Infrastructure

Will the experience of Campa Cola compound flat owners be a lesson to apartment owners in Bengaluru? The Akrama Sakrama scheme is creating havoc. Every builder flouts the sanctioned plan with impunity and there is no one to check. Eventually, the flat buyer suffers while the builder and corrupt officials profit from the illegality. The impression created by Akrama Sakrama is that illegality will be condoned later and therefore builders continue to build illegal structures and lure buyers. Most buyers trust the promises of builders and some, who know better, go ahead and buy believing that Akrama Sakrama will take…

After lot of search, finally you zero in on an under-construction apartment to buy. Your decisions are based on cost, location, developed, accessibility, quality, reputation of builder etc. The builder as usual promises moon to every buyer and buyer gets impressed by glossy brochures and sugary words of so called sales managers. So you start dreaming about living in your own dwelling. The builder then sets the terms for payment - 20% advance, 70% for slabs (for a typical G+3 Apartment), 10% after sale deed registration. After paying the advance (20%), you will apply for a bank loan. If your…

While aiming for the sun high up in the sky, we tend to stamp on the flowers at our feet. - Anonymous We continue to mix waste, violate laws and lead 'respectable' lives. But these people, who help reduce the trash in our mega-city Bengaluru, are looked down upon for being migrant and poor. Be it ragpickers, sweepers or garbage collectors, they are part of the system too. But their stories are never told. Mohammad Khan (name changed on request) has a long and grey beard that seems to represent his 60 years of experience. Dressed usually in ragged trousers…

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board has monitored the ambient air quality using continuous ambient air quality monitoring system at two locations and manual monitoring stations at 13 locations (11 manual stations and 2 Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations [CAAQMS]) in Bangalore city on occasion of Deepavali festival 2013. To see the impact of bursting of crackers etc. on air quality, round-the-clock (24 Hourly) air quality monitoring was carried out. The measured SO2 and NO2 values during normal days (29.10.2013) and Deepavali days (2nd and 4th Nov-2013) have not exceeded the National limits (SO2: 80 µg/M3 and NO2: 80 µg/M3).…

Unsegregated waste is something which cannot be processed 100% which would be a deadly cocktail that will act as slow poison for environment. File pic. A few days ago, I came back from the morning run to my newspaper and breakfast. What I read on the first page made me spill my bowl of sambhar all over the supplement. Our elected representatives – MPs, MLAs and corporators were back from a junket to Salem where they saw a plant that can process mixed waste. I personally like folks in position of power traveling as it opens the mind, so have…

About 50 residents of Uma Sree Dream World near Kudlu Gate staged a protest at the project developer’s office on October 2, 2013, seeking completion of promised amenities.   They were demanding that the builder complete the promised amenities and fix the water leakages in the buildings immediately, besides seeking control of the common area.   “We have been seeking  promised facilities like landscaped garden, club house, Jacuzzi, yoga or meditation room, billiard room, karaoke room and children’s play area and car parking areas as per approved plan that was promised by the developer at the time of purchase. Developer has…

Remote sensing authority has put the height of Raheja Vivarea at 892 metres, as opposed to the claim of 870 metres made by the builder. Pic: Nikita Malusare Contrary to the claims made by M/s Chalet Hotels while getting No Objection Certificate from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the residential apartment project  Raheja Vivarea in Bengaluru's Koramangala area, Karnataka State Remote Sensing Application Centre(KSRSAC) has estimated the height of the construction spot of Raheja Vivarea to be 892 metres Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL). The immediate implication of this is that Raheja Vivarea can not construct any of the blocks…

October 2 brings the annual ritual obeisance to the Father of the Nation, but in the last six decades we have not had a repetition of the kind of protests against injustice on the scale that Gandhiji undertook during his salt march or Quit India movement. However, this time around, there is talk of a satyagraha, no less, by citizens of Bengaluru, because judging from the meetings I have been witness to over the last three months, patience is running thin. It is, many residents are now saying, time to undertake collective action, to make our voices heard. Not against…

When segregating the wet waste from the dry becomes a habit (to the extent that soiled boxes, plastic packets and tetra packs also are cleaned/ rinsed and dried before going into the dry bin), it becomes difficult to put all the waste into one dustbin, while visiting hotels and other homes. Often I’m tempted to carry my trash back to ensure it is handled appropriately. During a recent visit to Pune though, there was no such temptation. The friends we visited live in a large apartment complex called Camellia on the Baner-Pashan Link Road (about 300 apartments), and here segregation…

Chalet Hotels Private Limited, promoted by K Raheja Corp Group, has sued Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), for revoking the No Objection Certificate (NOC) given for the construction of  Raheja Vivarea, near HAL surroundings. The hearing of WP 37571/2103, Chalet Hotel V/s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, took place on 28 August, 2013. Revoking of NOC for Raheja Viverea by HAL has led to a law suit. File pic - representation purpose only. Earlier, residents of Koramangala, under the banner of Koramangala Infrastructure Task Force, had written to Defence Minister A K Antony urging him to take action regarding what was supposedly an…