GENRE: Voices

There are a number of things that the CM can do, to clearly signal a break with the failures of the past. As the new Chief Minister takes office, many Bangaloreans must be wondering what lies in store for our city. We are all hopeful that along with a new government, we will get a new direction too. We've had enough of irresponsible apathy and outright criminality of the political leadership over the last decade. The city is virtually gasping for a new politics, focused on solving problems and being accountable to the public. There are a number of things…

As residents of Bangalore, many of us know that the transport situation in the city is far from ideal. And considering the status of progress of various transport initiatives, the road to an efficient urban transportation strategy is fraught with obstacles. The process is bound to be messy and appears to be expensive in terms of time, money and the effort it will demand. However, the cost of not doing the integration is far higher than that of avoidng it. Radha Chanchani, an urban planner working with the Indian Institute of Science, said, "Urban planners consider transportation as an important…

Election reporting is an interesting area. One gets to see the real faces of candidates and their followers, besides coming across a bunch of funny experiences. Here's a collection of such experiences from the Citizen Matters team.It was about 6.30 in the evening. Around 40 people were going around shouting slogans for Shobha Karandlaje, in Rajaji Nagar. She would reach there in another half an hour.Except a handful of middle-aged men leading the pack, no other supporters seemed as loud or dramatic as supporters usually are. About half of them were women. The men seemed young and sophisticated, some with…

When I dropped by the office to see if I could help Citizen Matters with election coverage, I had no idea what to expect. Half an hour into our conversation, I’m asked if I want to interview Uday Garudachar, standing for elections in Chickpet on a BJP ticket. "Does your phone record calls?" Here was a man whose company’s chequered history I'd been following for the last three months while volunteering at Ejipura. And here was the one chance I had to speak to him on record; but my phone had no internal memory for a voice recorder app. I…

The Greek word Oligarchy means 'Government of a few rich people for their own advantage'. It was coined by the philosopher Aristotle 2300 years ago (he also coined the word Democracy). An Oligarch is a very rich businessman or businesswoman with a great deal of political influence. For convenience, we'll shorten the word to Olly.Karnataka politics has traditionally been funded by various lobbies of Ollys like the liquor lobby, the mining lobby, real estate lobby, and the contractors' lobby (in urban bodies elections). When a politician needs money to fight an election, an Olly funds him, and the Olly in…

Most KJP election candidates in the city are ex-BJP workers. But in Sarvagna Nagar, the party is fielding Michael B Fernandes, who had been with the JD(U) until recently. Fernandes, 78, is a trade union activist, and is the brother of former union minister George Fernandes. His wife Donna Fernandes is the founder of Vimochana, a city-based women’s rights group. Fernandes is a physics graduate from Madras University, and is a retired engineer from ITI Ltd. A former corporator, MLA and MLC, Fernandes has been active in politics for the last 53 years. He was elected as a corporator for…

Note: This website will soon be migrated to a new system.  If you face any issues, do mail us. You can also reach us through Twitter or Facebook! Bengaluru This Week Get our free weekly newsletter. Name Email Bengaluru This Week archives. Bengaluru's Mayor D Venkatesh Murthy is contesting the assembly election this time from Shanthinagar. Murthy has been a corporator thrice, and had been the city's Mayor till April this year.Murthy gave this interview to Citizen Matters at a hotel in Domlur last week, where he was holding a meeting with BJP activists on his campaign strategy. Murthy was quick…

Dear Dr Manmohan Singh, Last evening, I read a report of your speech at Mysore Road outside Bengaluru. "Congress will give world class infrastructure to Bengaluru: PM", went the headline by the Indo Asian News Service. The report was carried by several news websites including media as far away as the New York Daily News. It went on to quote your reason for this promise: "Because Bengaluru deserves the best", you said. Dr Singh, stop. I cannot speak for all Bangaloreans, but hear me out anyway. I do not want a world class infrastructure for Bengaluru. I want a world…

Yogaiyah V C, 60 is contesting as the Loksatta candidate from Byatarayanapura. After schooling and college in Andhra Pradesh, he served the Indian Air Force for 15 Years, till 1988. After that he worked as Principal, a ALT vocational training college in Bangalore and as a consultant. A member of the initial team ‘Corruption Saaku' in December 2010 and active participant in India Against Corruption Movement in 2011. he toured the countryside, for campaign for a referendum for Jan Lokpal Bill during October 2011. He is now the general secretary of Amrutha Layout RWA and has been working to solve…

Well-spoken, well-read and with previous experience in pushing issues related open governance, solid-waste management and work with the urban poor, Sridhar Pabbisetty,34 from the Loksatta party presents a welcome picture to even the most cynical, and especially to the young and urbane. His knowledge of the history of Hebbal, his keen awareness of its problems stand out, but it's the solutions that he propagates, knowledge of policy, willingness to experiment with technology and commitment to transparency and public participation that really impresses. It remains to be seen what kind of steps will be taken to address the tougher issues of…