Civic

Garbage is a major crisis that Bangalore, as a city faces everyday. The city produces around 4,000 tonnes of waste every day. Adarsh Rhythm apartments located off Bannerghatta Road is one of the few communities in Bangalore that started following best practices in Waste Management way back in 2011. With 300+ families living in the community, it started off as an effort by a group of dedicated resident volunteers to manage the waste generated by the community responsibly.  The community has achieved more than 90% segregation at source by the residents. Waste is segregated into the following categories at household…

Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) in association with Rotary Bangalore, Palmville and Gleneagles Global Hospitals today launched the second edition of the My, Place of Pride. My Place of Pride (MYPOP) is a contest to rate, rank and award the communities that have exhibited best practices in Solid Waste Management, Water conservation, Power management, Fire Safety and Hygiene & Cleanliness. This is a platform for communities to showcase their initiatives, create awareness and further encourage others to emulate the best practices. My Place of Pride is an initiative to recognize eco-friendly communities in Bengaluru city and encourage sharing of best…

The 18-cm rainfall that lashed the metropolis (Nungambakkam station) on Thursday and Friday  has left many arterial roads in bad shape. Knee-deep water, loose electrical wires and potholes are a common sight in the city now. At a time when the city’s poor civic infrastructure and lack of planning is all too evident, it is a pleasant surprise to be on this one road in Thiruvanmiyur, which looks clean and almost dry, and that too within half an hour of  the downpour. Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar Main Road, connecting Kalakshetra Road and M G Road is not a ‘high profile road’,…

Namma Bengaluru Foundation today launched the 9th edition of its flagship initiative – ‘Namma Bengaluru Awards 2017’ at a press conference held at Century Club. NBA aims at recognizing, honouring and celebrating the real heroes, who are determined towards Reclaiming Bengaluru. These awards truly are the city’s way of saying ‘Thank You’ to its Real heroes. Present at the occasion were, famed Sandalwood actress Shraddha Srinath and previous NBA winners. Bengaluru has witnessed a steady rise in citizen participation over the last couple of years and we take pride in such active Bengalureans, who have taken keen interest in the…

The northeast monsoon is here and residents of southern Chitlapakkam have already become victims of yet another flood. Chitlapakkam has seen it all—drought and floods, but this time, the floods have hit residents earlier than they expected. The northeast monsoon has just set in, and residents are left in the lurch, amidst miserable memories of the 2015 floods. As I enquire about the route to Babu Street, a shopkeeper jokingly says, “Walk straight and take a left, you will see water all over the street. That’s the one!” Babu Street, Abraham Lincoln Street, Pamban Swamigal Street, Chokkanadhar Street, Maraimalai Adigal…

Citizens for Bengaluru organised the Beku Beda Santhe on 15 October to commemorate the first year anniversary of the Human Chain that kick started the Steel Flyover Beda movement in 2016. The idea of the Santhe was to give the citizens a platform to voice their priorities for the city. The event had multiple platforms - a main stage which had eminent citizens share space with active citizens to voice their demands; mini stages; a children’s art corner. The main attraction was a 50-feet wall made of recyclable cardboard cartons for people to pin their beku and beda demands. The…

At a four-road intersection near Besant Women's College in Mangalore, a 49-year-old man sporting an orange reflector jacket over a neatly pressed Khaki shirt, trouser and black shoes, flags down an errant SUV from Kalakunj road. This gives the on-duty traffic constable enough time for not only clearing the traffic from MG Road (PVS circle to Ladyhill circle), but also to allow some school children to cross the road to safety - another job well done. But the duo cannot yet heave a sigh of relief, for over the next three hours between 5 and 8 pm, Ramesh Gowda and…

At the stroke of midnight, when the whole world is asleep, one garbage “terrorist” in HSR Layout of South Bengaluru is rudely shaken to wake up to his responsibilities by a green volunteer. Striding up to a man who is emptying garbage into a parking lot in HSR Layout, Dr. Shanthi Tummala thunders that overturning his dustbins on a vacant site even at midnight is against the norms. “Don’t you know that you are violating the rules?” she asks. He knows, so it isn’t news to him. Yet he is doing it. Dr Shanthi forces him to pick up his…

The #SteelFlyoverBeda movement inspired citizens to come together and exercise their right to actively participate in governance.  #BekuBedaSanthe is being organized on Oct 15th 2017 by a large number of organizations, civic and social as a mark of one year anniversary. #BekuBedaSanthe  will serve as a platform for citizens across Bengaluru to express what they want for their area and city (ಬೇಕು) and what they do not want for their area and city (ಬೇಡ.) The Santhe is unique due to the broad and diverse set of  RWAs, NGOs, slum rights groups, unorganized sector representatives, civic groups, think tanks  and many others  joining…

Talk to a few ordinary citizens, and most of them will tell you that dealing with any government agency is a nightmare. Getting a gas connection from public sector providers is however usually not very difficult, but provided you also get a gas stove from them. However, if you choose that you do not need a gas stove, then the agencies try to make you run from pillar to post.  When one makes that choice, it is not unusual to hear that he has not received his connection registration number even after a month and five visits to the agency!…