whitefield

The morning of April 23rd saw around 25 residents of Mahadevapura Zone coming together in support of the anti-plastic ban. Volunteers of Whitefield Rising visited dozens of shops on Borewell Road, creating awareness about plastic and Styrofoam menace. During the drive, BBMP officials seized disposable material from shops that were selling or using them despite the ban. "This was the fifth such drive in Hagadur (Ward 84) within a month. As part of this campaign, we educate traders about the banned items and available alternatives," said Vaibhav Jain, a Whitefield Rising volunteer. "Excessive use of plastic leads to land, water…

Sometime in early 2010, I was invited to visit International Institute of Social Entrepreneurs (an offshoot of Braille Without Borders and now called Kanthari) in Trivandrum. That visit was an ‘eye opener’ for me. The co-founder, Sabriye Tenberken, became my first blind friend! She, and the rest of the people who worked at IISE, made me feel welcome and introduced me to a whole new world – a world where those with sight and without, co-existed and complemented each other's strengths and weaknesses. It was a dream factory where everyone had a dream, and they were encouraged to make their…

If the dogs of Whitefield could talk, they would have quite a story to tell. Every night, over a hundred dogs in the area lie in wait to be served dinner. Rice, chicken bones, mutton fat and turmeric, sometimes vegetables - all cooked together to make a delectable meal. Perhaps with the addition of a few spices, dinner could actually pass off as biryani, ready to be served to humans too. And it doesn't stop at food alone. An injured dog can expect to be nursed back to health. Unspayed ones are neutered and set back on the streets. What’s…

If you are like most people, you are only vaguely aware of Kundalahalli Lake. Maybe, it is to you that largish pond between AECS layout and EPIP. A water body whose shimmer perhaps caught your eye while you once glimpsed out of your tenth-storey office window. If you are a motorbike-rider, it is a well-known — and sadly, illegal — shortcut to your workplace. No wonder that this lake, an urban environmental gem, is largely unvisited except for transit purposes. For it is hidden, surrounded by that most Bangalore of combinations, that is, gleaming tech-parks and wretched slums. Almost everybody is guilty of dumping…

To most people, Whitefield is synonymous with ITPL, the Sai Baba Ashram, luxurious villas and of course traffic jams. But there’s another positive aspect of Whitefield which is the number of lakes in the area. These are some of the lakes which are located to the east/north-east of Marathahalli Bridge and west/south-west of Hope Farm.  Munnekolala and Chinnapanahalli lakes inside AECS Layout Hoodi lake behind Zuri (no direct access to the lake) Seetharampalya lake near Graphite signal Sheelvantharakere Lake behind Palm Meadows Nallurahalli lake on the Nallurahalli-Borewell road Thubarahalli lake, opposite Mainland China (no direct access to the lake) Kundalahalli lake…

Only one week after re-laying the road that leads to Ryan International School at Brookefields, the asphalt started pitting. Aggregate (jelly) started peeling, and undulations on road surface appeared. The road looked as though it tired of a couple of monsoons, although it was all of one week young. Demoralised but not defeated, Brookefields residents contacted Chief Engineer Parameshwariah, upon the advise of RK Mishra. In close tandem, Doddanekkundi's newly-elected Councillor, Vijaykumar, was watching. The new chief engineer is a dynamic man. He easily upsets when he sees shoddy quality in public works. He is widely recognised as the force…

What goes missing in most of the conversation around the issues with infrastructure in Bengaluru, is the impact it has on children. The school transportation system in the Whitefield area has taken a big hit. Children travel for several hours to cover a short distance. They are unable to reach their respective classes on time. Some of them miss the first class at school, some others try to save time by skipping breakfast. Due to the exposure to the dust during their commute, they are prone to developing respiratory problems. The bumpy rides take a toll on their slender spine.…

What a day! It was a treat to see people pouring out of streets and alleys to join the human chain, merge in seamlessly, bringing their own posters, chanting their own slogans, and through small acts of kindness, reinforcing each others' faith in the compassion that is at the core of all of us. One protestor brought biscuits and drinks for the rest of the gang. Another stepped off the bus unaware of the protest, but joined in spontaneously and started coordinating the walk towards Vydehi. Buses gave free rides to the protestors gathered at Marathahalli and Kundanahalli. Men, women…

Martin Luther King once said: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter".  Yesterday, Whitefield residents decided to break the silence by protesting against bad roads and infrastructure. A regular mundane Monday morning turned into a historical protest day, when over 8,000 people, mostly fed-up residents of the area, gathered in large crowds. Protesters dressed in black, holding placards. Pic: Deepa Ravi People got up early to attend the protest, leaving their daily chores, all united for a cause, a cause called #SaveWhitefield. People from different walks of life, across age-groups came together, and Bengaluru…

The Ramagondanahalli-Borewell Road in Whitefield stretches more than two kilometres connecting Varthur Road to Borewell Road. This area falls under Ward  84, Hagduru under Mahadevapura constituency. This has about a thousand residential dwellings mostly in the form of flats and villas. With quite a few of them being relatively new apartments, there are at least about 600 families who are staying here at present and this number is expected cross 1,000 in the next few months. This road also is home to a beautiful lake named Sheelavanthana kere. Giant potholes and non-functional street lights on the Ramagondanahalli-Borewell Road in Whitefield.…