Civic

It was 11.25 am on a hot Thursday morning. I had been sitting on a hard wooden stool for roughly 70 minutes at that point and my butt was uncomfortably numb. There was no end in sight to my vigil. I was waiting for a notary, whom I didn’t know from Adam, to issue me a signed official document (on a Rs 20 stamp paper issued by the government, no less!) certifying I was who I claimed to be. All this, so that I could move a step forward in getting my residential address changed on my driving license. If…

Pillars on the East-West Metro corridor will see a unique makeover in near future. The Ugly Indian is partnering with Government of Karnataka, BBMP and BMRCL (Namma Metro) for the Vijayanagara Vybhava initiative - transforming 6kms of Metro pillars and medians in Bengaluru with a Hampi-Vijayanagara theme! COME AND BE PART OF the inaugural spotfix this Saturday at 9am. All are welcome! Right outside Vijayanagar Metro Station, Bengaluru. Details and registration here: https://www.facebook.com/events/414628052207391/ Facebook page Karnataka Government Updates has more details. The post says: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) are working on…

‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’. This was taught to us as children. In our days we had a class on moral science, where we were taught certain basic human and civic values in schools. Our elders had no problem with those classes because they also wanted us to imbibe those traits. But today nobody wants to be ‘taught’ or ‘advised’. Children definitely do not want to be ‘preached’ to. Teachers are asked to change their attitudes, teaching methods and ways of handling children. Participative, interactive, activity-based - many a jargon is used. The content too has changed a lot. Controversies keep…

More than 200 residents living in BBMP's Mahadevapura Zone walked peacefully on Borewell Road in Whitefield recently, demanding restoration of the road and civic amenities. Young and old, women and men, joined hands to cover the 1.5 km stretch from Post Office to Ambedkar Statue in one hour. En route, around 200 school children and residents stood with placards in solidarity for the cause. Pic: Shanthi Chandola Organised by Nallurahalli Rising along with Whitefield Rising, the protest in Hagadur ward drew people from far and near, including Kadugudi and Garadacharpalya and Hoodi wards. Led by a band of drummers and accompanied…

“If it’s not a one-way route, I close my eyes when we take a cab because the speed at which the oncoming vehicles zip past, I fear they might crash against us head-on” said US-based Krithika, while on vacation in Chennai. However, it is not only non-Chennaiites who feel this fear. Many residents, especially women who ride two-wheelers, report feeling tense while on the road. And they have good reason to, as we have seen in an earlier article highlighting the incidence of road fatalities and injuries in the city. But what makes Chennai roads so treacherous and what can…

At Beyond Carlton, we understand the trauma that fire accident victims and their families go through. It takes a huge effort to overcome the pain, grief and stress for both the victim and the immediate family.Recognizing this Beyond Carlton has decided to offer a free counseling service as a means to reach out and hand-hold those who themselves have been, or are living with people affected by a fire-related tragedy.The process of recognizing and accepting shocking and extremely difficult situations is a slow painful one. With a counselor, it is possible to feel less alone, and more willing to look…

D for December. D for disaster. Two years in a row, the last month of the year has brought a Doomsday-like experience for Tamil Nadu. While the ravages of the 2015 floods remain unmatched, in 2016, Cyclone Vardah left behind its own trail of destruction, which the city is still trying to cope with. The city came to a standstill for 4-5 days without electricity and water supply to many areas, and it took all the resilience and spirit of Chennaiites to get it back on its feet. As the cyclone passed, one fact became increasingly evident: the biggest brunt…

Defence Colony Cooperative Housing Society Ltd (DCCHSL) & Defence Colony Residents Association (DECORA) JOINT BRIEFING 1. The Defence Colony Cooperative Housing Society Ltd (DCCHSL) was formed by serving and retired Defence Officers. In July 1964, the City Improvement Trust Board (CITB), acquired and transferred by a sale deed, the entire area now forming Defence Colony, to the society. This sale deed showed the boundaries of Defence Colony, both by description and in a site map, but did not mention the specific survey numbers of the land that had been acquired by the CITB before handing over to the society. 2.…

At a public awareness programme organized by the BWSSB in November 2016, an irate apartment RWA Member asked the BWSSB official present, "What is the point in setting up an STP when we're already connected to the sewerage network? Treated sewage is going to mix with our neighbouring locality's raw sewage in your drains which you will treat in a large STP. What is the point of all of this?” Over the years, Bengaluru city has not only grown horizontally—to areas outside the sewerage network—but also vertically: previously sewered areas are seeing a manifold jump in sewage generated per acre…

An evening scene from Indiranagar. Bengaluru city has been mushrooming over the years with little regard for any form of Town Planning and Governance. The fallout of this rapid growth is witnessed most acutely in residential areas of the city. Civic woes abound. Indiranagar was once a pensioner’s paradise and now our existence today is trying to restore some order into our personal lives, thanks to the illegal and reckless commercialisation of our residential areas violating zoning norms left, right and center. The real estate mafia, an apathetic local administration and a greedy citizen have connived to create an experience…