GENRE: LN

A malnourished boy, in shabby clothes, stood trembling in fear at the Chennai Central Railway station. Unaware of the surroundings and people, he sat in silence at the railway station for hours. Only when the Railway Protection Force (RPF) employees initiated a conversation, did he open up about his risky escape from a confectionery unit in Karnataka. The 17-year-old boy, a resident of Virudhunagar district in Tamil Nadu, was coaxed into work by a middle man, when he was barely 13. The promise of a decent job and good salary soon turned sour, as the boy was forced to work…

On 29th April 2018, less than two weeks before the Assembly elections, Million Voter Rising, a citizen group of changemakers from Mahadevapura constituency in Bengaluru, organised an interaction with some key candidates set to contest in the elections in their constituency. This included: Aravinda Limbavali - Incumbent MLA (BJP) Bhaskar Prasad (AAP) Ramesh Chander (Swarajya Party) K Sathish (JDS) A C Srinivas (INC) The opening session saw a brief presentation on the status of Mahadevapura and candidate introductions - with a general background of all the candidates, comparative statistics of their assets and the criminal cases against them. The organisers…

Pigs hogging the food waste, a few empty tablet sheets flying around and a muddy road reduced in width to almost half, thanks to the garbage overflowing from three bins -- this was the sight that greeted me at the approach to the Voluntary Health Services (VHS) hospital at Taramani on an evening in the second week of April. The VHS hospital is known for taking health care to the poorer sections of the society, and boasts of various upgraded departments including the neurological department and maternity ward, but on this occasion it certainly  appeared that it had a long way to…

Women’s groups in Bengaluru, representatives from various political parties, Bangalore Ladies Circle and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Ladies Organisation (FICCI FLO), came together to discuss representation in politics for women and women's issues. (WO)Manifesto, brainchild of Shruti Modi Kaura saw attendance by women from all walks of life at the TERI Institute on April 24. Shruti, once the Chairperson of Bangalore Ladies Circle 31, was only acting on her inclination to lead change when she went door-to-door asking for a seat in major parties. Soon, she realized there was no question of entering politics due to the…

The Tamil Nadu government’s decision to expand the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) to eight times its current size has earned a fair share of criticism from city activists and residents. This became particularly evident during the public consultative meeting organised by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) recently. Even though the second master plan for Chennai, proposed in 2008, has proved to be a damp squib, the state government had, via a notification in January 2018,  proposed to expand CMA from the current 1,189 sq.km to a whopping 8,878 sq.km.  The proposal, if implemented, will urbanise a total of 1,709 villages…

Sometimes, the juxtaposition of two things strikes the eye, as it did when I saw this gentleman, along with a book that a young lady had left open on another table. The caption occurred to me at once. As he got up, the gentleman called the attention of yet another man to the glasses he'd left behind when moving to another table. Such casual helpfulness, somehow, made me feel very happy! So much to see and observe even on a short visit to a Darshini (this one was Coffee Thindi in Jayangar 4th T Block)

Krishna Byre Gowda, a second generation politician, was first elected to the Assembly in 2003 and was one of the youngest members at 30. He was elected from Vemagal, which fell vacant after the death of his father Byre Gowda, who was a five time MLA from constituency. He joined the Congress in 2004 and won the constituency again. In 2007 he was elected the President of the Karnataka Youth Congress Committee. In 2008, he moved constituencies and contested from Bytarayanpura in Bangalore. He contested the Parliamentary elections from Bangalore South in 2009 at the behest of Rahul Gandhi, but…

M Krishnappa, or Layout Krishnappa as he is popularly called, is among the richest MLAs in the state given his background in real estate. The Congress leader was an MLC between 2000 to 2006. He even contested the MP elections from Bangalore South. He was the Minister for Housing in the Siddaramaiah cabinet and was the Minister in-charge for Mandya in 2016. The former Minister has been in the news with accusations of land grabbing around the Byrasandra lake being made against him. Krishnappa is among the Congress leaders who has a website for himself, though it is fairly dated…

Dinesh Gundu Rao, a second generation politician is a four-time MLA from Gandhinagar. He is an engineer by qualification but identifies himself as social worker and politician. His father R Gundu Rao was the Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1980 to 1983. Dinesh started his political career with the Youth Congress and steadily rose through the ranks. He is currently the Working President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. He held an independent charge for Consumer Affairs and also was Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in Siddaramaiah Cabinet. His urban and cosmopolitan image combined with his oratory skills has…

The first term MLA from Hebbal, Jagadish Kumar, replaced his political mentor Katta Subramanya Naidu for the Hebbal constituency, after Naidu’s legal issues saw him imprisoned. Jagadish Kumar died in November of 2015, following a heart attack when he was 58. He was rushed to a private hospital after he complained of uneasiness in his chest during the Assembly session, but collapsed while medical tests were being done. Jagadish who was an active member of the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad was a qualified engineer and began his political career in 1993. He was the Bangalore City General Secretary in the…