Governance

The District Disability Welfare Office organised a camp for the differently-abled at the Government Kannada School in DJ Halli on August 11th and 12th, to ensure immediate needs of differently-abled people at DJ Halli are met. The camp allowed the differently-abled to undergo medical check-ups, and apply for disability certificates, disability pension and aid devices.   The first patient to come into the camp was an old lady, Vijaya, with some form of mental illness, who came in as early 8 30 am on Aug 11th, despite the disability camp being scheduled to start only at 10 am. She was…

Bengaluru has seen several cases of child sexual abuse in past month. Many parents and schools are apprehensive about coming out in the open, when a case of sexual abuse occurs. The social stigma, the pressure of interacting with police, not being sure about whom to contact etc are the issues generally faced. Above all, the very thought of the child having to re-live the incident during the investigation, is scary to many parents. This write-up is an attempt to explain how easy and child-friendly the law really is towards the child. A still from 'Komal,' an educative film on…

Be careful of your belongings if you live in Bengaluru. If you lose your expensive phones, gadgets and other valuable items, that is solely your fault and the Bangalore Police will add to your worry by giving you an earful of why you must no use such expensive items. Clearly in HSR layout police station that is the message that is running around.  And what is even worse, they claim to be doing all the work in the country. “Anything that happens anywhere in India all of them land up at the HSR Layout Police Station. I am going to…

This is a sign that citizens are beginning to use IT Act section 66A to hit back people posting hurtful and offensive remarks online, in response to their own articulations. V R Bhat, a Kannada columnist in Bengaluru, and active user of Facebook found himself on the receiving end of 66A this week, when someone he offended used the infamous IT Act’s 66A clause on him. The above comment in Kannada, put on Facebook by V R Bhat has attracted a complaint against him under section 66A of IT Act. when the tagged person and others filed a complaint under…

In an effort to tackle the waste management crisis that Bangalore is buckling under, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has considered dealing with organic waste by converting it into biogas.  BBMP has plans to setup 16 biomethanation plants across the city, some of which are complete and some in progress. The contracts have been awarded to Mailhem Engineers for four plants and to Ashoka Biogreen for 12 plants. Illustrative picture of Bio-methanation plant. Pic source: cmdachennai.gov.in On 22-Jun-2014, the biomethanation plant  at KR Market was inaugurated. According to reports, Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana said the plant would convert biodegradable waste into energy, and…

Bangalore and Seattle. Two cities more than 8,000 miles apart separated by the vast Atlantic Ocean and opposing viewpoints, even farther apart, on how different levels of government should interact. One favours a stronger control of city governance through the central and state government, while another favours a more self-supporting city government. Both are large metropolitan areas, at least relative to their respective countries, but the population density of Seattle pales in comparison to Bangalore’s population density. Seattle’s metropolitan area has an average population density of 230 people per square kilometers, while Bangalore has a staggering 13,495 people per square…

Every day there are illegal constructions coming up in various places in Bengaluru. Are the authorities blind? Can't they see these as they drive past them? Why is this going on even when laws strictly prohibit them? While illegal constructions should in most cases be demolished, there would be important considerations. These are spelt out in a Supreme Court judgement on the Delhi demolitions. This has been mentioned and explained in the CAF PIL against Akrama - Sakrama, which was signed by me on behalf of CAF, when I was its secretary. The substance of the PIL was that in…

Panel discussion organised by CIVIC. Pic: Shree D N If what Minister for Urban Development, Karnataka, Vinay Kumar Sorake promised in a panel discussion held on July 11, 2014 materialises into concrete action, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) corporators cannot continue to rule the roost. Citizens will get more power and say in local matters, in the form of ward committees and area sabhas. The Minister promised to amend the section 13 of Karnataka Municipal Corporation Act, to remove veto power over ward committees given to corporators. He also said he would look into amending the section to remove the…

H D Kumaraswamy has seen it all public life, and knows how to handle issues. Pic courtesy: facebook.com/janatha.dhala As widely known by now, Janata Dal (Secular) leader and ex-chief minister H D Kumaraswamy​​ (HDK) shocked everyone with his frank admission of asking money for electing a person as Member of Legislative Council (MLC). After a CD of what appeared to be a conversation between a MLC-post aspirant Viju Gowda Patil and HD Kumaraswamy surfaced in the media, HDK admitted that he indeed had demanded money, and this is how politics is run in the state. Listen to the controversial audio…

Citizens and Resident Welfare Associations in Bengaluru have objected to the recommendations made by the Karnataka Information and Communication Technology Group Report (KIG Report) that does not address the crucial challenges faced by the citizens, especially in terms of real governance reforms and transparency. Objecting to the recommendations made in the report, the Namma Bengaluru Foundation (NBF) BRACE - a consortium of 750 Residents Association in the city said the report represents a surrender of the city's Development to the commercial interests represented by builders, contractors and real estate companies - many of whose commercial interests are directly responsible for…