INTERVIEWS

On September 7th 2010,  the Bangalore Mirror reported BDA Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena as saying that gated communities are illegal. Meena was reported saying every layout is required to earmark space for parks, roads and areas of common use. "When roads and parks inside the community are controlled by civic authorities, how can such layouts be called gated communities?" Meena is reported to have asked. Ashok Haranahalli, Advocate General of Karnataka Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal. In May 2008, the BBMP issued a public notice with regard to barricading layouts and preventing use by general public. The notice says that there is…

The short film has been a part of the young Bangalorean's vocabulary for some time now. But last weekend the entire movement received a fillip when Suchitra's Centre for Film & Drama (CFD) brought together 50 short films made by 29 filmmakers from six states across India under the Short Film Festival. Even if the cinema was not always cutting edge, there was an abundance of ideas, creative experiments and youthful vibrancy. You could not but help notice the buzzing energy in the air as these filmmakers, many of them just out of college, shared their work in a ‘housefull'…

For 41 years now, Bangalore Kidney Foundation has been working for the cause of people with kidney problems, those whose kidneys are failing them and those who need dialysis, and sometimes kidney transplants. Having been a regular visitor to their annual fundraising event, 'Dhwani', and having contributed to the funds, I found myself curious about the origins and reach of the Bangalore Kidney Foundation (BKF), and decided to meet P Srinivas, one of the founder-trustees of the Foundation, at his home in Jayanagar. This septuagenarian's family owns Rapsri Engineering Industries Ltd. P Srinivas, Founder-Trustee of Bangalore Kidney Foundation. Pic: Deepa…

G Manjunath Raju. Bangalore's city budget, presented by the BBMP at the city council session on August 30th raises more questions than answers. The steep revenue projections BBMP has cited are themselves a whole topic. Citizen Matters spoke to G Manjunath Raju, corporator of Kadu Malleswaram (Ward 65) and member of BBMP's Taxation and Finance committee that prepared the budget. Discussion on the budget at the council is scheduled for September 2nd. There is a several fold increase in revenues compared to last year. How are you planning to manage that? There are total 15 lakh properties in the city.…

He has been in the hot seat of the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Security) for nearly two-and-half years. IPS officer Praveen Sood has much to say about the city's motorists. Focusing primarily on maintaining discipline on the road, the traffic police department under his leadership has gone all out on nabbing offenders. With the help of technology and a non-compromising stand in enforcing the law, the department attempts to compensate for its severe staff shortage. Praveen Sood in conversation with Citizen Matters about the technology used to monitor traffic, while demonstrating traffic flow in a major intersection in…

If you go with expectations to see a movie about Bengaluru, you are going to be thoroughly disappointed. Even as the feature film titled 'Bengaloored' may seem misleading to the regular movie-goer, director Swaroop Kanchi says the city is merely a backdrop in this story about a man and the changes in his life. (Read Citizen Matters' interview with Swaroop Kanchi here) 'Bengaloored' is about an author, Babruvahana or Babbu, who returns to the city from France after ten long years. With a lot of changes in his personal life, the film is about Babbu's struggles and his journey to…

Vasu Dixit, Bangalore-based music composer-vocalist-guitar player for the folk-fusion band Swarathma, has recently turned music-director with his first movie Bengaloored. The 90-minute English movie directed by Swaroop Kanchi features Kannada actors and has received good reviews both for its music and performances. From humble beginnings in 2002, Swarathma has grown to be one of the major fusion bands in the city now. After regrouping in 2006, the six-member band’s first music album, also called Swarathma, was released in 2008. Their second album was Soundpad Sessions, a project by UK Producer John Leckie, in which they were featured as one of…

At a recent BBMP council session, BJP corporator Y N Ashwath (Kempegowda, Ward 1) said, “There are so many stars in the sky. But it's the moon that is most visible. Just like our Mayor!” Mayor S K Nataraj (elected from Sarakki, Ward 179) has been witness to many such limericks, potshots and several bouts of anger from Bengaluru corporators, during council sessions. He doesn't have it all that easy. Mayor S K Nataraj. Pic: Vaishnavi Vittal. Two months into his tenure Nataraj has gotten down to brass-tracks to address problems in the city. He regularly conducts inspections and appears…

On July 3rd 2010, Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde announced that he is withdrawing his resignation, following a conversation with senior BJP leader L K Advani. Hegde said the BJP has promised to cooperate with the Lokayukta and give the body suo moto powers. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa told media persons that the state government will also help in checking illegal mining in the state. Justice Hegde has another year to complete his five-year term as Karnataka Lokayukta. More than a week after he announced his resignation, Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde seems more at ease. On June 23rd, when he…

Obtaining khatas is known to be an ordeal in itself. It is not uncommon to hear BBMP officials demanding various sums of money to 'get the work done'. In the past few weeks several residents in Bengaluru have narrated stories of how much money they doled out to get a khata. But there is also a success story amidst them, which has inspired many others in the city to follow suit. Fifty families residing at Suncity Apartments on Sarjapur Road applied for khatas with the BBMP and obtained the registration document last year. All this without paying a single rupee…