INTERVIEWS

With 6,500 buses in its fleet, Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) carries 50 lakh people per day in Bengaluru. BMTC is one service, that whether you like it or hate it, you cannot ignore it. While BMTC bus service is appreciated as well as criticised by public, its Managing Director Ekroop Caur talks to Citizen Matters about the future plans for BMTC, challenges ahead and ways of meeting people’s demand. BMTC Managing Director Ekroop Caur At a time when private bus aggregators have made it to the bus service sector in Bengaluru, what initiative has BMTC taken to improve its…

Pic courtesy: Facebook page of Akkai Padmashali Akkai Padmashali is a male-to-female trans-woman and gender activist. Her journey is one of courage and determination. In November 2015, Akkai became the first transgender to be awarded the Rajyotsava Award, the second highest civilian honor presented by the Karnataka State government for her work. Here are the edited excerpts of her interview with Radio Active CR 90.4 MHz. So, Akkai, can you tell us something about yourself? Akkai is just a normal simple human being. I was born a boy, but at the age of seven or eight, I felt a transformation…

Kamakshi Vidyaakar is a quiet and industrious girl who has been with Udavum Karangal from her infancy.  She completed her schooling at Ramakrishna Vidya Niketan and trained as a nurse at Jeevan School of Nursing. She has been handling various challenging assignments on her own. The phrase Udavum Karangal means ‘Helping Hands.” It is not just a metaphor. For Vidyaakar, who founded it, it is the one principle that he has lived and breathed during his chosen life. His are the ‘helping hands’ for the thousands of children – young and old, man, woman, child and infant, the dying and…

On October 31st 2015, a group of friends will be running from Freedom Park in Bengaluru to Chintamani, near Chikkaballapur. The following day, November 1st, they will make their way back to Bengaluru, once again on foot. Across the two days, they will cover a distance equivalent to that of seven half-marathons (a half-marathon marathon equals 21.097 kilometres). But this is no average run… it is an opportunity to raise funds to support the farmers in Chintamani. Some members of the team that will run during Ride2Light 2.0. Pic: Siddarth Dudheria Citizen Matters spoke to Siddarth Dudheria, a product manager…

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…

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…