PRESS RELEASE

Metro train services will be suspended between RV Road and Yelachenahalli stations from 5 am of 14th November (Thursday) to the whole of 17th November (Sunday). BMRCL is launching viaduct superstructures on the span across the operational Green Line, south of RV Road. This work is part of developing RV Road Metro station as an interchange between the Green Line and the upcoming Electronic City Metro Corridor. The suspension is to facilitate new Metro line construction works to Bommasandra. Normal train services between Nagasandra and Yelachenahalli will be resumed from 5 am of 18 November (Monday). BMTC services available between…

Air quality in all 15 locations sampled from across the city between May and July 2019 was unhealthy, with levels of PM 2.5 in the worst affected areas nearly three times the national standard of 60 ug/m3, according to a study released by Healthy Energy Initiative and Doctors for Clean Air-Tamil Nadu. The widespread nature of pollution and the fact that the samples were taken in summer highlights how the current pollution crisis is neither an isolated nor a seasonal incident. The study analysed 24-hour air samples for PM 2.5 and a host of heavy metals. The densely populated areas…

Chennai saw 543 registered cases of dengue till October, the highest across all districts in Tamil Nadu in this calendar year. The civic body has promised to undertake more preventive measures such as fumigation and conduct awareness drives to educate citizens on dos and don’ts, to arrest the spread of dengue. Citizens in their individual capacity can be prepared to prevent the spread of the disease by undertaking certain preemptive measures.  Here are a few key pointers from the Kanchi Kamakoti CHILDS Trust Hospital on how dengue spreads, the symptoms, course of treatment and what you can do to avoid…

Media reports have stated that the state government and BBMP plan to introduce dedicated bus lanes on 12 high-density corridors in Bengaluru. The Bengaluru Bus Prayanikara Vedike (BBPV) welcomes this initiative as it is essential for sustainable and equitable mobility in the city. This has been a long standing demand from BBPV and other civil society groups, and we are happy to work with the government to make this a success. Why dedicated bus lanes are important Road space is a limited public resource. Bus-based public transport makes the most efficient use of road space for moving people. As the…

In a bid to regularise the posts of 4000 pourakarmikas in the city, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) called for online applications in a circular dated 27th August. There are 18,000 pourakarmikas in the city who have been receiving their salaries under the direct payment system since January 2018, and the state government had earlier promised to regularise all of them. The pourakarmikas therefore are frustrated that only 4000 workers may be regularised instead of all 18,000. In this context, the BBMP Pourakarmikara Sangha, affiliated with the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), organised a protest on…

Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party (BNP), a political party with the vision to make Bengaluru a model city of the world, was launched this Sunday, September 22nd. The ideology of the party is good grassroots governance. It will focus only on the municipal elections in the Greater Bengaluru Area, primarily BBMP. BNP’s motto is "nanna nagara, nanna hemme, nanna jawabdari - My City! My Pride! My Responsibility!" The party’s stated objective is sustainable, inclusive and balanced development of Bengaluru. Founded by a few passionate Bengalureans, BNP’s members include citizens who have worked tirelessly at the grassroots over the past few years. Through…

On Global Climate Week, three major environmental groups - Jhatkaa.org, Fridays For Future (FFF) and Extinction Rebellion (XR) - are coming together to rally the citizens of Bengaluru through a series of events. These events, with the central theme of climate justice, will be held from 20-27 September. Ultimately, the goal is to raise awareness around the current climate crisis, and to tackle it now by going beyond individual efforts and looking at systemic shifts by pressuring our governments and large corporates. The Global Climate Week, Bengaluru 2019 September 20th, Friday: Strike at Bengaluru's Townhall, the event aims to bring…

The jurisdiction of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike, which extends over 198 wards and 28 Assembly constituencies, has population of more than 1.1 cr. Because of this, providing services and facilities to citizens is becoming a daily struggle. Due to reorganisation, in many cases one assembly constituency is distributed over more than one zone, and this has created difficulties in citizen and administration related tasks. Presently, many major infrastructure works are being implemented in the BBMP jurisdiction, and many more are in the pipeline. In the present system, the concerned Joint Commissioners submit all files pertaining to zones for the approval…

The Garments and Textile Workers Union (GATWU) staged a protest on 12th September, to oppose the apathetic attitude of the government and the factory owners. The protest, held in front of the Labour Department office at Dairy Circle, highlighted the inordinate delay in the fixing of minimum wages in the garment industry. It also pointed to the discrimination towards garment workers by the minimum wages committee, which had recommended extremely low wages. The Karnataka garments industry employs 3.5-4 lakh workers, and 85 percent of the workforce is female. These workers manufacture textiles for international brands and export them, earning substantial…

There are indications that air pollution is contributing to premature deaths from cardiovascular disease in people under 40, said Dr Rahul Patil, interventional cardiologist at the Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research. Dr Patil was speaking at the India Clean Air Summit 2019 (ICAS19). “Inhalation of particulate matter is leading to thickening of blood, with patients often showing clinical behaviours of a smoker although they are non-smokers,” he said. ICAS19 was hosted by the Centre for Air Pollution Studies, CSTEP, in partnership with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) and the state government's Department of Forest, Ecology and…