ring Road. These buses will ply between Silk Board and Baiyappanahalli. ‘Commute better’ would be the tagline of the buses. Complete operations of the NimBus fleet would start on November 1. A BMTC official said that ORR buses will have NimBus stickers for the benefit of passengers. The stickers will be sported by 830 buses, majority of them the 500 series buses. The Corporation…

The #MahadevapuraDemands protest against elected representatives last Friday seems to have had some positive impact. But residents of the constituency are not yet ready to celebrate. The protestors, who highlighted the lack of basic infrastructure and facilities, had demanded the resignation of all their elected representatives - eight corporators, Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali and Bangalore Central MP P C Mohan. While none of the corporators responded to the protest, Limbavali and Mohan claimed that the new state government had already released funds for the constituency. Top BBMP and state government officials visited the constituency and made promises to residents, and…

We don't want any trees in Chennai. No one said this, at least not to me, and certainly not out loud. I am saying this to myself. How else does one explain the heartlessness shown towards trees in this city? If one of the reasons it was called Singara Chennai, was the number of tree lined avenues we had everywhere; well, we are Singara no more. The Kotturpuram Tree Park is a jewel, a tribute to the persistence and dedication shown by a group of tree lovers, and supported by citizens in and around Kotturpuram. The park has many rare…

Bengaluru is rapidly losing its groundwater. The city’s water bodies have shrunk, to give way to buildings and infrastructure projects. Come summer and Bengalureans can be seen obsessively discussing water, or rather the lack of it. Though rains bring momentary relief, what about the long-term demand? Access to water is a human right - how can we provide every citizen with enough water for their needs, at a price they can afford? Little has been done to find local solutions. Rainwater harvesting had been implemented in just 1.2 lakh buildings as of May 2019, according to the BWSSB. Meanwhile, big…

BBMP to set up C&D waste processing unit in Kannur BBMP announced it would sign an agreement with the private company Rock Crystal in a couple of days, to set up a construction and demolition (C&D) waste processing unit in Kannur. BBMP's announcement comes after the High Court ordered it to find solutions for solid waste management in two months. The court had threatened to stop new constructions in the city if it didn't. The agreement for the processing plant has been pending since May. The BBMP had written to the Deputy Commissioner, Bangalore Urban, in May, when the agreement was…

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Residents and citizen groups of Mahadevapura assembly constituency will stage a protest on Friday 9.30 am, at the Marathahalli Bridge bus stop. The #MahdevapuraDemands protest is called against elected representatives of the constituency for failing to deliver on the promises they had made on restoring civic amenities and making the area liveable. Resignation of elected representatives is one of the main demands of the protestors. The representatives here are Mahadevapura MLA Aravind Limbavali, Bengaluru Central MP P C Mohan, BBMP corporators A C Hari Prasad (Hoodi), B N Nithish Purushotham (Garudachar Palya), S Muniswamy (Kadugodi), S Uday Kumar (Hagadur), Shwetha…

Following complaints from several residents against revision of property tax by the Greater Chennai Corporation [GCC] for the period 2017-18, in addition to the general revision for the period 2018-19, the Motilal Street Residents' Welfare Association approached officials to ascertain the reasons for such selective revision for some properties. This revision of tax for the period 2017-18 was implemented along with the general revision for the period 2018-19. We were told that the revision for 2017-18 was on account of the change in the occupancy of the premises -- that is from owner to tenant. However, upon analysis of the…