Civic

The programme was launched at Freedom Park in presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao, Bangalore In-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy and others. Pic courtesy: BBMP The need to get rid of the tag of ‘garbage city’ finally seems to have made its way into the policies of government. Kasa Muktha ward drive was launched at Freedom Park on Wednesday, 24 July 2013, with the garbage clearance machinery geared up with 250 trained, dedicated Pourakarmikas and garbage contractors willing to make the programme a hit. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and BBMP Commissioner M Lakshminarayana kickstarted the…

Traffic congestion due to increased private vehicles and expensive public transport, respiratory diseases from polluted air, pedestrians' problems owing to poor roads and footpaths et al, have become a part of life of Bangalore. Here are some disturbing realities and possible remedies to these interlinked challenges. A joint discussion held by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), in Bangalore on March 22, 2013 rated the Karnataka capital among 14 Indian cities which have high particulate pollution. They warned that it may enter the ‘critical’ category if the situation is not addressed…

A few months back, when Union Minister Jairam Ramesh made an observation that in India we have more temples than toilets, there was a general unqualified uproar among the political class who demanded an apology even regarding a genuine concern, as always.As a resident of a ‘so called' well planned and affluent locality like HSR Layout, my observation is no different than the Union Minister. Construction workers waking up as early as 4 am to answer their calls of nature in an empty site nearby or dark spaces away from the view of early morning walkers is a regular ritual.…

The buses never stick to timings and hence lose the faith of the commuter. File pic. Fares on Bangalore’s public transport buses (BMTC) were hiked last month, and the reason for justifying the hike was that diesel prices and staff salaries had risen. Following protests, the public have been promised that the decision would be “reconsidered.” But as a commuter I am raising a wider issue – the obligation in a public service undertaking  to ensure that all alternative avenues of closing the gap between rising costs on the one hand and revenues generated on the other, are exhausted before…

We all dream of a clean city where there is no garbage on the road, where one does not hear vehicle horns constantly, where civic amenities are available when you need them. But is it really happening in our city? Who is responsible for this? Who should take the blame for it? I am sure many will jump and blame the government. I agree with the fact that partial blame lies with the governing bodies but what about us? Have we every questioned ourselves? Have we, in true sense of the word, been doing what requires out of us a…

Janaagraha, a Bangalore based not-for-profit organisation, announced the results of its Ward Quality Score (WQS) 2013 project on June 28, 2013, revealing a worrying decline in quality of infrastructure and services enjoyed by citizens of Bangalore. WQS assessed all 198 wards of Bangalore across 23 quality of life indicators, grouped into water, sanitation, environment, mobility and public amenities. Overall City Quality Score for Bangalore declined from 5.5 in 2010 to 4.4 in 2013. Pattabhiram Nagar in Jayanagar Assembly Constituency (Ward No. 168) and Yelahanka Satellite Town in Yelahanka Assembly Constituency (Ward No. 4) are the best two wards of Bangalore…

The residents of Chaithanya Samarpan layout at Kadugodi, north of Whitefield, started smiling in late May when pre-monsoon showers blessed Bengaluru and then continued into June. Water stopped in a storm water drain. It gets diverted into the collection chambers through the PVC pipe shown. Pics: Rainwater Concepts. But their smiles were not just because the rain brought much-awaited respite from the heat wave of April and May. It was because earlier this year the Samarpan owners' association had initiated a massive rainwater harvesting project for the layout. A network of water trapping, filtering and harvesting structures were built underground.…

H S Doreswamy inaugurating the event. Ministers Ramalinga Reddy and Dinesh Gundu Rao too are seen. Pic: Kedar Nadella Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) which spearheaded the campaign ‘Govern Right, Govern Responsibly’ presented the citizen’s manifesto to the newly elected 28 MLAs on 7th June 2013, at the Town hall. This manifesto/charter gives voice to the woes of Bengaluru’s citizens and also outlines their demands and suggestions about what should be done for the betterment of the city.   The charter was formed after days of discussions and deliberations with more than 300 Residents Welfare Associations and various citizen groups who…

Judging by the online discussions generated by citizens of Bengaluru, on the pros and cons of the agenda drawn up by the Bengaluru Political Action Committee(BPAC) it is clear that there are quite a few residents who are interested in finding solution to the multiple ills that beset the metropolis - from mounds of garbage to choked traffic and scams in every department of the administration. And since not everyone who is concerned about this degeneration makes online inputs, the number of citizens who would like to lend a hand with pulling Bengaluru out of the current mess, must be…

Two weeks ago, when there were clear indications of a Congress victory in Karnataka, senior party leaders were not sure about how the state’s chief minister was going to be chosen. Many told the media that the ‘High Command’ in New Delhi would decide. Siddaramaiah Siddarame Gowda, 65, better known only by his first name, must have been considering his chances against veteran Mallikarjun Kharge, currently a minister in the UPA government, and select others. The ‘High Command’ then sprang a surprise. Instead of ‘selection’ which everyone with an opinion was conjecturing wildly about, New Delhi surprisingly chose election. A…