Civic

I was walking past an unnamed bylane in my neighborhood, known to be rather dirty and untidy usually; I was pleasantly surprised to find this common and effective approach to prevent garbage dumping.Benson Town's Litter Free Lane (pic: Pushpa Achanta) Upon inquiry, I learnt that area residents and worshippers at a chapel nearby worked with the local ward councilor to implement it. I plan to observe how long it lasts and replicate it elsewhere!⊕

As long as things go smoothly, our system works. But let there be a problem and one is up against the most people-unfriendly scenario possible.Our mobile bill (my mobile phone is an add-on to KM's) was vastly over what's normal, and we have given complaints twice, and both complaints have been registered on the Airtel site.Now every day, several times, honey-voiced "customer care executives" call up on either phone, asking why we have not paid the bill. Increasingly, we are irritated by having to repeat our complaint, which the Airtel people say is not showing up on their system, so…

One of the things I feel very proud about as I travel by the buses of the BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) is the fact that many women conductors are now employed by the organization.I decided to watch, without any intervention, as one such young woman went about her job on the bus that I was travelling by.Here she is:She was quite diligent about asking passengers for their tickets or passes, and unlike some men conductors that I have (alas!) seen, she gave back the necessary change, too, all the time that I watched her.Apart from the regular duty, there…

Property taxes are due city-wide, but clear information about how the tax is to be calculated has still not reached citizens, and this has created much disturbance and worry.To address the confusion, the Citizens' Action Forum (CAF) on 29th November passed a resolution demanding that the state government should bring back the Annual Rateable Value (ARV) based property tax system. CAF claims that the revised system which the BBMP has introduced recently was a violation of all the promises politicians had made before the elections.The meeting saw a participation of around hundered people from various residents associations who voiced their…

I belong to a volunteer group called Clean and Green, which has been going out on trips to the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and cleaning up as much of the plastic trash as possible in the time available. On the last two occasions, Wipro has both sponsored the trip, as well as providing volunteers to help us with our task.I thought I would post about how a cleanup usually happens....this is probably the 16th or 17th such trip we are making. This time, the trash collected in two hours was 167 kg, and I am happy to say that the amount…

Vijay Narnampatti and I had been to Seshadri Road yesterday to talk to the members of the Empowered Committee as they inspected the road, on which dozens of majestic trees are slated to be felled.While we were waiting for them, this caught my eye....I am going to let the banner speak for itself!Comments, though, are welcome! ⊕

Amongst the many images and impressions at that I saw and experienced at the "Namma Raste, Namma Ooru" walk on Sunday, 9th November 2008, was the picture of this tiny tot; She didn't seem to be angry, or against anything; she made a peaceful statement that surely none of us can disagree with...and was calmly eating something that a tree gave her, too!Surely, if a little one like her can come out to express her opinion, the rest of us can take heed and protect the trees we have left!Update: What a coincidence! I shared this image with Hasiru Usiru...and…

In a boost to the Right To Information (RTI) movement in the country, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in February this year, upheld the levy of penalty by the Haryana State Information Commission, on the State Public Information Officer (SPIO) for delay in furnishing information to an RTI applicant. The Commission had levied a fine of Rs.19250, at the rate of Rs.250 per day for a 77-day delay caused by the SPIO in servicing the RTI application. Cartoon: Narasimha VedalaIt is only recently that RTI users in Bangalore stumbled upon this case, and clearly, they are pleased. They pointed…

A free reading room and information center, to be maintained by Jayanagar 5th Block Residents' Welfare Association was inaugurated on October 9th, by Jayanagar MLA, B N Vijaya Kumar.The program was attended by former corporators, C K Rama Murthy, B Somasheakar, S K Nataraj, and many residents of Jayanagar 5th block and other citizens. Jayanagar 5th Block Residents Welfare Association119. 7th Main.5th Block Jayanagar,Bangalore -41  Tel-265544155The proposed center will provide information on civic and utility services to residents and also would be equipped with books, newspapers and periodicals. The association would also conduct interactive meetings with officials/elected representatives and conduct…