PRESS RELEASE

Citizens and Resident Welfare Associations in Bengaluru have objected to the recommendations made by the Karnataka Information and Communication Technology Group Report (KIG Report) that does not address the crucial challenges faced by the citizens, especially in terms of real governance reforms and transparency. Objecting to the recommendations made in the report, the Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) BRACE - a consortium of 750 Residents Association in the city said the report represents a surrender of the city's Development to the commercial interests represented by builders, contractors and real estate companies - many of whose commercial interests are directly responsible for…

The Bruhat Bengaluru Beedhi Vyaapaari Sanghatanegala Okkoota (Federation of Street Vendor Unions of Bangalore) is a federation of Street Vendor unions in several areas of Bangalore. Our member organisations have organised unions in Vijayanagar, Gandhinagar, Shivajinagar, K.R.Market, Kamakshipalya, Aerohalli Ward No.72, Yegganahalli, Rajajinagar, Dodda Gollarahatti, 1st & 2nd Block, Nandini Layout, Nandini Layout,Ramkrishnanagar, Cholurpalya, Goragunte playa, Kamalanagar and several other areas of Bangalore. One of our member organisations, the Vijayanagar Beedhi Vyaaparigala Sanghatane is in fact the first registered Street Vendors Union in Karnataka. We have been working with vendors in different areas, making them aware of the New Street…

Yezdi Roadkings at last year's Jawa Day. Pic:Raj Photography Come Sunday, the 13th of July, witness a spectacle that happens only once in a year - the largest gathering of Jawa’s and Yezdi’s in Bengaluru. Manufactured by the Ideal Jawa Company in Mysore until 1996, these 250 cc bikes known for their distinct beats from its twin exhaust, will come back alive on the road to celebrate the 12th International Jawa Yezdi Day. The International Jawa Yezdi Day is an annual celebration held on the second Sunday of every July across the globe to celebrate the power and legacy of…

Cycling enthusiasts attending Cycle Day event at Yelahanka. Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), UDD, Government of Karnataka which is part of Bangalore Coalition for Open Streets (BCOS) along with local partner Yelahanka United Environment Association (YUVA) conducted the ‘Cycle Day’ event in Yelahanka New Town next to the Allalasandra lake. The program was attended by over 3,000 local residents and cyclists from across Bangalore who enthusiastically participated in the cycle day event. S R Vishwanath, MLA Yelahanka, Manjula-Commissioner DULT, Muniraju-Corporator Ward 4, Mr.Virupaksha Mysore-Additional Commissioner, BBMP-Yelahanka zone and S T Tayappa-President, YUVA addressed the participants. Cycle Day has been…

Pic courtesy: BPAC The Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) inaugurated the second batch of its flagship program- B.CLIP (B.PAC Civic Leadership Incubator Program) amidst the presence of Bangalore’s citizens, intellectuals and political representatives. The inauguration of the second batch of B.CLIP solidifies B.PAC’s commitment in ensuring the creation of a talented and capable pool of leaders for the city. The B.PAC Civic Leadership Incubator Program (B.CLIP) is a 9-month Leadership Training Program that seeks to inspire, equip and mobilize aspiring citizens to engage in the political process leading up to the municipal corporation elections and help improve city governance. The…

People's Campaign for Right to water- Karnataka (PCRW-K) is a campaign pushing for a water democracy that protects water as a common property resource and provides safe, sufficient and clean water for all. The campaign also works on protection of lakes, water bodies in Karnataka and conserving water resources as commons. This is a press note from the Campaign, produced as it is. The campaign works to make the state responsible to facilitate people’s participation in nurturing lakes as commons and has repeatedly registered complaints, had series of discussions with the Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka and various concerned departments…

On a day when no one predicted fast timings, Geoffrey Kamworoor-Kipsang obliterated the six-year-old course record with an excellent 27:44 clocking, while Lucy Kabuu led a Kenyan podium sweep in the women’s race, also with a brilliant new time of 31:48, in the 7th edition of TCS World 10K Bangalore. Pacemaker Daniel Salel, a silver medalist in 10000m at Delhi Commonwealth Games four years ago, led the runners through the first half of the race in 13:57.   Defending champion Alex Oloitiptip and his Kenyan teammate Kamworor were in the lead group, as was Ethiopian Kinde Atanaw.  Incidentally the Ethiopian has the fastest…

Participate in a workshop on Ward Committee Roles and Responsibilities for a Greener, Cleaner, Safer, Water secure and Healthy Bengaluru. Date: Thursday 22nd May 2014 Time: 10.00 am – 4.00 pm Venue: Environment Support Group – Training Centre, 1575, Intermediate Ring Road, Banashankari 2nd Stage, Bangalore 560070 Why this workshop: Bengaluru is increasingly becoming an unaffordable and difficult city to live in.  Never ending traffic congestion, expensive public transportation, garbage lying everywhere, no water in taps, borewells running dry, lakes getting polluted (even disappearing overnight), heat, noise and air pollution everywhere, rampant tree felling has become a feature of every neighbourhood.  Women, children and senior citizens…

A mail from Leo Saldanha, Convenor of Environment Support Group, says: As you are aware, we have challenged the widening of roads in Bangalore by BBMP as being illegal. This matter is being heard by the High Court this week. When we filed the PIL in 2008, BBMP had proposed to widen 91 roads, a list they later expanded to include as many as 216 roads. When the PIL is heard on Friday (25th April), we will have to file a memo about the status of road widening on the original list of 91 roads.  As these are spread across…

AAP leader Prithvi Reddy releases agenda for Bangalore. Aam Aadmi Party provides an alternate to the current political system in the country. The successive governments led by both BJP and Congress were not able to provide corruption free governance in the state. There is an overall governance issue in the state. The chronic civic issues faced by Bangalorians were due to the governance deficit and lack of action. Till now, several attempts were made to fix the civic problems without addressing the overall governance issues. This is only a temporary fix and permanent solution can be achieved only through getting…