Weekly News Roundup

National Common Mobility Card in Metro from March The BMRCL (Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited) is installing AFC (Automatic Fare Collection) systems on trial basis at Baiyappanahalli, Mysuru Road and Majestic stations, to facilitate the central government’s ambitious ‘One Nation One Card’ policy. The National Common Mobility Card will enable people to use multiple modes of transport like Metro and BMTC buses, pay parking fees and toll, and purchase at retail stores. BMRCL Managing Director Ajay Seth said the facility will be available for commuters from Mysuru Road to Baiyappanahalli on Purple Line, by March end. The AFC systems are…

KRDCL may axe thousands of trees The KRDCL (Karnataka Road Development Corporation Limited) may soon axe 8,561 old, mature trees in the city outskirts. The trees are to be cut for widening six roads: the 20-km stretch from Hoskote/Budigere Cross to airport (1,758 trees), 15-km stretch from Nelamangala to  Madhure (869 trees), 23-km stretch from Madhure to Devanahalli road (1,593 trees), 33-km stretch from Bidadi to Jigani (184 trees), Bannerghatta to Anekal (520 trees), and the 39-km stretch from Anekal to Hoskote (3,637 trees). An expert committee set up to examine applications for tree felling said early this week, that…

Double property tax for building law violation Double the property tax will now be applicable to buildings constructed in violation of bylaws. State cabinet has approved an amendment to the Karnataka Municipalities Act to affect the change. Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said the tax doubling would apply only to the portion of the built-up area that violates bylaws. BBMP will be able to levy the additional tax as soon as a notification is issued in tune with the cabinet's decision. However, the double property tax does not absolve violators, Madhuswamy clarified; they would have to pay…

Activists protest 'film city' plan at Hesaraghatta As the BJP government is reviving the proposal to set up a film city, apparently at Hesaraghatta, environmental activists are getting ready for a fight. One section of activists has written to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, asking him to drop the 345-acre grassland as a possible location for a film city as it would create a biosecurity threat to animal farms nearby. Environmentalists explained that the Hesaraghatta lakebed area, and grasslands in the nearby catchment, are an important reservoir of biodiversity. It could act as a large carbon sink, a powerful tool to…

Mittiganahalli landfill to be delayed The Urban Development Department (UDD) turned down a bidder chosen by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) for setting up a scientific landfill at Mittiganahalli near Hennur, and asked BBMP to initiate a fresh tender process. BBMP had hoped to dump waste in the Mittiganahalli landfill since the landfills at Bagalur and Bellahalli quarries had already been overflowing. But UDD rejected the bidder on grounds that he was not technically qualified, having had prior experience only as a sub-contractor and not as primary contractor. Garbage management in the city is likely to be hit since…

3,559 trees may be felled for roads, Metro To enable five civil projects, 3,559 trees in the city are slated to be felled. More than 90 percent of the trees would be felled for road construction or widening in south Bengaluru. On Friday, an expert committee formed by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) started examining the tree-felling proposals submitted by three government agencies. This committee had been formed based on a High Court order. The proposals include cutting down 1,822 trees for road works between NICE Road and Magadi Road for a larger two-lane project by Karnataka State Highways…

Anti-CAA protests In spite of Section 144 of the CrPC being imposed on the city, thousands of students, activists and citizens protested against the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), 2019, and the NRC (National Register of Citizens) on Thursday, December 19th. Police detained about 1000 people from various parts of the city on Thursday. Of them, 255 were arrested in eight cases and later freed on bail. Additional Police Commissioner (West) Umesh Kumar said they had been arrested under IPC Sections 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint). Eminent historian Ramachandra Guha was…

75,000 illegal properties may be regularised State government may regularise about 75,000 unauthorised properties in BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) layouts. Law Minister J C Madhuswamy said that the illegal properties are located in 5000 acres of BDA land spread around the city. They are paying neither taxes nor development fees. The government is planning to levy penalties based on guidance values, so as to regularise them. A cabinet sub-committee has been formed, which will suggest some amendments to the BDA Act, 1976, for regularisation. The buildings can be regularised if Section 38(c) of the BDA Act is amended. The sub-committee…

Bypoll voter turnout only around 50% A large number of Bengalureans, true to tradition, failed to vote in the by-election to the four assembly constituencies - Shivaji Nagar, Mahalakshmi Layout, Yeshvanthapura and KR Puram - on Thursday. The voter turnout was lower than that in the 2018 assembly elections and that in the other 11 constituencies polled on Thursday, as per Election Commission figures. The constituencies in Bengaluru recorded an average turnout of more than 50 per cent. Yeshwanthpur, at 59 percent, showed the highest polling. Mahalakshmi Layout had a turnout of only 51 percent; Shivajinagar turnout was lower at…

Bengaluru's drinking water highly polluted Most Bengalureans are consuming highly contaminated water due to pathogens in BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board) supply, borewells and sumps, according to a study by the Ramaiah Advanced Testing Laboratory (RATL). Besides, heavy metals and toxic chemicals have contaminated groundwater, the study found. RATL analysed water samples from BWSSB taps, borewells and sumps from 100 residential areas for over a year. One-third of these samples showed traces of E. coli bacteria, which can lead to bloody diarrhoea and even kidney failure. All 80 samples collected from BWSSB taps showed some form of contamination…