Civic

The fourth edition of the Bangalore Business Literature Festival is back. It’s on 8 th September 2018 at WeWork Galaxy, Residency Road, Bengaluru, says a press note. The theme this year is ‘Future of Work & India’. 18 Top speakers will look beyond the impact of automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning on factors that will shape careers, business relevance, green jobs, entrepreneurship, and startups in India. It will also delve into how people and governments respond to technology-led massive disruptions to careers and societies. Also, in this state of uncertainty, it will focus on how and what professionals, entrepreneurs…

TN Smart – an app for real time flood alert Later this month, the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority will launch a real time web app that will provide flood alerts across the state for better response management. The app will collate data based on the information available about earlier disasters, and will predict the impact of weather forecast. It is expected to be ready before on the onset of North east monsoon. TN-SMART (Tamil Nadu - System for Multi-hazard potential impact Assessment and Emergency Response Tracking  initiative would be in line with World Meteorological Organisation’s Global Framework for…

Activists arrested across cities, thousands protest Raids across seven cities saw the arrest of prominent left-wing activists , accused of having linkages to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). Police said that the arrests were made following a probe into the violence that took place during the meeting in Elgar Parishad on December 31,2017 during the commemoration of the efforts of the Mahar community in the battle of Bhima-Koregaon. Arrests were made in the early hours of Tuesday in Mumbai, Thane, Hyderabad, Ranchi, Delhi and Faridabad. The five arrested are activist and  writer P Varavara Rao from Hyderabad, lawyer…

Delhi gets common mobility card Delhiites can now use their metro smart cards to pay for rides in the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) buses and cluster buses. An agreement was reached between the Delhi government and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) that allows for the use of the metro smart card. Delhi joins a list of cities like Tokyo, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and London in providing a common mobility card across various modes of transportation. The scheme underwent several delays due to disagreements between the transport department and the office of the minister for transport but the card came…

Pillion riders must now wear helmets Under the provisions of the Motor Act 2015, both rider and pillion rider can be booked for not wearing a helmet, however the implementation of this Act has been far from strict. Last week, the TN State Government assured Madras High Court that an awareness drive will be launched through advertisements etc, and the Traffic Police has stated that it will take strict action against violators. It has been highlighted often in studies that not wearing a helmet is the cause of ⅓ fatalities in two-wheeler accidents in the state. The Government had made…

If you are an apartment or home owner in Chennai, you would most likely have received a form for self declaration of Property Tax, from the revenue office of Greater Chennai Corporation. Most home and apartment owners were caught unawares, not only by the requirement itself, as there has been no such form to fill in the past twenty years, but also by the deadline of August 31st to fill and submit it. Here is a quick explainer about the form and its connection with property tax. According to a senior official from Chennai Corporation, there are 12.65 lakh home and…

The devastating floods in Kerala have ravaged life in the state, with 223 officially reported deaths and 10.28 lakh people stationed across 3274 relief camps, as shared by the state’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The central government has described such unprecedented nature’s fury in the southern state as a ‘calamity of severe nature’. In what reaffirms faith in humanity, help has been pouring in from all quarters to god’s own country, and people have been pitching in to help the flood-stricken reconstruct their lives. Tamil Nadu shares the Mullaperiyar river with Kerala and has been a party to the century-long rivalry…

Flood-battered Kerala keeps Tamil Nadu on edge With parts of Kerala reeling under water, and some areas completely cut off from normalcy, several residents of Chennai could empathise with the neighbouring state, which is facing a catastrophic situation much like Chennai did in 2015. Voluntary organisations were quick to seek out help and organise relief supplies to affected people. With help coming from many quarters in the form of donations and relief materials, there is now fear for Tamil Nadu as well, as a majority of the dams in the state are full and have already started overflowing. Flood alert…

Kerala floods: Red alert withdrawn, bus services restored, train and air operations resume partially As we write this, the floods in Kerala have abated to a large extent, but not before causing unprecedented devastation and a human crisis of mammoth proportions. The historic floods were caused by the highest ever rainfall recorded in a hundred years. The red alert has now been withdrawn in all districts, with heavy rainfall predicted only in small parts of three districts but the floods have left over 300 people dead and damages worth an estimated Rs 20000 crore. The state has begun to slowly limp…

We fondly remember Bangalore as the garden city - tree-lined streets, an incomparable quality of life, and the glorious weather. Many of us, who had the opportunity to leave the city and our neighbourhood, came rushing back. That was how deep our love for the city has been for generations now. But today, when Kaggadasapura residents step out of our four walls of homes and offices, our hearts bleed. Why? Because Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) deems it fit to use the centre of Kaggadasapura - a central and populous residential area and home to diverse demographics and age groups…