Civic

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…

In the last week of September, residents of BCCHS Layout, close to Kanakapura road in Bengaluru, noticed illegal dumping of garbage by unknown people on BDA land and Gomala land, while on their way to Chamundeswari Temple at Hurakalu Gudda very close to the Anjanapura BDA Layout, II Block at Lal Bahadur Shastrinagar. They soon found out that the dumping had been systematic: for several years on end, garbage had been dumped at these sites and covered with debris, while the neighbourhood assumed that the land was being levelled by its owner. Over time, as the stench got unbearable, residents…

This is a story of how a 140-family community became waste-sensitive and is continuing to be so. Sobha Quartz is a residential apartment complex in Bellandur, Bengaluru. I live here. ‘KasaMuktha Bellandur’, a citizen initiative for solid waste management, has made all the changes possible here. Mine is a very responsible community of 140 families, who follow the 2Bin1Bag method of segregation. Door-to-door campaigning have helped us help convince defaulting residents to segregate and monitor the compliance of community members. We send regular emails and updates to keep up their motivation and interest. Our team consists of passionate and like-minded women and men (many include working professionals) who are trying to make…

Rotary Palmville in association with B.PAC launched ‘My Place of Pride’, an initiative to recognise eco-friendly communities on 26th of November 2016 at Bharatiya Vidhya Bhavan, Race course road.  The unprecedented growth of Bengaluru city has led to complex urban problems. Our City has a vibrant civic society and its ability to voice concerns arising out of such growth is well known. Bengaluru is currently facing serious challenges in the areas of Solid Waste Management, Water, Energy sufficiency and fire safety. Various communities have responded to these challenges in a commendable manner through creating awareness, setting examples and placing pressure on the governmental institutions.  My Place of Pride is an initiative to acknowledge and appreciate such communities for their efforts and their ability to…

Nominations for the prestigious Namma Bengaluru Awards 2016, which honours and celebrates the efforts of those citizens who have been at the forefront of the fight for a better Bengaluru, is coming to a close on November 30, 2016. If an ordinary individual doing extraordinary work has touched your life, then NOW is the time to nominate them for the awards and allow their stories to inspire more such unsung heroes. Nominations can be made online through www.nammabengaluruawards.org OR you can duly fill the nomination forms available at Bangalore One Centers. For any queries contact us on 080-41102757/+91-9591985287 or email…

Whitefield Habba is an initiative to bring together people belonging to diverse backgrounds and residing in different parts of BBMP's Mahadevapura Zone. To be held at Whitefield's oldest spot - Inner Circle ground - the fest is 'by the people, of the people and for the people' of the locality. Organized by citizens' group Whitefield Rising on the occasion of Karnataka Rajyotsava, the six-hour event will celebrate the rich culture, craftsand cuisines of the state. As the attached poster mentions, a variety of stalls, skits, songs, dances and games promise to make it a memorable event for the entire family. It is an opportunity to experience traditional entertainment like Dollu Kunita, Mallakhamba and Gardua Gumbe, alongside music by our Anglo-Indian settlers and art by recent migrants to…

This Children’s Day when school principals and teachers were on stage creating memories for their students, the volunteers and facilitators at Childrens' Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) send out a silent kudos to the 5400 plus members they engage with during the Civic Club Programme  across the city. These children of Class 7 and Class 8 are a part of CMCA’s citizenship and life skills programme conducted across a total of 91 private and government schools in Bengaluru. CMCA’s intervention involves a limited number of students in each school every year but the goal is to spread the civic message…