Civic

Sanjiv Balgopal, on behalf of the association, had sent a complaint to the HSR layout police station on April 8th, 2012. He asked the police to investigate and take action. The letter contained number plate details of the truck and dumping, along with a CD containing pictures. In return, a month later, on May 7, Balgopal received a summon notice from the sub-inspector of police, HSR police station! Not satisfied with the citizens’ letter, Srinivas Reddy, Inspector, asked Balgopal to go to the spot, investigate and submit a first hand report instead. Speaking to Citizen Matters,  Reddy would only say…

Vijayan Menon, member of Citizens’ Action Forum and a Koramangala resident, Brigadier R S Murthy of HSR RWA Federation, RTI activist Chandra Shekhar, Muralidhar Rao, member of  Koramangala Initiative, Ramesh Sivaram of Forward150 (Bellandur RWA), Ganesan M of Save Agara group, and Citizen Matters co-founder Meera K, gathered in the evening. With the High Court cancelling Agara lake’s PPP contract recently, the LDA is open to citizens involvement to save the lake. The residents agreed that the 42-acres lake would be a big challenge to revive. Menon pointed out that without healthy water bodies to revive the groundwater table, future…

Less than four months since a High Court order barred commercialisation of residential areas in Bangalore, flouting the verdict remains the norm.  The HC had ruled in January this year on a petition filed by the Citizens’ Action Forum (CAF) and 12 other individuals. The petitioners, some of whom are from Koramangala, had challenged the BDA’s Revised Master Plan 2005-15 (RMP) for allowing commercialisation in residential areas.The January 27 verdict barring shops in residential areas surprised the residents as there was a big question about its implementation. The RWA members and lawyer Aditya Sondhi had second thoughts about the execution…

Slumdwellers here have been facing acute water shortage for the past three months. The two bore wells in the slum are sufficient to satisfy the water needs of the people. But the motor which pumps water stopped working and this broke water supply.“We have to travel three kilometers daily for getting water from Austin town. We take bath only once in a week due to the water shortage. Some time we may not get water that force us to buy water for higher prices,” said Habeeb A S, a local resident. Ejipura slum, wairting for new housing since 2004. Pic:…

On May 7th, BDA quietly began a process of revision for Bengaluru's city master plan, and invited suggestions from public. This plan will be for the years 2016 to 2035. The existing  master plan (RMP-2015) is for 2005 to 2015. Bengaluru's master plan is the most critical piece of regulation for the city's land use, development, and growth management. It defines all rules pertaining to zoning. Residential and commercial development in various areas are permitted or barred in this plan, locality by locality. Permitted floor area ratios for various road widths in commerical and residential areas, mandatory additions such as…

Saahas and the Solid Waste Management Round Table in association with the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Pallike (BBMP) and  Thomson Reuters have initiated a campaign which urges Bengalureans to always ‘look for a bin to drop waste in.’The campaign is being launched on 11th May in three select area -Old Airport Road, Church Street and RMZ Infinity CampusSays Wilma Rodrigues, Saahas “We invite all Bengalureans to come out on the streets and participate; not to sweep the street but to influence and change minds so that we can truly have a clean city.” Saahas in association with Solid Waste Management Round…

On April 30, Chief Minister D Sadananda Gowda laid the foundation stone for Bengaluru's much contested Agara-St John's signal free corridor. A few Koramangala residents assembled and protested at the event, but were appeased by Gowda who promised to hold a discussion with them on 5th May. In December, CM had held a meeting with residents and BDA, but there was no outcome except that work was suspended for a short while. Chief Minister laid foundation stone for the four Koramangala junction works on April 30th. Pic: Navya P K In the meanwhile, two major institutions in Koramangala - St…

Elita Promenade residents in JP Nagar, 7th Phase, have filed a lawsuit against their developers for allegedly keeping them in dark over various issues related to the apartment complex. The case was filed in November 2011. Elita Promenade, near Sarakki lake, is a multi-floor apartment complex constructed in joint venture between Singapore-based Keppel Land and Puravankara Developers, Bengaluru. Three issues seems to lie at the centre of the conflict - sewage problem, lack of clarity on land ownership in the layout and sale of one part of common land to KPTCL without notice. Pic: Abhishek Angad A temporary boundary fence…

It was my turn recently to drop my children off at the school's appointed bus stop on Hennur Main Road here in Bangalore. I anxiously navigated my way along the road and across it clasping tiny hands, muttering continuous warning to watch out for traffic in the early morning even, and to stop kicking up mud in my face. Having deposited my sons on a mound of concrete, I surveyed the scene. A man was walking a dog. My son pointed to him excitedly and said "There he is again. He's got only one dog today." I shared in their…

The residents’ associations of about 15 apartments of Somasundarapalya and Haralukunte, down HSR 27th Main Road have joined together to create a HSR-x Federation to collectively solve their problems and improve their neighbourhood. On Saturday, March 3rd, the group invited Bommanahalli MLA, Satish Reddy and HSR Corporator Latha Narasimhamurthy. Also present were Ravi Reddy, HSR ward BJP president for Bangalore), Syed Salam, businessman, husband of Mangammapalya ward Corporator Syed Haseena Taj and BBMP officials. Satish Reddy, Ravi Reddy and Latha Narasimhamurthy at citizen-MLA meeting, HSR Layout extensions. Pic: Satvik Koushik Virat Gohil, from Sai Poorna Paradise shared the problems of…