GENRE: Voices

Just concluded BBMP Elections saw ward no 198 - Hemmigepura stand second in voters turnout. This ward reported 59.4% voter turnout, to stand next to Siddapura where 62.14% voted were polled. This is because, various layout residents of Kanakapura road are together and having a good net work among themselves. They have prepared a vision document for their aspiring corporators and submitted when they met them during the election campaign. The Residents Welfare Associations together decided to ensure they followup with their residents and ensure they go out and vote. Infact many associations helped the residents to find out their name…

Now that the months-long, twisted tale of BBMP elections has unfurled and the votes have at last been ‘beeped’ on the voting machines, it is time to take stock of the entire saga. It was a meaningless nine-day festival with grandiose manifestos promising the same old tired ‘castles in the air’, blatant distribution of cash and freebies, inane processions with paid supporters enjoying the sudden showering of ‘manna from heaven’ and fist-fights and blood-letting between opposing party supporters vying for the same pot of gold. Except attempts by a few civil society organisations and media houses to conduct  purposeful city…

Recently I went on a food walk with Bengaluru’s Unhurried walk and tour company. The three-hour walk led me through the charming streets of Basavanagudi and into some fabulous eateries. At the handful of small restaurants, shops and bakeries, I tried everything from piping hot kaapi (coffee) to heavenly neer dosa with sweet coconut chutney to idli in a savoury sambar. Plus some pomegranate ice cream, banana chips and a “Japanese cake” along the way (the latter of which is neither Japanese nor really a cake, but is delicious.) It was a deeply satisfying and very educational evening. Holly trying…

On August 14th, contestants from Sanjay Nagar ward came together for a candidate meet organised by Namma Bengaluru Foundation. Participants included candidates from three major political parties, as well as an independent candidate. The issues discussed included property taxes, eliminating free parking, and ways to address the stray dog problem in the neighbourhood. Candidates: BJP: Indira Subhash INC: Sudha Jayasimha JDS: Putta Madamma Independent candidate (IND): Geetha G/ Malathi Malli Venue: Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning, Post Office road, Sanjay Nagar Moderators: Sridhar Pabbisetty and Prakash Belavadi What will you do for Bangalore? JDS: I want to serve the community.…

On August 15th, a debate was held between four candidates from four parties all campaigning to represent Varthur. The audience expressed much concern about Varthur Lake and services for locals. The candidates were also asked about procuring funding and providing services such as clean water.  Candidates: BJP: Pushpa Manjunath Congress : Nisha S Vasu JDS: Chamudeshwari BSP: Chandrakala Venue: SDV Mini Party Hall, Near Varthur Government Middle School Mediators: Sridhar Pabbisetty (SP) and Prakash Belawadi (PB) Prakash Belawadi summarised the state of affairs within BBMP and the city. He set the context for questions in the first session: BBMP is…

Folks at Whitefield Rising have gone super-creative, by choosing artistic means to express their worries and describe the problems. A rap song released on SoundCloud asks God Mahadeva (Shiva) why the state of affairs in his 'Pura' are in such a  mess, and asks BBMP where the money paid as taxes has gone. Whitefield lies in Mahadevapura zone of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara palike. Apart from this every Friday, people in Whitefield observe Black Friday by dressing up in black. Through the hashtag #WhitefieldBlackFriday on Twitter, they tweet to draw the attention of the authorities and political parties. Here is a…

Mohandas Pai, Vice-president of B.PAC, responds to a few quick questions by Citizen Matters. Do you really think any party has performed well over the recent years in Bangalore? Any individuals (MLAs or corporators) you have seem performing at a local level? No, but a few (individual) MLAs and corporators have done well. Will this election change anything at BBMP? Yes, if the educated middle class come out and vote in large numbers and get good people in. What are the chances of the BCLIP candidates? How do you think the results themselves will affect the programme? Decent chances if…

He has been an opinion leader on social media, with good number of followers on Twitter. Being a techsavvy politician, he is the hot favourite among the online community. He has been asking people to come out and vote. And he has expressed his support to BJP in the BBMP election 2015. Citizen Matters sent a few questions to Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajyasabha MP from Bengaluru who also founded Namma Bengaluru Foundation that works in the area of civic involvement in the city. Here are the questions and Chandrasekhar's answers. Why are you putting in so much effort? We understand you…

Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) conducted a ward level debate at Uttarahalli on August 12th. It was the first in a series of eight debates conducted by NBF. Four candidates were invited, three of them attended the debate. Moderators asked questions to all three candidates and then opened the floor for public comments and questions. Candidates BJP: Hanumanthaiah Congress:  Varaprasad Reddy JDS: R D Usha Rani Voter attendance: Approximately 200 Venue: Shanthi Sagar Party Hall, #25, Subramanyapura Main Road, Uttarahalli, Bangalore – 560061 Moderators: Sridhar Pabbisetty and Prakash Belawadi What changes can we see in the next five years? BJP Cauvery…

A ward debate in Shettihalli on August 13th brought together four candidates to discuss issues of funding, drinking water and women’s empowerment. The debate was documented by Namma Bengaluru Foundation. We are presenting to you an edited version of their documentation. BBMP elections 2015: Candidates for Shettihalli ward  BJP: K C Venkatesh INC: K Nagabhushan JDS: Prakash A Independent: Shambulinge Gowda Moderators of the debate: Sridhar Pabbisetty, Prakash Belavadi Venue: Annapoorna Party Hall How was Bengaluru supposed to be? After the boom in the public sector, how should Bengaluru have grown? In Nehru’s opinion, other cities remind him of India’s…