protest

Following the unfortunate death of a yet another person as a result of the potholes on the road, citizens expect that someone is held accountable. This time, the victim was a three-year-old child. She was on a bike with her uncle and mother, when her uncle lost control of the vehicle on hitting a pothole. The child fell off the bike and was hit by an oncoming lorry. According to eyewitnesses, the road was choc-a-bloc with traffic as usual. There was a family of three on a bike - a man, a pregnant woman and a three-year-old child. A lorry…

For Sukumaran Menon K, the outcome of a two-year-long protest against injustice is more trouble and misery. Sukumaran hails from a small town called Triprayar located in Trissur, Kerala. He came to Bangalore 49 years ago to join Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML). Now, seven years after his retirement, Menon is on the footpath asking for justice. He sits on fast on a stone bench on M G Road near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi from 8 am to 6 pm, holding his faded umbrella under the scorching sun. Menon's Samadhana Satyagraha started on March 21, 2011. No government official…

There has been outrage in the country after the recent Delhi gangrape case. The ripples have been felt in Bengaluru too. Different groups in the city, ranging from feminists, political parties, students and IT employees have been protesting. There have been protests in the city earlier, on issues of violence against women with barely 20-30 activists participating. The number of male protesters would be negligible. The protest would often be seen as so irrelevant that the public would not give a second glance. If there was no police permission given, there would be no gentle treatment from the police either.…

It was a pourakarmika who, last Friday, provided  the answer to the vexing question of what to do about the mounds of garbage  that now characterise our city. She was sweeping up the rubbish from the road in front of my apartment -- mud and muck, mixed with soggy bits of paper, plastic, heaps of dried flowers and leaves rotting after the overnight drizzle, dog mess, the lot. -- and carefully piling it right in front of my door. This new mound by the kerbside was also blocking the path of the rain water to the drains  along the edge…

Starting the grade separator works at Koramangala for the contested Sirsi-Agara signal free corridor has landed BDA in trouble. The High Court on May 29th ordered that emergent notices be sent to BDA and its Commissioner Bharat Lal Meena. Emergent notices are issued only in serious conditions and have to be responded to immediately.Justice Shylendra Kumar and Justice B Srinivasa Gowda passed this order on a contempt case filed by Bengaluru-based civic organisation CAF (Citizen's Action Forum) and Kuvempu Nagar RWA. These petitioners said that BDA started electrical works for the project, by violating the court's previous orders. They had…

Over 100 residents of Ejipura EWS (Economically Weaker Section) quarters staged a protest at BBMP head office on May 29th, demanding that shopping mall should not be built in the quarters land. The quarters is spread over 15.64 acres and houses over 1500 families. In January, BBMP made an agreement with a private company Maverick Holdings to develop almost half the area for a shopping mall and the remaining area for EWS quarters. Residents of Ejipura EWS quarters protesting at BBMP head office, NR Square, on May 29th. Pic: Navya P K “It is illegal for EWS land to be…

IAC Karnataka had organised a protest rally on May 25th, Saturday at Chamrajpet. The meeting was addressed by H S Doraiswamy, senior freedom fighter. This was followed by candle light vigil at traffic signal  junction, Chamrajpet. For over a year now, IAC has been protesting the unfortunate killing of honest officers and whistle blowers. In spite of the continued killings, starting from the Satyendra Dubey, Sheila Masood to the recent killing of Narendra Kumar, Madan Naik, SP Mahantesh in different parts of the country,  governments both at Centre and States have done nothing to offer protection to the whistleblowers. This…

BBMP Contract Pourakarmika Workers Association staged a protest today at BBMP head office about the pending salaries for the past two months. Around 1,000 workers participated in the protest. They demanded that the system of paying salaries through contractors should be done away with and be paid directly by BBMP. The pourakarmikas say that the contractor usually pays only half the salary, that too as cash and not via cheques. They also demanded for minimum wage and proper identity cards. Pourakarmikas protesting at BBMP head office. Pic: Sankar C G “We are not getting minimum wage on time as mentioned…

Greenpeace activists today installed a billboard in front of the Indian head office of Apple here in Bengaluru asking the company to "Clean our Cloud". The activists along with Apple customers urged the head of Apple India to communicate their demands to the top bosses at Apple. Activists also interacted with the Apple customers across the city making them aware of how the company is using dirty coal to power its iCloud and is thereby party to destructive mountain top removal coal mining. Billboard in front the Apple head office in Bengaluru The activists met the Country PR Manager, Apple India,…

On an overcast Sunday afternoon, I headed to Freedom Park to cover the anti corruption fast and protest over midnight raid by the UPA Government at Ramlila Grounds in Delhi.  As I parked my bike, the first thing in noticed was not the sea of people who had turned up for the protest but the several peanuts, ice cream and bhel puri vendors that had gathered that had set shop there to make a quick buck. If it weren’t for slogans of  “Jai Bharath Mata Ki” emanating from inside the shamiyana, I would think I was at the wrong place.…