PRESS RELEASE

How easy is your daily commute in your city? Does the air refresh you, or does it make you wheeze? Do you have to pass by mounds of garbage as you walk to the neighbourhood grocery? How difficult is it to avail basic municipal services in your city?  In order to assess the quality of life in Indian cities and help Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) plan and execute projects better, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has launched a two-pronged approach. The Ease of Living Index and the Municipal Performance Index will help evaluate the 100 smart cities and…

PublicEye, an app that allows citizens to report traffic violations, is seeing a steady growth in the number of complaints as well as resolution of the same. The app was launched in September 2015, jointly by Bengaluru Traffic Police(BTP) and Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship Democracy. From the time of its launch, PublicEye has aggregated a total of 1.26 lakh app downloads with 24,222 active users. It has received a total of 3.28 lakh complaints, of which 2.27 lakh complaints have been effectively resolved in the last four years. Last year, 2019, recorded the highest complaint uploads, with a 150% increase…

The present state government has announced a series of measures to improve bus services – enhancing the bus fleet, reducing fares, introducing bus lanes and so on. The bus lanes have had a good start, but the other announcements are yet to be implemented. We, at the advocacy group BBPV (Bangalore Bus Prayanikara Vedike), expect that the government will allot money to BMTC in the budget, so that that they can implement the announced decisions. In the context of the upcoming budget, BBPV conducted a survey to reach out to people in the city (both bus commuters and non-bus commuters)…

The third edition of Janaagraha’s annual Bengaluru Civic Fest, held in association with Cisco, showcased how Gen Z is taking initiative to bring change in society. The one-day fest was held at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur. It was a culmination of the IChangeMyCity Challenge, organised from August to December 2019, in which students were tasked with identifying a civic issue that affects their neighbourhood and to come up with an innovative solution to address it. Over 14,000 students from Classes VI to XII across India participated in the challenge through the IChangeMyCity Challenge portal, co-created by Cisco. Twenty-five teams,…

On February 10th, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, issued a suo moto statement in the Lok Sabha on the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus Disease in China and some other countries, and the subsequent actions taken by the Government of India. Coronaviruses are a large group of viruses that cause illness in humans and animals. Rarely, animal corona viruses can evolve and infect people, and then spread between people as has been seen with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2014. China reported an outbreak of Novel…

To encourage a culture of reusing stuff and reducing waste generated to create a positive impact on the planet, Chennai Corporation is organising an exciting event on January 12th and 13th - the "Reuse and Reduce Sale." Citizens can donate various lightly used items in good condition that they wish to part with, for the R & R sale where these will be sold at nominal price. You can also swap similar items at the sale venue. Scroll down to get more details regarding the event: What can you donate? (All items must be in good condition) 1) Children's toys/playthings…

Bangalore Apartments' Federation (BAF) has strongly condemned Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for its unilateral, unreasonable and illegal penalisation of apartments which have not been able to do in situ composting. BAF is a not-for-profit organisation with a membership base of over 500 apartment complexes across Bengaluru, representing almost one lakh households and three lakh people. Elaborating on Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, Vikram Rai, Treasurer and SWM Lead of BAF, said, “The SWM Rules of 2016 - notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 8th April 2016 - mandates only waste segregation. It neither mandates…

Most Indian cities have a distinct historic past, rooted in the natural, social, economic and cultural contexts of different times. A strong relationship with nature and its processes is the most significant aspect of these cities’ development and survival. Landscape Foundation, India initiated the pilot study of the city of Delhi (Delhi – Hills, Forests and a River, 2017) in this context. This was followed by the study of Pune (The City of Hills and Rivers, 2018). This year, the study of Bengaluru was undertaken. The research, in each case, is produced in English and the regional language, as to…

Bangalore Apartments' Federation (BAF), a federation representing over one lakh flats and three lakh apartment residents across Bengaluru, will launch MADHURA – 'Medical Aid for Domestic Help Under Residential Apartments'. As part of MADHURA, BAF will launch a group insurance scheme for all domestic workers. The scheme will cover maids, cooks, drivers, plumbers, electricians etc who work in apartment complexes but are not formally employed. Underscoring the importance of MADHURA, H A Nagaraja Rao, President of BAF, said, “Most domestic workers do not get coverage under government schemes like Ayushman Bharat or Arogya Karnataka as they may be above the…

State government has announced its decision to add 6000 buses to the BMTC fleet in a phased manner and to reduce bus fares. This is a huge win for commuters, civil society groups and the city at large. The Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV), a collective that advocates for better BMTC services, welcomes this long-awaited reform, and applauds the government and BMTC for the decision. Congratulations, Bengaluru! Decades of road widening, building flyovers and massive mobility infrastructure such as elevated roads and Metro, have only resulted in inadequate provision, increasing cost of public transport as well as traffic congestion. Finally,…