Civic

Bengaluru is a globally recognized city for its IT and startup industry thus providing livelihood for millions of people across the country and also has been the growth engine of the state. Ironically, the civic condition of Bengaluru is in a mess, inadequate infrastructure, traffic congestion, air pollution, water crisis are all the issues that needs to be addressed and fixed. When we ask tough questions then everybody is passing the buck to the other.  Someone has to address the elephant in the room. B.CLIP Alumni Association has conceptualized “BANGALORE 2.0” a campaign towards building a “Better Bengaluru” through which…

The third edition of Janaagraha’s annual Bengaluru Civic Fest, held in association with Cisco, showcased how Gen Z is taking initiative to bring change in society. The one-day fest was held at the Bangalore International Centre, Domlur. It was a culmination of the IChangeMyCity Challenge, organised from August to December 2019, in which students were tasked with identifying a civic issue that affects their neighbourhood and to come up with an innovative solution to address it. Over 14,000 students from Classes VI to XII across India participated in the challenge through the IChangeMyCity Challenge portal, co-created by Cisco. Twenty-five teams,…

Did you know the pedestrian plaza was conceptualised at least eight years ago and precedes the launch of the Smart Cities Mission? Many projects that have grown under the Smart City umbrella, such as the rejuvenation of water bodies, stem from ideas that were incubated and nurtured for years before they saw concrete action. While citizens only monitor the visible progress of work on projects, the behind-the-scenes engagement by officials and processes involved, such as preparation of detailed project reports and consultations with stakeholders, are vital to the success of the efforts at a later stage, though often time-consuming.  Raj…

Chennai offers a slew of transportation options for its citizens. The MRTS network that serves as a key connection with the suburbs, the swanky Metro rail that now connects large parts of the city and the well-networked bus system play an important role when it comes to commuting within the city. In addition to this, Chennai has a large number of private vehicles, with two-wheelers topping the list. As a result, the city grapples with congestion, lack of parking space and issues such as air pollution from vehicular emissions. With the aim of curbing the ill-effects of rising personal vehicle…

Citizens, industry bodies slam BESCOM’s tariff hike proposal Citizens and industry representatives slammed BESCOM’s (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company) proposal to increase electricity tariff by Rs 1.96 a unit in the coming financial year. At a public hearing held at the KERC (Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission) on Friday, the advocacy group B.PAC (Bangalore Political Action Committee) said the Commission should ask BESCOM to "submit realistic projections” and streamline power procurement at low costs, instead of passing on the increase in purchase cost to consumers. As per B.PAC's analysis, BESCOM has not shown any improvement in key metrics such as power purchase…

Treatment for CoronaVirus only at Government hospitals The State Health Department has issued a directive that incidences of coronavirus will be treated only at Government hospitals and no private hospital should admit or offer treatment to patients with symptoms of the virus. The Department has said that this step is being taken to keep a strict vigilance and to avoid the potential risk of the suspected people being exposed to the general public. There are currently 1351 passengers from China who are under surveillance and they have been put on quarantine for 28 days. Source: The Times of India City…

Starting today, freedom fighter H S Doreswamy, aged 101 years, is to lead a satyagraha at the Town Hall from 11 am to 5 pm, for five days. The protest is against the central government's position on the CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act), along with other issues such as economic slowdown and price rise. Kavitha Reddy, one of the organisers, says Doreswamy had submitted the application to the police seeking permission for the protest, weeks ago. "We got a call from the local police station yesterday, and they collected all details of the protest." She says that the police didn't mention…

When the smart cities mission was launched in 2015, it held much promise for Chennai as it was one of 20 cities selected in the initial phase. Chennai was formally identified in January 2016 for a slew of projects that ranged from water conservation to pedestrianisation. While the city saw a slow start to these projects, ranking only 37 out of 87 cities when the smart cities were ranked in 2018. However, two years later, key projects such as the Pedestrian Plaza and rolling out of smart bikes have taken place. Expansion of these initiatives are in the pipeline now,…

Given that women are still unsafe in our public spaces, what options do they have if they are in danger? One option is Bengaluru City Police's Suraksha app. This app has been downloaded 1.5 lakh times since its launch in 2017. All you have to do is press the panic button on the app, which is directly linked to the police response team. Police say it'd take them only 7-9 minutes to reach your location. The police helpline Vanitha Sahaya Vani offers immediate intervention and rescue in cases of domestic violence and other forms of abuse. It also offers services…