OPINION

Rock On is quite unlike any other movie that the Bollywood factory has churned out. It is the first Hindi movie that deals with rock music as its central theme, and is refreshingly different from most of the standard fare that we, as cinema-goers, have been subjected to. While the public in general seems to have been greatly appreciative of the movie, as box-office records would illustrate, I had mixed feelings about it once I walked out of the multiplex and walked back into reality, where rock bands were struggling to make it big, despite the odds being stacked heavily…

This is a quick primer by for Bangaloreans on borewells, open wells, recharging, and undergound acquifers. Bangalore originally used to rely on open wells more than borewells. Open wells get their water from shallow acquifers that lie at depths of less than 80 feet from the ground. Many parts of Bangalore still have open wells. Illustration: Sripathy Konada, Biome Environmental Solutions. Click for larger picture. Borewells are in essence, narrow holes dug deep into the ground. A borewell taps into a deep acquifer, which essentially water in rocks. Because waters of shallow acquifers are subject to contamination (in part to…

The incoming BJP government was quick to announce that one of its top priorities would be to improve infrastructure in the capital city, especially in transport. This is not the first time that such a promise has been made by the state government, but there are reasons to believe that this time the political will is stronger, and also that the administrative capacity to actually achieve some of the objectives is now available with various departments. There are, at the outset, three kinds of choices to be made. Once these are settled, the rest of the effort towards making Bangalore…

In Metro vs Traders: legal test coming up, we explained how land acquisitions are being carried out under Bangalore's Namma Metro project. The acquisitions are premised on the notion of eminent domain and public purpose. The experiences of eminent domain cases in other cities across the world help us understand the nuances involved when the state decides to take away private properties in the name of public purpose. The Dutch jurist Hugo Grotius first explained the term eminent domain. According to him, the state has the right to take away private property for implementing projects that will serve public purposes,…

Devesh Agarwal of the Bangalore Chamber of Commerce and Industry disagrees with Albert Brunner, the CEO of Bangalore International Airport Limited on the latter’s recent interview to Citizen Matters on the airport controversy. Albert Brunner, CEO of Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) recently gave an interview to Citizen Matters where he said that Bangalore does not need two airports. In this this article, I will argue why the city does need to keep HAL airport open. Indian low cost airlines are leading the current aviation surge being led by low cost airlines globally. Add to this an economic boom, and…

Bengaluru's rock history dates back to the 70s when a pioneering set took stage at Cubbon Park to strum a few famous English numbers on Independence Day. This innocuous strumming attracted derision from the then conservative Bengalurian, but sparked off a movement that has blossomed into the rich rock music scene of today. Early pioneers included the likes of Geoffrey Pope, Karl Peters, Amit Heri and Roberto Narain, iconic names among those who know their music. Sadly, most dissolved into oblivion, while some turned to coaching/selling music equipment and a bare few managed to retain label credibility in the world…

Guru Ravindranath, one of the prominent RTI users in the city filed an RTI application on 31 January 2007. For not receiving the information, he filed an appeal on 14/3/07. The first hearing was set to 25/5/07. It was then postponed to 28/8/07. Then again it was postponed to 22/11/07. And again it was postponed to 12/2/08. And then again to 14/4/08! The state's Chief Information Commissioner at this time is K K Mishra. The RTI (Right To Information) Act is a special-purpose vehicle that is supposed to feed the citizens with information on demand. But Karnataka's bureaucrats are exploiting…

Bangalore's administration and the Karnataka state government are trying to deal with the city's massive traffic woes in one way or another. The most common approach undertaken by governments is to implement schemes to widen roads, build flyovers, and develop mass transit/rapid transit systems. Recently, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) decided to implement its proposal of widening 85 roads in the city. Bangalore's roads are currently handling 32 lakh vehicles, nearly two and a half times the number in 1990s. It was in 2005 that the city's Roads Department announced the road widening scheme for 85 roads. However, the…

Once a pleasing part of the landscape, Bangalore's lakes have now become scarce and valuable commodities in a burgeoning metropolis. Hebbal lake, which was in the eye of a storm last year over its acquisition by the Oberoi Group of Hotels, mirrors the changing mores of a city in transition. Created in the 16th century to function as a reservoir, the lake's extent is 150 acres. It has since sustained scores of local and migratory birds. The lake along with neighbouring Nagvara lake (which has already been turned into an amusement park) is part of extensive wetlands system in the…

We all want our roads to be broad enough to ensure smooth flowing traffic. But with more than 27 lakh vehicles in Bangalore and more than 800 new vehicles getting registered every day, the road infrastructure just cannot keep up to the growing vehicle count. However much the administration tries to widen the roads, there is a limit to this approach. Public Transport - limited by BMTC capacity (pic: Madhav Pai) The unchecked growth and usage of private vehicles which constitute almost 90% of the total vehicles in Bangalore can be countered with an excellent public transport service. The Bangalore…