Governance

The Revised Master Plan 2031 of Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) which reflects the BDA’s vision of the growth of Bangalore over the next 15 years was open for public comments recently. At the outset, when one examines the overall ELU (Existing Land Use) and PLU (Proposed Land Use), there doesn’t seem to be any errors. The errors become evident when one examines the LU (Land Use) classification for each of the 42 PDs (Proposed District). First, the ELU areas of PDs does not add up to the total ELU mentioned for Industry, Unclassified, Transport, Vacant and Agriculture Land Uses. The…

Bandh gets good response: The statewide bandh on January 25 was fairly successful and mostly peaceful, as it got a good response from diverse organisations. In the attempt to reach a resolution for the Mahadayi row between Karnataka and Goa, the bandh got BMTC and KSRTC buses to stay off roads, with shops remaining shut. However, Metro services remained unaffected, while taxis and autos too were plying on the roads. Though it was fairly peaceful, the protest also witnessed some stray stone-pelters. There were more than 15,000 police personnel, along with 50 platoons of KSRP and CAR police persons who…

At a recent All India conference for senior police officials in the capital city, best performing police stations across the country were recognised and honoured. K4 Police station, Annanagar, Chennai bagged the 5th position in the country for its speedy disposal of cases, zero incidence of murder and the way visitors are handled. Citizen Matters spoke to officials at K4 to understand the distinct functioning of the police station. வண்டிகள் நேர்த்தியாக நிறுத்தி வைக்கப்பட்ட பார்கிங் ஏரியா, வரவேற்பாளர் அறை, பார்வையாளர்கள் காத்திருக்கும் பகுதி, குடிநீர் என ஒரு ஹோட்டல் போன்ற அமைப்பு கொண்டிருக்கிறது கே4 காவல் நிலையம். ஆனால் சிறந்த காவல் நிலையமாக தேர்ந்தெடுக்கப்பட்டதற்கு இதுவல்ல காரணம். ஜனவரி ஏழாம் தேதி…

A few months ago, Bengaluru saw people from various resident welfare associations and list out their wants for Bengaluru. This was at Beku BeDa Santhe, organised by Citizens for Bengaluru. The list that came out of it, a citizens' manifesto for Bengaluru, was submitted to various political parties. Here goes the citizens manifesto. Traffic Principles: Prioritize moving people over vehicles Incentivize public transport over private transport Invest heavily in mass public transport Demands: Setup UMTA Double the bus fleet, halve bus fares Add 10 new suburban train routes every year Increase frequency of metro; add coaches Integrate public transport with…

Google to help Bengaluru police manage traffic better: "A team of officials from Google and the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) are developing a custom-made ‘Traffic analyser app’ for the traffic police, which will help in congestion management, benefiting the general public," said R. Hitendra, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), to The Hindu. Rooftop restaurants already shutting shop: A number of rooftop pubs, bars and restaurants have complied with the orders of the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to close down their establishments. They had been found operating without trade licenses. About 135 establishments had been given a week’s…

A parking area with neatly parked vehicles, a reception area to welcome visitors, a waiting room and canned drinking-water. Hold on, this is not a resort or restaurant, but a local police station in Namma Chennai! The K4 Police Station on Third Avenue in Anna Nagar does catch your attention with its infrastructure and facilities, but it is not just that which makes it distinct. At the inauguration of the three-day All-India Conference of Director Generals / Inspector Generals of Police on January 7th, the K4 Police Station won fifth place among the 14850 stations in the country ranked for…

Fire kills five in Kailash Bar: Safety norms are always drawn up carefully, but remain only on paper. Even though the state fire department had asked Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to cancel the occupancy certificate of 106 high-rise buildings in 2015, no steps were taken to ensure safety. Notices had been issued to roof top pubs after the Kamala Mills tragedy in Mumbai, yet a fire, maybe due to short circuit, killed five staff members in Kailash Bar, Kalasipalyam. “My question is: Why did we wake up after a mishap occurred in another city when the matter was known…

The Revised Master Plan (RMP) 2031 is being scrutinised by the public. Most experts feel that too much priority has been given to archaic rather than progressive planning. Although the government has not conducted enough workshops or feedback meetings with the public, the draft is out for public comment. You can view all the rules here. In a workshop organised by the Environment Support Group (ESG), participants were taken aback when they learnt that every one of them, ranging from planners to industrialists, could become part of the planning process as a constitutional right! A bottoms-up approach is supposed to…

In response to the terrible fire accident in Kailash bar in Kalasipalya that claimed five innocent lives, the Hon'ble Chairman of the Standing committee on Health (of BBMP) says: "First we will compile a list of bars in the city." Are you kidding me? BBMP does not have a list of bars and pubs and restaurants? I bet every corporator and engineer knows exactly how many bars are there in their ward and how many of them should not be there. You don't need computers for this! They might even have a little notebook in their bulging front pockets with…

The sight of dry fish shops on the roads, the smell of fish in the air, rickshaws all around -- the setting is unmistakably north Madras! As I get down at the N4 bus stop and go in search of Nagooran Thottam, it is not too difficult to locate the freshly painted yellow housing board quarters constructed for the welfare of slum dwellers residing in Nagooran Thottam. Just in front of the new buildings, I see a deep well hand pump and next to it, a man trying to open his suitcase and unbox his belongings. “We had our housewarming…