Civic

A Coalition of various Civil Society Organizations in Bangalore has been organizing a Press Conference on the last Thursday of every month since May 2009 in Bangalore.  The purpose of this press conference is to bring before the press, the success stories of the use of Right to Information Act, 2005 in bringing justice to the public.We here by present you TWO RTI success stories in today’s press conference.Case-1Dr.Jagadish Sanganal is working as Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Veterinary College, Bangalore. Prior to this Dr.Jagadish was working as Veterinary Officer in the Department of Animal Husbandary, Government of Karnataka during…

Here’s a quiz : What does a lamppost remind you of ? Light ? Nah, try again.... Got it – a dog raising its leg against the base? Yup, that’s it. But what has Bengaluru to do with lampposts? Look for yourself – along many roads, at the base of each lamppost, lies a heap of rubble or trash, shored up in a cone shape. I counted seven along just one  stretch of some 200 metres (down 27th Cross, leading from the Jayanagar shopping complex towards Kanakapura Road). Bricks, chunks of concrete, mud scraped up from the roadside, assorted rubbish…

Environment Support Group is organising a workshop on ‘Understanding therole and the importance of Wetlands in Urban spaces.' The workshop will beheld on 26th September 2009 at the MariGowda Hall in Lal Bagh.The various sessions are as follows: Historical view of lakes in Bangalore Current status of Lakes in Bangalore Criticality of lakes for water security in Bangalore Urban Lakes as functional eco-systems Legal and Policy frameworks that govern lakesThe workshop aims to bring together Decision makers, Media, NGOs, Teachers,Students and the general public.. You are also invited to use our workshop as an opportunity to display yourphoto-exhibits, charts, models,…

A group of 12 people, in their mid-twenties to early-thirties cleared garbage in several localities in south Bengaluru as part of the citizen-launched “Clean Bengaluru campaign” on August 15th. Thousands of individuals from around the city had signed up in the preceding weeks on the website cleanbengaluru.com, and some NGOs joined the cause as well. Representing Youth for Seva (YFS), one such NGO, the cleaning drive for the south zone started at 7 am from Hoskerehalli, near PESIT College. They moved on through Banashankari, Basavanagudi, JP Nagar, Jayanagar, BTM Layout and concluded at HSR Layout. Coordinating the drive was Vikshut…

The Indian Institute of Journalism & New Media (IIJNM) organised a Right To Information (RTI) workshop, ‘State of the RTI’,  on 14th August, at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore.Guest speaker, Dr Shekhar Singh of the National Coalition for People’s Right to Information talked about safeguarding RTI and described how the law was drafted to catch corrupt officials in government departments. He presented the findings of a recent, nationwide survey conducted by his group. The survey tested the knowledge and use of the RTI by more than 35,000 citizens across 10 states. The survey found out that more than 800 RTI requests…

Dear Bangaloreans, THIS INDEPENDENCE DAY, LET US LIBERATE OURSELVES FROM GARBAGE! Reclaim Bengaluru is a pan Bengaluru campaign which is an attempt to get Bangaloreans to come out and clean the streets of Bengaluru on the 15th of August, 2009, Independence Day. You can register for this by signing up on the web page www.cbengaluru.com. List of zones for the Clean Bengaluru Campaign:JP Nagar 7th, 8th Phase, RBI Layout, Gaurav Nagar, Novodhaya Nagar, Kothanur, Surabhi Nagar, Nayak Layout - Call Manjunath 9036221288JP Nagar 1st, 2nd Phase, Sarakki – Call Aniruddha 9036571713Srinivasnagar, Hanumanthnagar, Gandhi Bazaar - Call Nishchita 9844465275Padmanabhnagar - Call…

We all crib about civic services, about crazy traffic, unscheduled power cuts, and a dozen other things which characterise life in namma Bengaluru . How about some humour and diversion for a change, trying to look at the same issues from another angle, to keep our blood pressure under control?Traffic snarls, for one. Yes, it is maddening when one is stuck in endless jams at each signal, and it takes two hours to cover 15 kilometres. How about playing a game with yourself while you wait – try to guess how many vehicles will jump the signal before it turns…

A small part of our neighbourhood (Osborne road and nearby roads in Sivanchetty Garden, near Ulsoor lake) has been converted to a garbage free area. This experimental initiative comprises four roads spread over 1 square kilometre. The same strategy will be adopted to covert the entire neighbourhood into a garbage free one. Our applause to the team lead by resident Divya Nahender. The team was formed with volunteers inspired by similar initiatives in Kumara Park locality. They identified the black spots (with garbage) and prepared a sketch of the entire area; Divya and her team invited residents to a meeting…

"The RTI Act is best understood by using it, not just knowing it". – Anand S, ACF BangaloreIt was around 2.15 PM on Jul-25, the last Saturday of the month at Cubbon Park and RTI Clinic’s second session., I was just in time to hear Manohar Ranganathan of the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM) welcome the gathering. Nearly 25 people including students, public, private and self-employed citizens, community workers and the two to three co-organisers were present. Sultan, a state government officer joined the interaction later as an observer. Anand of the Anti-Corruption Forum (ACF)…

Sometime in MayBBMP workers had dredged out the storm water drain near my house, and left a mound of filth, muck, crushed plastic cups and assorted debris on the edge of the pavement on  8-F main road, Jayanagar. Each time it rained, some of the muck got washed right back into the drain. It was an eyesore and an olfactory assault. There are posh shops all along this road, hundreds of citizens walk or drive past, even park next to the pile of rubbish. The famous Jayanagar shopping complex is just across the road.I complained about it to the city…