Civic

A nifty escape route is all that we look for while rattling through the streets of Bengaluru to avoid the cacophony, the dirt and the dangers of it all. Quite the contrary, streets mean different things to different people, especially to intellectuals and artists who look at them as no less than theatre of life with a medley of dynamics on display - be it political, social, economic, cultural, or religious. The events explored a diverse set of issues on streets in India - from planning of streets, the politics of streets, appropriation of streets for religious rituals and so…

“I’m a defaulter”, he says laughing, for having dodged this interview for several weeks. Dressed casually in a pink striped shirt and black trousers he sits down to talk, in the backdrop of the public consultation of the urban development draft policy in Bengaluru. This policy was drafted in light of the challenges related to urban governance and to chart a new course for urban areas in the state.Former Corporator and now Minister for Law, Parliamentary affairs and Urban Development, S Suresh Kumar appears to have his priorities right. “We have to learn lessons from Bangalore. Bangalore should be repeated…

Open the day’s newspapers , and all you see are scary reports  -- about viral fevers, dengue, people thronging to clinics for medication, waterlogged layouts. A judgment under the Consumer Protection Act, handed out in Chennai  will be of interest to citizens in Bengaluru who would like to do something about the sorry state of civic amenities and cleanliness in the metropolis,  but knew also that the municipality could not be sued under the Act because of a  ruling that citizens were “not consumers” of municipal services under the law. A citizens' group filed a complaint with the Tamilnadu Consumer…

During the October RTI clinic at Cubbon Park, I met Jacob P (name changed to protect identity), a private sector employee who participated in the September edition for the first time. After that, he has never missed a clinic and has been updating me on the status of his applications regularly. "The commitment and enthusiasm of some of the RTI activists I met during the clinic inspired me to use the Act in public interest. I have told one of my friends about what I saw and heard and hope to bring him along next time", said Jacob. In October…

It was a pleasant Sunday morning and it was unbelievable that garbage issue brought more than 200 Bangaloreans together at a day-long Zero Waste Management workshop in Malleswaram on December 6th. It was held at Rotary West Hall of Government Girl's High School.The workshop was workshop was organised by ECO Manage Group. MLA of Malleswaram, Dr Ashwath Narayan who co-sponsored the programme was also present. A skit by a group of enthusiastic employees from BOSCH explained with humour the apathy of the citizens towards garbage. Pic: Lavanya Keshavamurthy. The meeting commenced with Dr Meenakshi Bharath, who plans to run for…

We all appreciate the planned approach and systematic execution of any project. Many companies do it and among government establishments, the railways, perhaps because it was a British company earlier. For example, if they have to bridge a river of 50 feet and lay the track, they just refer to ready made designs and drawings for bridge girders, fabricate them while the piers are being built, and finish the project in record time. Civic amenities site in Kalyan Nagar is lying vacant for over two decades and is in continuous danger of being encroached upon. Pic: Lina Vincent. We also…

Dry waste, wet waste, metal waste, e-waste, bio-waste, plastic waste. How many dustbins should I keep at home to segregate these many waste matters? Read this article by Sandhya who was part of the team that set up the waste management system at Brigade Regency Apartments. This is what struck me when I read a circular from the Brigade Regency Owners’ Association, making waste segregation compulsory and for a moment I thought I would crumple it up and dump it in the dustbin. Brigade Regency Apartments is where I live. Being a resident here, I felt “these guys are stretching…

One day, the garbage truck didn't turn up.Up until that time, I had never given much thought to the black plastic bags which I diligently tied with all my household waste in it. Everyday I kept it outside the door of my apartment in Malleshwaram to be taken away. It was the ‘kasa’, the ‘kachada’, the ‘garbage’ and that was it. Read this article by Savita Hiremath, a resident at Brigade Regency Apartments, on her experience. Up until that time, the sight of the large garbage collection truck, with its blue sheet flapping in the wind and leaving a trail…

Having missed the Right to Information (RTI) clinic in September, I was determined to participate in this edition. Despite the minimal participation, Bangalore's famous and seasoned RTI activists (and retired government employees) like Veeresh Bellur and Vikram Simha from Mahiti Hakku Adhyan Kendra (MHAK) and Anand S of Anti-Corruption Forum (ACF) continue to inspire us with their knowledge and enthusiasm. And, this may be impossible without the committed efforts of Bangalore based civil society organizations (CSO's) like South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring (SICHREM), Urban Research Centre (URC), Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), OpenSpace and others…

Journey across Bengaluru city on a whim is a thing of the past. Jammed roads have necessitated planning. What used to take 15 minutes can stretch to an hour on a bad day. A fallout of crowded streets that’s seldom discussed is the issue of nature’s call while you are on road for long periods. This especially gets trickier if you are a woman.Loo-breaks too need to be planned. City’s walls and trees are of little use if you are a woman. Yes, there are a little over hundred Nirmala pay and use toilets across the city. But most are…