LOCAL

Courage without compare. Bravery beyond belief. In 1962, a thin line of India's finest stood their ground in the face of aggression. A grateful nation can never forget their sacrifice or their fortitude. 50 years later, on 17th November, Indigo Live and Flags of Honour Foundation commemorated these martyrs of the Himalayan heights with the Cry Freedom concert at Counter Culture in Bengaluru's Whitefield. Featuring Chennai bands Scrat and Frank's Got the Funk, the concert which kicked off at 6:30 pm was organised by the Flags of Honour Foundation. A non-profit entity based in Bangalore, the Flags of Honour Foundation…

Nadasurabhi, a leading cultural organisation of Bangalore conducted its 19th Annual Carnatic Music Festival from the 20th to 25th November with seven programmes. The venue was the new auditorium attached to the St.John's College of Nursing in Koramangala.The opening day saw the famous Mysore brothers, Nagaraj and Manjunath demonstrate their proficiency in violin by a vibrant performance. Poorvikalyani and Varali were dealt with in detail, and a Ragam Tanam pallavi in Charukesi was presented with aplomb. The second day sobriety, serenity and excellence were on display in the vocal concert of Maharajapuram Ramachandran who comes in the illustrious lineage of…

The Vibhutipura lake near HAL airport which spans across 14 acres is slowly diminishing due to increasing encroachment over the last 5 years. This sort of encroachment seems to be systematic and starts with building debris dumped in the lake bed. Later, it is flattened and slums rise over it following which, building construction begins. People living nearby dump garbage while raw sewage flows into the lake from apartment complexes and individual houses. Jobees Krishnan, a decade old resident observes, "The lake was full, with clean water 10 years ago; so clean that there were fish in the lake and…

On 7th October, the HSRx Federation organised a walkathon to the Somasundara Palya lake. More than 300 residents were there to demand that the lake be saved from encroachment and restored to its natural state. The walkathon started from Somasundara Palya circle (via DHL, Smart Retail store, EB power grid, turned left near Parangipalya Road and ended at the lake. Related articles: Haralukunte Kere getting filled with construction debris HSR federation interacts with MLA ABiDE member Dr Ashwin Mahesh said with more problems to be fixed in our neighbourhoods, they can be solved only by increasing the number of problem…

Meet H Veeranna (30), who has now been working at “Park View”, a Darshini at J P Nagar III Phase (Mini Forest) for eight years out of the thirteen that this eatery has been in existence. He is certainly one of the reasons why this bustling eatery is thriving; he, and his colleagues, always deliver service with a smile, no matter how rushed it is. H Veeranna, who works in Park View Darshini, J P Nagar III Phase. Pic: Deepa Mohan Veeranna belongs to Kundapur, and came to Bangalore to make a living. “I am lucky and happy to be…

“I feel like relocating to a different place. I will probably sell my house,” said a depressed, rather scared 70-year-old H N Pattabhiraman, a resident of  BTM I Stage, 9th Main, since 1992. Like Pattabhiraman, the other residents too live in fear. They feel helpless in the face of deteriorating law and order situation, they do not have much confidence in the police either.   The reason for this fear is the constant trouble created by miscreants and police inaction. The residents have to bear the brunt of motor-bikers drag racing with modified silencers at night, theft cases and rampant…

The scene is almost identical each time. Whenever anyone sees me at the lake -- and if they know that I am part of the team responsible for the lake being rejuvenated the way it is -- they come to thank me first and then quickly proceed to offer me advice on the BBMP and the government. “Don’t trust them”… “they are a bunch of crooks,”… “Don’t get further involved with the government.” Fencing around kaikondrahalli lake. Pic: Shilpi Sahu I tell these people that this lake could not have and would not have been rejuvenated the way it has,…

The residents of Bank of Baroda Colony in JP Nagar VII Phase can now sleep peacefully, the three stone cutting units have finally shut down.  I would like to sincerely thank all those who supported this cause and a special thanks to Meera (Co-founder Citizen Matters) and Abhishek (journalist from Citizen Matters) for their continued and invaluable support in this cause - Rahul Rai The three units had been functioning from 1988. After continuous follow ups with KSPCB officials, for over a year, the residents of Brigade Palm Springs, an apartment complex behind stone cutting units have won the battle.…

Shashi Kumar, Assistant Executive Engineer, BBMP, filed an FIR against a Chandramouli Reddy on August 4th, for illegally dumping the silt and debris on survey no. 69/1, Haralukunte, 15th B Main, 21st cross of Sector III, HSR layout. Silt and debris being dumped in an open site. Pic: Anisha Nair Kumar says, “Earlier, when the residents complained, we went and filed a complaint in the police station. But the same dumping event happened again and that’s when I went and filed an FIR against the accused.” When the residents went and asked Reddy to stop dumping, he responded with abusive…

About two years ago, we came up with a simple idea of collecting old newspapers from the apartments in this community, and sell them to the local kabadiwala. The money thus collected would be donated to local orphanages and old-age homes. Many residents, some as young as three, formed an army of enthusiastic volunteers that went around door to door collecting old newspapers. Young volunteers at work. Pic: Shree Rekha With this initiative we have raised Rs 1,02,000 in the last two years and we have been able to help 13 local charity institutions, which includes schools, orphanages and old-age…