GENRE: Voices

It was recently announced that Care Earth Trust, in association with Nature Conservancy India and IIT-Madras, is in talks with the government agencies and stakeholders to bring back life in Sembakkam lake. As the preliminary work to restore the lake begins, members of Sarvamangala Nagar Association in Chitlapakkam met Jayashree Venkatesan of Care Earth Trust recently for assistance to the neighbourhood in rejunevating Chitlapakkam lake.  Organisations such as these, representing citizens from various parts of Chitlapakkam and Sembakkam, are regularly engaged in dialogues and discussion with the Public Works Department, Revenue Administration, Disaster Management and Mitigation Department, Chennai Smart Cities Ltd.;…

My alarm goes off at six, and I roll out of bed excited because today is the first time I get to cast my vote. Two weeks ago, I applied for a voter’s id. My father had assured me that I would get mine soon because elections were around the corner. Sure enough, I got mine three days before the elections, in sharp contrast to friends and neighbours for whom it had taken months when they had applied. Since we had plans to go to our hometown (Nagamangala, Mandya district), we started for the polling booth at 7 AM. Along…

Low voter turnout shames India's IT city Bangalore states NDTV and others nod in agreements. The authorities, politicians, noted citizens, all are aflame criticising the citizens for not participating in the elections. Newspaper have used highly derogatory phrases - especially Kannada newspapers - displaying cheap journalism and reporting wrong data. Real voter turnout percentage in Bengaluru has to be more than 70%. If it was to be larger than this with the shamefully poor electoral roll management, we should have grave concerns about illegal votes and rigging. Crude Numbers First In January 2018, District Electoral Officer, Bangalore, (Commissioner, BBMP) published…

Communist Party of India (Marxist-Lenin) (CPI(ML)) is contesting a few seats in Karnataka this election. We spoke to Yeshwanthpur candidate Nirmala to understand her poll pitch and ideas. Excerpts: People of Yeshwanthpur do not know much about you. Can you give us a brief about your background? I have worked in many women associations and I have been part of many protests. And now, I have been working for the Pourakarmikas. I am originally from Bidar and have worked with Karnataka Raita Kula Sanghatane (Karnataka Farmers’ Association). After coming to Bangalore, I started working for Mahila Jagruti where I was…

Sathish M. Reddy, incumbent MLA of Bommanahalli constituency, did not get the time to give a proper interview for Citizen Matters, but did manage to squeeze in some time to share his work in the last 10 years. Excerpts: You have been an MLA in Bommanahalli for 10 years. When you started, this entire area was still developing, but today it has become a thriving, commercial, developed and rich area. What was your vision then? Have you achieved it? When I took over, HSR Layout was a part of BBMP. There were no proper water connections, sanitation or roads. After I…

When things don’t work well its always tempting to say “Let’s privatise”, though the experience of privatisation hasn’t been all that great – particularly when dealing with public facilities like health, public transport, water supply or waste disposal. The same logic seems be at work with the recently announced policy of the Government of India to allow privatisation of urban heritage, a move that has evoked extreme reaction from both ends of the spectrum. Some believe privatisation will be a good way to increase efficiency and generate income while others see it as a step signifying abdication of responsibility by…

Basavanagudi MLA L A Ravisubrahmanya, who is re-contesting hoping for a hat-trick, found some time to talk to us on his goals and work for last ten years in Basavanagudi. Excerpts of the interview: Basavanagudi is one of the oldest areas of Bangalore and you're contesting for the 3rd time. When you contested for the first time, what was one problem that was unique to Basavanagudi and what is the status of that today? During my first tenue the immediate problem that I could see was sanitation. The lines had become old and had to be changed. It was a…

Not many are aware that there is a post of nominated Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Karnataka Assembly meant for Anglo-Indian community, which is similar to the regular MLA, without voting rights for Rajya Sabha. Vinisha Nero held this post for last five years. Hailing from Bengaluru, she also was the sole woman MLA from the city for the term 2013-2018. We spoke to her to understand what her role was and what she could do during her term. Excerpts: Not many people are aware that there is a nominated MLA in the Assembly. Would you explain the process…

Jayanagar MLA BN Vijayakumar died of a cardiac arrest, on May 3, 2018, right in the middle of his campaigning. What did Vijayakumar leave behind? What was he trying to do, and what problems did he have? What was his opinion on his constituency's concerns like waste composting or cycle lanes? We had interviewed Vijayakumar a week earlier, to understand his vision for the constituency. This was a long chat and it highlights his legacy too, perhaps setting the direction for whoever takes his baton, and for those who want to pick up the fights he was fighting and carry them…

A Children-centric Chennai school Unkempt buildings, broken toilets, steep absenteeism and disinterested students? Fits your idea of a government or Corporation school? Think again. Perceptions and ideas develop over time and, once hardened, it is rather difficult to demolish them. While there’s no denying the fact that such schools continue to exist, the opposite holds true as well. And, one such example is the Chennai High School in Kottur. With a renewed focus on obliterating absenteeism and moulding well rounded individuals, the team of teachers led by an inspiring and resourceful Head Mistress is making heads turn. Tackling absenteeism in…