Governance

Tired of seeing such garbage blackspots? Unwalkable footpaths? Broken slabs on streetside drains converted to death traps? Construction rubble uncleared for months? This Independence Day, we are launching a new project by the people, for the people, of the people! This is your chance to support BBMP in identifying the bad spots in the city and reporting them, by mapping them. This data will be shared with BBMP directly and can help eliminate the blackspots in the city, help identify future blackspots, remove the construction debris and fix the broken unwalkable footpaths. All you have to do now is to…

Phase 1 and 2 of Namma Metro network. Image: themetrorailguy.com Over the last few months, the news of Metro connectivity along the Outer Ring Road has been making the rounds. There have been news reports of the modification in Namma Metro Phase II plan to accommodate the metro link along the ORR, connecting the Silk Board Junction and K R Puram. But will this plan materialise? Is there a timeframe? According to a recent Deccan Herald news report, BMRCL has decided to modify the Phase II project, to make K R Puram and Silk Board junction as interchange stations. BMRCL…

Urban Development Department published ward committee rules in June 2016. The rules will help formation of ward committees and can have citizen participation in ward level. Kathyayini Chamaraj, the co-founder of CIVIC, says that people can now start demanding that BBMP constitute the ward committees for each ward with a total of ten members with 3 women, 2 SC/ST members, 2 local associations and any three other members.Other terms: The committee must meet every month and put up the minutes and resolutions in the ward office. The Ward Committee meetings are open to the public and RWA members should make…

Taking a keen interest to test the actual efficacy of its service delivery, BWSSB asked Bengaluru-based think tank, Public Affairs Centre to assess BWSSB’s services using its renowned Citizen Report Card (CRC) approach to include consumer and provider feedback to provide incisive insights. Nearly 80% of BWSSB consumers reported lack of any check into water thefts, 41% received new connections only after 2 weeks, 94% remained unaware of water adalats, and non-availability of help desks and a lax grievance redress system reported by those who visited BWSSB offices are just some of the prominent findings from Public Affairs Centre (PAC)’s…

So, this is the third in the Pavement series. Even if I say so myself, I think I am making progress. But there is pressure to change the format every time to keep my interest going, and that is kind of hard.  Anyway, this time I decided to do a different kind of quiz. This is somewhat like an exam. I have to give points, not answers. The maximum points I can give is ten and the minimum zero. No comprendo? Ok, read on. Pic: Suchitra Deep There are four categories.  Rules regarding pavements. Uses of pavements. Materials used for…

In the last two decades, Bengaluru, India seems to have let go of the moniker "The Garden City" and adopted some new ones: "IT City," "Start up city," "The Silicon Valley of India,” after tech companies set up base in the city and attracted millions of migrants. Having grown up in Seattle, the birthplace of tech-giants Amazon and Microsoft, I was interested to learn this before I left for a three-month stay in Bengaluru. What similarities there must be; two cities experiencing the brunt of the tech-boom. Like Bengaluru, Seattle is one of the foremost spots for startup growth. Amazon’s…

On a bright Friday afternoon when office goers on Outer Ring Road - the Bellandur-Marathahalli stretch that houses many IT firms, are wrapping up work and planning their weekend, a young man in his early 30s clad in a crisp white shirt and khakhi trousers arrives at the Varthur traffic signal to man the traffic. His duty starts at 2 pm sharp and would go on till 10. Fridays are heavy traffic days, specially on the Outer Ring Road which is infamous for its endless traffic jams. But he is all prepared for his day’s work. He knows how miserable…

Bangalore In-charge Minister K J George, Jamshyd Godrej and others in Unlock Bengaluru conference. Pic courtesy: WRI India. Minister K J George, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Jamshyd Godrej, Madhav Pai, Aniruddha Dasgupta and V Ravichandar lead discourse at the Unlock Bengaluru (#UnlockBLR) conference in the city of Bengaluru on 9th July 2016. K J George, Minister for Bengaluru Development and Town Planning, outlined the government’s commitment to working with organizations like WRI India to develop a dialogue on sustainable development in the city. Highlighting some of the upcoming projects in Bengaluru, he said, “It is my great privilege to participate in Unlock Bengaluru…

The Schizophrenia Research Foundation of India; the Southern Railway Ticket Reservation Centre at ICF South Colony, AnnaNagar; the Hitech Diagnostic Centre on Dr. Nair Road, T.Nagar, the Indian Bank ATM in Chetput opposite the KMC Hospital and Aavin Park, Adyar: this host of seemingly disparate landmarks in Chennai are unified by a single common attribute, which is the presence of a wheelchair ramp that makes these locations accessible even to the physically challenged. These and several other spots have been identified for compilation in a database on wheelchair accessible spots in the city, thanks to an innovative campaign launched by…

Xerxes Desai. Pic: Christopher Lopaze On 27th June 2016, Bengaluru lost one of its most eminent citizens when Indiranagar resident Xerxes Sapur Desai breathed his last in the city. He was at the helm of Titan Companies Ltd from the 1980s till his retirement in 2002 and is the man widely acknowledged to be the driving force behind catapulting the brand to international renown. A man of great passion and energy, Desai is known for having transformed Titan into a nimble, agile organization and a very ‘happy’ place to work. He imbibed a culture which encouraged innovation, one of not…