madiwala

Garbage generated in Bengaluru’s markets big and small can be a star, according to  VEDAN, an NGO working on creating awareness among people on waste management issues. Named G-Star, the suggested model, which came out of Vedan’s study of K R Puram market, brings together people who produce waste and those who can make productive use of it. The G-star model can reduce the mixed waste that goes to landfills. This waste can be distributed to all stakeholders in a desired form by collecting it directly from vendors at the market as and when it is produced. The K R…

I enjoy taking groups of people on nature and bird walks. So, when my friend Vaibhav Chaudhury, who’s involved in many social initiatives, called me to help him guide the residents of a gated community on a bird walk in Madiwala kere, I was very happy to do so. So off we went to the kere at 4pm. I first got a photo of him with the bird board that Brickwork India had put up. The photos of the waterfowl are all by him and Dr Sanjeev Managoli, a paediatrician who manages to follow his passion for birds and contribute…

A couple of years ago, the government came up with a hare-brained plan to construct underpasses on Sarjapur road. The sole reason for this was to benefit a private builder developing a large area on the wetlands of Bellandur lake. The residential areas along the way would have been decimated, but that was of no concern to the powers that be. Citizens went to court and finally a negotiated settlement was arrived at between citizens and the government. A government-appointed commission, in its final report, stated that the real problem was on Hosur road and that had to be treated…

As a part of decongesting traffic from Silk Board junction to Madiwala checkpost, the traffic police have converted some two-way roads into one-ways. Now the vehicles going from Silkboard to Koramangala or Diary Circle can move easily on both sides of the road. One may thank the police for this initiative, and for facilitating smooth traffic flow on these roads. But the main problem is for commuters who are moving towards Silk Board or Hosur road, from Dairy Circle or Koramangala water tank. They have to go towards Krupanidhi College junction and then take a right onto the Madiwala market…

Continuous stream of traffic does not let people cross the road. Pic: Reji Thomas The new one-way system introduced on the stretch from the Madivala Checkpost to Krupanidhi College, on Sarjapur Road has resulted in chaos and a terrible, unbearable traffic situation on this stretch. The residents in these localities woke up on April 26th morning and were shocked and surprised to experience that they could not come out of their houses and localities where they have been living for the last several decades. The one-way system introduced on April 26th, 2015 does not allow residents to take their cars…

Traffic rearrangement at Adugodi and Madiwala. Pic: BTP Facebook page The new one-way system around Madiwala market introduced by the traffic police in response to the growing challenges of mobility in the area shows how, when we don't have a macro plan, we end up making a series of small adjustments, maybe out of necessity, but not always connected to each other. Here is the link to the image showing the new plan.  Traffic rearrangement at Adugodi and Madiwala Bengaluru traffic police have introduced a one-way system in Madiwala and Adugodi traffic station limits to avoid the traffic congestion and…

Madiwala Kere played host to the third Lake Day celebrations on Saturday April 11th. It was organised by Namma Bengaluru Foundation in association with Snehadhara Foundation, BB76 and United Way. The event encouraged people to connect with their surroundings, explore and participate in preserving it, and become a stakeholder in keeping it alive. With talks on biodiversity and sustainable living, demos on organic gardening and water testing, bird watching, sketching, cycling, music and dance, it truly was a day to celebrate the abundance in nature. Here's a glimpse of the Lake Day celebrations at Madiwala in pictures.  My3leaves on their…

  Drive it with flowers! Sometimes, the appearance seems to be more important than safety on our roads. I saw several autos, vans and cars bedecked with flowers in this way, on the eve of Bali Padyami. How the drivers of such vehicles can drive safely is beyond me. While such festive displays make for quaint, National-Geographic-type of photography, how is it that the traffic police look the other way when road safety is so blatantly compromised?    

  That was how around 40 of us reclaimed our space vociferously and visibly on the roads of Madiwala (South Bangalore) and its environs between 5.00-7.00 pm last Saturday, 4th August. We energetically and emphatically expressed our views against various recent cases of moral policing and sexual assault across India including Guwahati, Mandya (Karnataka) and Mangalore. Ithi (meaning "a start" in Sanskrit), a support forum for women employed in the IT/ITeS industry organized the action which attracted necessary attention from local residents, college students and onlookers some of who joined us. Starting with a stationary protest at a busy corner…

On Sivarathri evening, I photographed this serpentine queue waiting to get darshan at the Shiva temple facing Madivala Lake: Its seems one has to wait even to see God, if it is a special day! I do tend to avoid auspicious days and festtivals at temples and churches,  because of the crowds... Right next door was an Ayyappa temple, rather deserted. Why could not one go there and meditate upon Shiva? Because one needs, sometimes, an image to focus on, I suppose.  ⊕