Weekly News Roundup

2% land transport cess on property tax BBMP has decided to levy a 2% land transport cess on property tax from April 1. The cess was approved by BBMP administrator Gaurav Gupta and the Urban Development Department. The proposal had been approved by the previous BBMP Council in 2018. BBMP hopes to rake in up to Rs 80 crore annually from the cess. However, the BBMP cannot utilise the Urban Land Transport cess internally but must transfer it to the DULT (Directorate of Urban Land Transport) once in three months for the upkeep of pedestrian paths, bicycle tracks and other…

Rules for travel in Namma Metro As Namma Metro services are set to resume on September 7, the BMRCL (Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd) has drawn up an SoP (Standard Operating Procedure) for using the services. The number of commuters in each train is limited to 400. Not more than 50 passengers will be allowed to enter stations, except in terminals and interchange stations. Masks are mandatory. Passengers have been advised to use alternate steps on escalators. Only four to six passengers will be allowed to use lifts and they have to stand on foot-mark stickers. There will be yellow…

7.7 contacts traced for every COVID patient In the last one week, BBMP has stepped up contact tracing efforts. On average, 7.7 contacts were traced for every person who has tested positive. The BBMP COVID-19 War Room's analysis shows that, over the past week, the highest number of contacts were traced in Bommanahalli zone - 14.2 contacts for every positive case; and the least in Yelahanka zone - 5.7. South Zone is carrying out the highest number of tests. Between August 1 and 25, 76,957 tests have been conducted here - that is, an average of 3,078 tests per day.…

Riots, curfew in East Bengaluru Violence broke out in DJ Halli and adjoining areas in east Bengaluru on Tuesday night after an inflammatory post about Islam on Facebook. Three were killed and three others injured in police firing. Rioting by as many as 2,000 on the streets was brought under control. Section 144 and curfew was imposed in DJ Halli, KG Halli and Kaval Byrasandra. The inflammatory Facebook post was put up by P Naveen, nephew of Congress MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy. The police is interrogating Naveen. About 146 people, including a few local leaders of the SDPI (Social Democratic…

209 areas flood-prone: BBMP BBMP has identified 209 flood-prone areas in the city, of which 153 are sensitive and 56 hypersensitive. With the threat of flash floods in the city, the civic body has decided to instal sensors in more stormwater drains. BBMP Commissioner N Manjunath Prasad said 28 sensors had already been installed. The senors would beam warning messages once the water level rises. Since the breaching of stormwater drains is a major reason for floods in Bengaluru, early warnings are expected to help authorities take corrective measures and evacuate residents from flood-prone areas. Source: Deccan Herald COVID recovery…

NEP: Debate on medium of instruction The new National Education Policy (NEP) has revived the debate on whether Kannada should be the medium of instruction in primary classes. NEP recommends that the medium of instruction be in local/regional language. School managements point out that the NEP goes against the apex court’s verdict that imposition of mother tongue as the medium of instruction is “unconstitutional”. In the 2019-20 academic year, Karnataka government too had started English-medium sections in government schools. . Meanwhile, sources from the Kannada Development Authority said the state language should be made mandatory since there are various local…

Over 33,000 trees to be felled for PRR The BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) admits that the construction of the eight-lane PRR (Peripheral Ring Road) would require the felling of 33,838 trees. For about four years, BDA had argued that only 200 trees would be cut, based on an erroneous Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report. The NGT (National Green Tribunal) rejected the report based on a submission by the Horticulture and Forest Department. Meanwhile, an EIA draft report estimates that 3,541 trees will be affected by the metro link between KR Puram and Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The report says that…

Manjunath Prasad has been appointed as BBMP Commissioner. Pic Credit: KPLCL Manjunath Prasad back as BBMP Commissioner On Saturday, state government removed B H Anil Kumar from the post of BBMP Commissioner, and appointed N Manjunath Prasad instead. Manjunath Prasad has served as BBMP Commissioner previously. He has proposed divisional management of COVID-19 instead of the current practice of zonal management. As per the plan, a KAS official would be in charge of each of the 27 divisions in the city, with control rooms and adequate resources. They would also be tasked with ramping up ambulances and manpower. Source: The…

Complete lockdown from July 14 to 22 Bengaluru will go into complete lockdown from July 14 to 22 in the wake of surging COVID cases, state government announced on Saturday. The lockdown will be in effect in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts from 8 pm on July 14 to 5 am on July 22. Essential services like hospitals and grocery shops will be allowed, along with scheduled exams. Detailed guidelines would be released on July 13, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa tweeted. On Saturday, Bengaluru reported a record 1,533 new cases, taking its overall COVID tally to 16,862. The city…

Daily COVID cases near 1000-mark On Friday, July 3, Bengaluru reported 994 cases of COVID-19. With this, the city overtook Kolkata in the total number of positive cases. The day before, on July 2, 889 cases had been reported. As of 2nd, Bengaluru topped the list of 30 districts in the state in terms of fresh cases reported, most cumulative deaths (100), and most active cases (5505). However, Padarayanapura, Shivajinagar and Hongasandra that seemed to be on the verge of community transmission until recently, now have zero positive cases. But these localities remain containment zones, as a preventive measure. Meanwhile,…