GENRE: Voices

Dear Chief Minister, I am writing to you about the public consultation held yesterday to discuss the Master Plan being prepared by the BDA. Frankly, the whole event was a disaster. The BDA was entirely unprepared, and apart from stone-walling the public on their legitimate questions, the authority had very little to offer. Even the conduct of the meeting was poor, with allegations from some in the audience that the event and its proceedings were a sham. But this was predictable, since the BDA is now functioning in a grey area of governance. Its planning authority has been vacated by…

On April 24th, 40 children from the Sarjapur road area, along with volunteers from Kasa Mukta Bellandur (KMB), took to the streets to educate eatery joint owners about the hazards of serving food in disposable plates, encouraging them to adopt eco-friendly alternatives instead.  Pic: SujathaPic: SujathaPic: Sujatha‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');}); Everyone is aware about the impact of the usage of plastic and the kind of imbalance it is causes. Indeed, pollution of the environment by chemicals leached from plastics into air and water is an emerging area of concern. The convenience of using plastics and disposable items…

Commuters awaiting their train at the Carmelaram station. Pic: Shinoy Prahladan Carmelaram station is a small station on the Bengaluru-Hosur line just off Sarjapur road. Several long distance trains to Tamil Nadu and Kerala, as well as few passenger trains, run on this line. Many of these trains stop at Carmelaram. A huge crowd boards and alights at the station due to the sheer convenience resulting from the location. Recently, the railway authorities have done some work in the station, by lengthening, raising and concreting Platform 1 and providing a little better shelter and lighting. However, there are still many…

Public urination is common in Bengaluru. However, some people have no qualms about open defecation too. Pic: Ganga Madappa “What happens in the bathroom stays in the bathroom” was the general consensus at my childhood household. Unless there was a health concern, no one discussed their bowel movements. Ever! It wasn’t until I moved away to college, at 18-years-old, and had to share three bathroom stalls with 40 other girls on my dorm floor that bathroom habits became public knowledge. And then I arrived in Bengaluru. I cannot remember the first time I encountered public urination in India. Perhaps I…

On hearing a commotion outside the house a little while ago I looked out of my office window and, to my horror, saw a car apparently driving straight into an auto - a policeman who was between the two vehicles managed to save himself by jumping aside in the nick of time. A huge crowd gathered immediately and many irate individuals were shouting at the driver and trying to get him to get out of the car. Afraid of what might happen if they did manage to get hold of him, I went out and appealed to the few policemen…

Pic: Meena ArtwaniPic: Meena ArtwaniPic: Meena ArtwaniPic: Meena ArtwaniPic: Meena ArtwaniPic: Meena Artwani‹ › $(document).ready(function(){ $('.carousel .carousel-inner .item').first().attr('class', 'active item');});  Respectful Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Officials, I am Meena, a resident of 6th Cross, Manjunatha Layout, Thanisandra Main road near Elements Mall, Ramaiah North City. I would like to bring to your urgent attention that this area is becoming inhabitable, day after day. The area is plagued with many issues like the ones below: The area has open drains (gutters) and the individual sanitary connections are not connected to main underground drain (UGD) system. These drains overflow during the rains.…

Illustration: Narasimha Vedala On April 10th the Jayanagar police station in association with  Bengaluru  traffic police held an awareness programme called Pehle Aap (after you), to emphasise the need for vehicle drivers to heed the safety of others on the road, especially pedestrians, especially elderly pedestrians. Ironically, less than 24 hours later, I had occasion to visit the Jayanagar police station to file a complaint. I and another elderly pedestrian (male), were waiting  to cross the road at the busy intersection facing the shopping complex at 4th block, at 11 am  on Saturday April 11th.The signal turned  red for traffic flowing …

To be adopted by a canine! What a lovely thing it was. Many years after the hoity-toity Madame Pussaa had adopted us and departed from our lives (sad story, don’t want to go into it just now!), we were adopted by a canine from the street. There were always a group of them hanging around in the street – self-appointed sentinels who warned us that someone who was not familiar to them, was afoot on the streets. They would howl and bark. Among these was a female dog, un-named, who had a litter of four or five. One survived. Street…

Screengrab of media coverage of the DK Ravi case. Collage: Ganga Madappa Add one frustrated public and the death of an honest officer in ‘mysterious circumstances’ and a system perceived as corrupt, and what does it equal? Mass speculation, sensationalised reporting, and public outrage. D K Ravi was an accomplished man. He came from a poor background, educated himself and achieved a position of power. Depending on which media outlet one follows, one can assume that he was an honest man, fighting against corruption, or a man involved in infidelity and deceit. However, there is no doubt that the public…

Pic: Deepa Mohan Auto-drivers come in all shapes and sizes: old, young, thin, fat, toothless, handsome, smelly, bearded, grumpy, cheery, etc. Like a good box of chocolates, you never know what kind of driver you’re going to get. Sometimes you can depend on them and you feel like they are there to support you… At other times, they seem to derive joy from your frustration, they tease you when they pass by, they try to kill you with their reckless driving, and when you need them the most, they are nowhere to be found. After a few weeks of taking…