Governance

Ganesh festival is around the corner, on Monday 9 September 2013. BESCOM has urged public and the Mandallîs/ assocìatíons/ groups who set up Ganesha at public places not to tap power illegally."It has come to the notice of the Company that in the past during festival at several places Ganesh Mandallis/ associations/ groups plug wires to street light ports and some tap electricity from street light poles. (sic) This can prove fatal during monsoon and may cause electric shock or electrocution. BESCOM will not be responsible for any such untoward incidents owing to unauthorised power connections," said the press release.Unauthorised…

On the sidelines of a press conference of the Bangalore Bus Prayaanikara Vedike (commuters’ forum), a survivor of sexual harassment narrated her recent experience on the city’s Metro. She’d complained to the police, who hauled in the perpetrators – white collar employees of a prestigious global brand. She got them to the police station with some difficulty. A staff member of the Metro had resented having to help her by locating the CCTV tapes and so on. The now chastened young men pleaded with her, saying one of them had to head back to his job in the Middle East…

It’s official. The higher you want to stay, the more you will have to pay. This concept has been officially introduced by the Stamps and Registration Department, in the new guidance values issued on 12 August, 2013. Though the concept wasn’t explicitly publicised, it has been in existence for a few years now. Those who wish to buy flats or apartments were being charged extra by builders, depending on the amenities and the floor on which they want to buy the space. The guidance values published in 2011 had a flat rate for all floors in any given apartments. Now…

Citizen Matters had published an article on the death of Meghala, a girl aged six and weighing 12 kg, at D J Halli. This article throws light on the extent of malnutrition in Karnataka and how various recommendations to combat the same were ignored by the government, resulting in a death that could have otherwise been prevented. Meghala's death and the subsequent reaction in the media and political corridors is reminiscent of the furore after the death of five-year-old Anjaneya from Raichur in late 2011. Anjaneya was diagnosed as being severely malnourished in 2010 and yet, thanks in no small…

With increased demand for Aadhaar cards and the urgency among people to get the card, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has taken initiative to provide the cards electronically. Now you can get e-Aadhaar card, without having to wait for the UIDAI to send the card to you. Though this service was introduced a year ago, not many know about it. Sources in the E-governance Department which has been entrusted with the task of providing this service say that they do not have numbers available on how many e-Aadhaar cards have been issued. Why e-Aadhaar card? E-Aadhaar is a…

The Stamps and Registration Department, as an annual exercise, is in the process of revising the guidance values of all commercial and residential units in Bangalore Urban, Rural and Ramanagara district. Latest update: Look upwards; pay more!How has the new guidance value affected the realty market in Bangalore? What is the new guidance value criteria for apartment? Click here to read. Last year, the Department received 19 lakh property registrations from April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013, in all 47 sub registrar offices and realised an amount of Rs 5.265 crore. Of this, 17% of the applications were from…

Haseena was attacked with acid in 1999. She lost her eyes forever, her body suffered severe damage, which stole her right to live like all of us. Her attacker spent only five years in jail, and has faded away from public memory. However, Haseena refused to go down in life. She took up a computer course and learnt to stand on her won feet. Now she’s employed, and helping other visually impaired become self-reliant. Haseena narrates her story to Citizen Matters. Over to Haseena. I was born and brought up in this beautiful city of Bangalore, where my parents and…

Meghala, who died on 17 July 2013, due to malnutrition coupled with pneumonia. Pic: Javed Iqbal   “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi There were two little girls in Bangalore. They lived quite far away from each other, and never knew the other existed.  They were diagnosed with similar illnesses in a gap of two weeks – one having contracted pneumonia and the other affected with pneumonitis (a milder form of pneumonia). Both of them weighed exactly 11.8 kgs at the time of diagnosis. One lived in a slum, and the other in a middle-class…

Freedom from garbage. The words have a nice ring to them, which is probably why the BBMP chose the name, KasaMuktha, for its new effort to manage waste in the city. Forced by the High Court to ensure that all solid waste is segregated at source in homes and offices, the municipality is struggling to come up with an alternative that is acceptable to citizens, and works well. Why? Simple. All our earlier efforts to 'manage' trash were built around landfills. Simply collect the trash from the citizens of Bangalore, and take it away to villages outside the city and…

Bangalore houses roughly around one crore citizens. As the city grows, crime rate too goes up. To facilitate smooth flow of grievance redressal mechanism and complaint follow ups, Police Department has brought certain services under Sakala scheme, to aid the citizens in getting their work done in time. However, how many people are aware of this? The Police Computer Wing (PCW) of the Karnataka State Police had introduced 21 services under the Sakala scheme, in April 2012. Four months ago, the PCW also launched the mobile SMS Gateway service. But its reach has been limited. Speaking to Citizen Matters, ADGP,…