OPINION

The Electoral Rolls of 27 constituencies of Bangalore have serious errors and omissions. When the authorities did not react to repeated feedbacks and request to correct anomalies, a PIL was filed in the High Court of Karnataka. The Chief Justice agreed with the issues raised in the petition and directed the CEO to correct various data errors and also to restore illegitimately deleted voters. After reported efforts at cleansing the lists, the CEO published a new set of voters' lists on 28th January, 2013. However, soon afterwards, download of the voter-lists was disabled. Prajalytics, a software company, had downloaded the…

If kids could learn their ABCs from mummy's smartphone, communicate with Talking Tom and hone their drawing skills with innumerable doodling apps, could this be far behind? An American firm has unveiled a new gadget at a tech meet called iPotty. Yes, it is very imaginatively named that, lest parents miss the point. iPotty is basically a potty seat with an iPad holder and waterproof cover, which gives the whole game of toilet training a technical spin. Using books to divert your toddler's attention while you make him stay put long enough to do the job? Or are you still…

Subsequent to the judgement on the PIL on December 11th, 2012, the Chief Electoral Officer and BBMP organisations are undertaking intense cleansing activities of electoral rolls of the 27 constituencies of Bangalore Districts.A few steps:They have accepted close to 10 lakh applications for registration and have restored about 1 lakh voters to the rolls by verifying that the deletions were incorrect.They have identified about 12 lakh instances of errors and have corrected about 80% of them.About 65,000 duplicate records have been identified and deleted.More than 30,600 voters who shared their ID with some other voters are now allotted new IDs.Now,…

Manufacturing units (aka factories) come under the purview of various chapters and sections of the Factories Act, 1948 which provides detailed regulations concerning health, disposal of waste and effluents, lighting, drinking water, safety and other aspects relevant to working conditions. The legislation also governs working hours, rests, overtime for extra hours, the welfare officer et al. And the responsibility for compliance is on the ‘Occupier' who should be a director of the company and the factory manager.While the above provisions are grossly inadequate even for today's manufacturing industries, they barely cover the conditions prevailing in Information Technology (IT) and Information…

Stack three matchboxes, and they'll stay stable. Add a dozen more on top, and the pile will topple. Perhaps this ‘tipping point' is what we as a society have now reached, as we begin a new year, where our responses are shaking up apathetic administrators.Slowly, but surely, and with increasing frequency, we are hearing of action by individuals or small groups, raising protests and making a difference. A few such initiatives in namma ooru are worth taking note of.Last month, the High Court ordered a review of BBMP's record of granting permission for commercial buildings in residential areas. It took…

In one of the articles in his weekly column for the Times of India, brand consultant Santosh Desai examined the psychology behind the increase in rape cases. He attributed it to the increase in power of women leading to insecurity in males. Some women hold positions of extreme power. And a few large firms such as Facebook have women as their COO's, CEO's, CFO's, etc. The previous President of India was a woman. These are major factors contributing to the atrocities against women, according to Desai.The government usually passes the blame to women for their dressing and mannerisms as the…

The good news is that at least half the number of diabetes patients can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes by simple lifestyle modifications. The bad news is: at least 50% of diabetics are not aware that they have diabetes. They are not aware of signs and symptoms which can help them recognise if they have diabetes, and manage it accordingly before it causes damage to vital organs. Pic: wikimedia commons What then should alert you if you are at risk of diabetes, or have diabetes. Some of the common symptoms that should alert you are: Increased appetite Increased…

It's an image stuck in my head from a long time ago. My friend, 19, is helping her mother roll out chapattis in the kitchen. Nothing wrong with that, except that her brother is comfortably slouched on the sofa, yelling for water. She yells back that he should get it himself and the mother adds lovingly but in all seriousness: Bhai ko paani de do, usko aadat nahi hai lene ki (Give a glass of water to your brother, he isn't in the habit of fetching it himself).The recent discussions in the light of the tragic gang rape case in…

So the protests have stopped and the political games have begun. The 23-year-old girl continues to battle for her life. What now?The immediate reaction from Delhi Police after the incident was to pull up all the drivers and see to it that they have valid public service permits. People started tweeting about buses with dark windows or curtained and saying, be wary of them. Yes it is a good thing to have these in place because it helps us catch the culprits when a crime occurs. But this is not a preventive measure is it?Closer home Home Minister R Ashoka,…

By now you've probably read, discussed and formed your own opinion about the case of the Indian couple arrested in Norway and sentenced to 18 and 15 months jail respectively. Their crime? Of physically abusing their son by beating him with a belt and burning him with a hot spoon as punishment. It seems the child was ‘hypersensitive' according to newspapers here. The psychiatrist treating the child has termed it Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD). If the reports are true, instead of understanding the condition, his parents resorted to beating the child and threatening to send him back to India. Pic:…