RWA

Pic: A file pic from BBMP 2010 candidates debate. It is that time again when everyone wants to make an informed choice, ahead of BBMP elections. Resident Welfare Associations are busy trying to organise meetups with candidates. Citizen Matters has compiled a guide on how to do this, with a set of questions that can be asked with a candidate. The first step is to collect information about candidates. We need your help to gather information about them and share it with us, to benefit fellow Bengalureans. You could ask them to fill this form. Alternatively, you can also gather the points…

ADDRESSED TO ALL POLITICAL PARTIES FIELDING CANDIDATES AND INDEPENDENT CANDIDATES STANDING FOR BBMP ELECTIONS 2015 AN OPEN LETTER FROM CITIZENS’ ACTION FORUM- CAF’S Citizens' Charter of Demands for the BBMP Elections 2015 Manifestoes. We from Citizens’ Action Forum (CAF) have met with our partner RWAs and have compiled critical suggestions for the manifestos of all the political parties fielding candidates and independent candidates alike for the BBMP Elections 2015. At the outset, we would like to thank the BJP-Bangalore for taking a welcome step of inviting CAF for a discussion and seeking suggestions for their manifesto for the BBMP Elections…

How can corporate CSR funds support more city improvement projects? I was at an event yesterday where this was discussed by some of the CEOs of large companies in the city. The ongoing neighbourhood improvement partnership competition has already helped find the first 1 crore of CSR money for a few city improvement projects, and I'm hopeful that next year there will be five times as much money, so that 40+ community projects in the city can be showcased. That kind of scale would begin to help build a very different kind of city - with citizens actively responsible for…

A week has gone by since I last wrote and about six days have gone by since I last heard from BBMP. BBMP called me several times last Friday asking me if the work was done — and in spite of numerous assurances — no work has been done.  The BBMP Sahaaya complaint number is 10506777 and the last SMS communication I received, informing me that the complaint has been 'assigned' was on June 23rd. I also have a Malleshwaram Sahaaya complaint number - 2760084. However, in this case, the SMS only says that the complaint has been created.  It is…

A night on the street What is the power of the common man? A collaborative and inspiring set of people helped fix the potholed road that had been dug up for 6 months. Till then, local residents and daily commuters were facing severe issues due to big potholes. When most of Bangalore was sleeping, this group was fixing potholes at Nellurhalli junction. Ack : Nallurhalli Rising, a Whitefield Rising initiative, Sumadhara builders,BBMP, WR champion Anu Parekh Plant a tree Tree planting in the greater Whitefield area is on a roll. After the success at Sheelavanthakere, ITPL is the next stop.…

A few days ago I noticed that the streetlights and new LED streetlamps on 15th Cross, Malleshwaram, were not working properly. I thought I should complain and I did so on several fronts. 1. I complained to the BBMP Assistant Officer for Malleshwaram by email and `WhatsApp' 2. I wrote to the MLA - Ashwath Narayan 3. I also filed a complaint on 'malleshwaram.sahaaya.in' I got a call from someone a few days later but it so happened that the LED lights were working at that point. The streetlights were still not working. A few days later, on Monday, June…

High Court asked the LDA to come up with a plan for restoration of both the lakes, and hold meetings of authorities, builders and the residents. Pic: Shree D N Koramangala 1st Block Residents Welfare Association who had filed a writ petition against Bellandur-Agara Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project at the Karnataka High Court, have withdrawn the case on Wednesday. However, the division bench of the High Court has given petitioners the liberty to refile the case, after a similar case which is before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) is disposed. Nitin Seshadri from Koramangala 1st Block Residents Welfare Association…

  May 7th 2015 saw the launch of a unique initiative in Bangalore -  the Neighbourhood Improvement Partnership (NIP) Challenge. Rolled out by United Technologies Corporation (UTC), the challenge is the first of its kind in the country, and calls for a collaboration between citizens and public officials, to identify key civic challenges in their neighbourhoods, and voluntarily contribute time, energy and resources to tackle them. The challenge will be be rolled out by the Centre for Public Problem Solving (CPPS), a division of Imagine Bangalore with support from EMBARQ India. Organisations like BBMP and BPAC are also slated to…

154 Breakfast Club in Koramangala 3rd Block. Pic: Akshatha Rao “BBMP Commissioner, stop the arbitrary witch-hunt against citizens!” This is the plea put forward by some citizens of South Bengaluru. Mukund Kumar, a resident of Bellandur, has come up with the petition, which demands that the BBMP stop targeting citizens who stand up for what is right. The petition calls the action of the BBMP, of serving a notice to three residents of Koramangala asking them to submit the plan sanction documents for their residences, as a “targeted attack on an individual or individuals by the Government of any civilised…

Taking Stock So much has been done. Over the coming days, we will share a series of newsletters focused on a topic or two at a time so we don't overwhelm you in one annual review :). In summary however, its been a year of phenomenal citizen engagement. It is only when we pause a moment and look back can we see how far we have come. All this work however, brings us only to Base Camp. The climb will begin now and we are ready for it. Stay current with all the happennings via our blogposts at www.whitefieldrising.org as…