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High Court asked the LDA to come up with a plan for restoration of both the lakes, and hold meetings of authorities, builders and the residents. Pic: Shree D N A report submitted by the Lake Development Authority (LDA) to the High Court of Karnataka on April 13th, has revealed the sorry state of the two lakes: Agara and Bellandur. The report explains how the lakes shrunk in last one and a half decade and the threats they are facing in the form of land loss and sewage flow. LDA submitted the report to the HC during the hearing of…

  Bengaluru this week April 16th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!     When it gets really hot, rains invariably come to redeem Bengaluru’s reputation. Our weather may be something to boast about, but not our local government. This week we start a new series that analyses all that went wrong in the city’s garbage mess. There are lessons to learn as a new BBMP council is due to be elected. Even as the Election Commission readies for BBMP election as per the High Court’s orders, and citizen groups ask the state…

To be adopted by a canine! What a lovely thing it was. Many years after the hoity-toity Madame Pussaa had adopted us and departed from our lives (sad story, don’t want to go into it just now!), we were adopted by a canine from the street. There were always a group of them hanging around in the street – self-appointed sentinels who warned us that someone who was not familiar to them, was afoot on the streets. They would howl and bark. Among these was a female dog, un-named, who had a litter of four or five. One survived. Street…

  Bengaluru this week April 9th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   We're ecstatic to inform you that our March fundraiser was a grand success - we reached our target. A big thank you to all of you who contributed and spread the word. Here’s where you can have a look at our list of donors. Here's a round-up of the latest news from Bengaluru, before we get into our stories: In continuation to unearthing irregularities in the BBMP, the Lokayukta raided the BBMP on April 7th, and unearthed irregularities in clearing…

  Bengaluru this week April 2nd 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   Our March fundraiser has come to a close. Please do not miss our note at the end of this newsletter! Before we get into our stories, here’s a round-up of the latest news from Bengaluru. A teenage girl student from a Whitefield college was killed, and her friend injured, at a shooting at the college hostel on March 31st. The police have arrested Mahesh, an office staff member of the college, on charges of murder. BBMP Council passed a resolution…

“The tattoo is the mark of the soul. It can act as a window we can see in, or it can be a shield to protect us from those who can see past the surface.” - Author unknown It was the year 2006 when an 18-year-old girl decided to get tattooed. While it had been playing on her mind for sometime, she was yet to decide what she wanted and by whom she would get it done. One fine day, walking down Commercial Street in Bengaluru with a friend, she saw a board that said ‘Tattoos’ and in she went. About…

As part of its persistent efforts to increase awareness around fire safety, Beyond Carlton has just launched its new refreshed website www.beyondcarlton.org. Apart from containing information on what Beyond Carlton means, it is also about what more, each of us as citizens can and will do. Fire safety, is not just the passion of the team at Beyond Carlton, but of thousands of people across India. This website looks to bring this community together and make it stronger. It will act as a forum for people to share news, share stories of change, start petitions and gather support, and enjoy…

We stood around quietly, my brother and me, as Amma and Maami negotiated with the guys in the shop. The shop had bales and bales of cotton strewn all over the 10ftx10ft area, and housed three or four guys, in various stages of labour. After much bargaining from our side and patronising from theirs, we took home a pillow. It was grey with golden-yellow lines crisscrossing each other at right angles and turning black where they met. That night, my brother and I fought for rights to use the new pillow. Mysore Bedding and Furnishing. Pic: Vaidya R The place, Mysore…

  Bengaluru this week March 26th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   Before we give you the news updates, a quick pitch... Our fundraiser is on for five more days, until March 31st. We have so far raised 53.17% of our target of Rs 5,00,000. A big thank you to all those of you who have extended your support! We will be sending the receipt for your donation by March 30th. If you find the stories that we publish on Citizen Matters useful, please consider making a contribution. Your support will help…

  Bengaluru this week March 20th 2015     CITIZEN MATTERS Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine Speak up, it's your city!   We are into the last leg of our March fundraiser. We have so far raised 43.71% of our target of Rs 5,00,000 from 83 donors. A big shout out to all of you who have contributed so far. To the rest of you, if you have found Citizen Matters’ articles to be useful, please donate to Oorvani Foundation and support our journalism. Your aid will ensure that we continue to bring you the stories that matter. Click here to make…