PRESS RELEASE

Since the time Chennai has been ravaged by the floods in early-December, we have been hearing stories of how Bengaluru has pulled through for the people of Chennai. This is one such story.  Over 10 lakhs raised Members of the Facebook groups Drive Without Borders and Wake Up Bengaluru came together to raise funds to support the relief work in Chennai. In less than 10 days, funds in excess of 10 lakhs were generated by members of the two groups.  We delivered the relief material in two phases. In the first phase, volunteers from the groups visited a few places…

Bengaluru is included alongside 75 of the biggest cities of the world in a survey of global youth. Your response could help Bengaluru be a more livable city. Over the last two decades, Bengaluru has witnessed rapid growth of urbanisation. This has also brought a plethora of formidable challenges for the city, such as traffic congestion, urban sprawl, poor infrastructure and a perceived lack of basic facilities such as drinking water, Solid and Liquid Waste Disposal. It is very unfortunate that, although Bengaluru has transformed into an internationally known metropolis and mostly known to the world as the Silicon Valley…

For the first time in Bengaluru, the Walk to School (W2S) program was conducted successfully in Sanjaynagar. 1,500 children from six schools participated in the program by walking to school from their homes on Saturday November 5th. Those living further away and typically travelling by bus or other vehicles, were dropped off at common points a few kilometres away, and walked to school in groups. Pic: Manju George It was surprising to see that instead of complaining that they had to wake up early and walk to school on a cold morning, the children were excited and happy to walk.…

Enfold, as part of its annual events around observing World Day Against Child Abuse (November 19th), organised a panel discussion on November28th. When child sexual abuse (CSA) is reported in school, its ‘safe-space’ reputation can quickly become a hotbed of suspicion and panic, attracting media glare. In this emotionally charged situation, the best interests of the child and family, and adherence to the POCSO Act (The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012), and Karnataka State CPP (Child Protection For Educational Institutions) often recedes. Representations from stakeholders, related to school spaces, discussed about the systems and protocols on how…

Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF) in association with Citizens for Sustainability (CiFoS) with the support of B.PAC is organising the Walk to School on Saturday Program (WSS) to encourage children to adopt the Active and Safe Routes to School (ASRTS) initiative. File pic. Pic: Shree D N Six schools in Sanjay Nagar will participate in this initiative which is bring organised on December 5th 2015. Background Active commuting has reduced in the recent days due to many reasons. Lack of last mile connectivity and inadequate public transport have paved way for the increase in use of private vehicles. Even the…

The ‘I Change Indiranagar’ initiative has been formed by the residents to raise a collective voice against various issues plaguing Indiranagar, issues that have converted Indiranagar from a peaceful neighbourhood to an uncontrolled illegal commercial area, flowing with sewage and garbage strewn. We wish to invite you to a peaceful protest against encroachment of a public playground. The background of the issue can be read here: Public playground in Indira Nagar converted to private cricket camp? A peaceful demonstration has been planned by the residents of Indiranagar 1st Stage to reclaim the playground on November 28th 3.30 pm at the playground. We…

A battery of senior officials of the Bangalore Metro came to a Public Hearing called by Ranganathaswamy, Asst Conservator of Forests (Bangalore South) and Tree Officer of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike. The officials came armed with power points demonstrating that the Metro is a major progress from ancient forms of transport. They showed pictures of how humans have made a transition from bullock carts to cycles, overloaded jeeps, buses, trains and onto the slick comfort of the Metro. They were, thus, attempting to make a case that the extension of the Metro lines on Kanakapura Road and Mysore Road involving…

When Child Sexual Abuse is reported in school, its ‘safe-space’ reputation can quickly become a hotbed of suspicion and panic, attracting media glare. In this emotionally charged situation, the best interests of the child and family, and adherence to the POCSO Act (The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012), often recede. The Protocols recommended by the proposed Karnataka State Child Protection Policy for Educational Institutions (CPP) and POCSO Act support in managing child sexual abuse, responsibly and sensitively.  enfold invites you to Child Safety in Schools - Protocols and Systems, a Forum where the recommended protocol as per…

Bangalore Literature Festival (BLF), the flagship literary event on the cultural calendar of Bangalore city, is all set to roll out its fourth edition on December 5th and 6th 2015 at Hotel Royal Orchid, Old Airport Road. The BLF has emerged as the second largest literary conclave in the country that brings the best of minds in the world of literature to Bengaluru. Building on the success of the earlier editions, this time the festival brings together nearly a hundred stalwarts from the world of literature, in various languages, both from India and abroad. Subodh Sankar, Vikram Sampath and Shinie Antony…

File pic. Pic: Kedar Nadella Over the last year several Indian cities have witnessed rapid growth of app-based, on-demand cab services such as Uber, Ola, TaxiForSure etc. These services have prompted debate among policy makers, users and other stakeholders on their efficacy, reliability, sustainability and impact on environment, and on black and yellow taxi/regular cabs/public transport. This can be seen in the recent launch of the City Taxi Scheme 2015.   EMBARQ India is conducting a detailed research study to understand the impact of such services. This research can guide regulators/government to frame policies for the sustainability of aggregator models…