Civic

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…

Here is a new government which has an opportunity to think long term as well as an opportunity to bring in far-ranging changes.In terms of infrastructure, there should be importance given to commuter rail issue. In the next one year, with the Centre and State having the same party running the governments, it is a good opportunity to try and push the issue in a concrete manner and get it into the railway budget and the system. The commuter rail system will have Bangalore develop in different ways along the railway tracks and allow for much more access for people…

After the Karnataka elections, many political analysts said that people of Karnataka are not for corruption; the BJP lost the state because of corruption. But did they? At least in Bengaluru, this argument does not seem to hold any ground. It is true that the rest of Karnataka voted out the corruption-ridden BJP. Outside Bangalore, the party got just 28 seats out of 196, and lost its deposit in 110 constituencies - a defeat unimaginable and unexpected by its leaders. But in Bangalore, BJP lost just five seats, down from 17 to 12. The Congress party suffered two upsets (Narendra…

Finally the Central government has taken the major step of implementing the direct benefit transfer scheme for LPG subsidies. This will be implemented 1 June 2013 onwards in selected 20 districts all over India, including Mysore and Tumkur. Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily issued a statement to this effect on 15 May 2013. Public sector banks also have started alerting the customers and educating them on linking their accounts to their Aadhar cards. According to Moily, oil companies will credit the subsidy amount to the bank accounts of the customers; the government will transfer the subsidies to the companies every quarter.…

Satish Reddy has a lot of unfinished jobs in his constituency, particular in HSR Layout. Lot of hopes are pinned on him that he will fulfill all his promises made during the campaign and work with total commitment and focus. He must-• Be extremely honest, transparent and fair in all his dealings with his electorate. • Work with full responsibility, be accountable to his constituency and ensure that development is uniform throughout his constituency. • Ensure that our corporator and the civic agencies work towards providing basic infrastructure in the Layout. • Ensure that corporators are open and transparent in…

Leo Saldanha is a full-time Coordinator of Bangalore-based Environment Support Group. He is an expert in the areas of Environmental Law and Policy, Decentralisation, Urban Planning and a variety of Human Rights and Development-related issues, working across many sectors for over a decade. He is a keen campaigner on critical environmental and social justice issues and has guided several campaigns demanding evolution of progressive laws and effective action. He has supported various distressed communities to secure justice through public interest litigations and advocacy efforts. He has argued as party in person several public interest litigations, many of which have resulted…

■ The government should put an end to all forms of mining. We should protect these resources and not make profit by selling them.■ All government primary schools must be developed into efficient centres of learning where every kid can go. If possible all the children in the neighbourhood must be encouraged to go to these government schools.■ The government institutions must work with undeterred commitment towards education and health. These two things matter the most to the poor and underprivileged.■ There should be no room for any form of corruption. The State government should not mirror the situation of…