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You may have read the news about the passing of Xerxes Desai, the founding Managing Director of Titan. Two years ago, our then intern from the University of Washington Chris Lopaze interviewed Desai for India Together. He also shared his thoughts about Bengaluru and urban issues, that we published today. He talked about how the IT industry impacted Bangalore and proposed professionalising city management. Read: Remembering Xerxes Desai. Xerxes Desai was also a well wisher and patron of Oorvani Foundation. He encouraged the work we do at Citizen Matters - and was always ready to share valuable insights, and advice.…

Dear Reader, Hello again from Citizen Matters team! We’re back with our newsletter, to bring you news and analysis from this week. Before you get into the main newsletter, do read this piece by a citizen activist and a writer Srinivas Alavilli from J P Nagar, where he describes his learnings from a hands on experience of clearing the storm water drains in his area. The highlight: Bengaluru needs more athletic training centres Yet another athletics coach trains kids at Kanteerava Stadium. Pic: Akshatha M It's a city that has 1/6th of the state's population, yet Bengaluru cannot produce high…

  Hello again from Citizen Matters team! We’re back with our newsletter, to bring you more news and analysis. And our most popular story of the week - how this Sarjapur Road layout solved their water problems, with rainwater collecting, recharge, wastewater treatment and more. And they have no more need for water tankers! Read: Reaching water sustainability. The highlight: Why do schools hike fees? Pic: Shree D N After we look at what makes Bengaluru schools hike their fee, we know look at the other side. While there are schools that hike their fee arbitrarily, there are also schools…

This week’s highlight: Decoding illegal hoardings in Bengaluru A huge advertisement hoarding erected on a rajakaluve in Koramangala. Pic: Akshatha M Ever wondered why the hoardings that are not licensed are not removed in Bengaluru? It's because the BBMP has no proper policy for removal of hoardings. The terms are different each time, which is why the removal of illegal hoardings has become impossible. Here's the story on the enforcement mafia. Also read: Advertising hoardings worth crores actually get no revenues to BBMP. Data: Part I of Mathai’s reports on illegal hoardings in BBMP, obtained via RTI. Fee hike in…

After a long delay, the BMTC has finally launched the Intelligent Transport System (ITS) to help commuters. The ITS  is expected to help passengers track BMTC buses, and the BMTC monitor bus movement. Read: All you should know about BMTC’s ITS. Decoding illegal hoardings in Bengaluru One can find ad hoardings everywhere - on buildings, storm water drains, skywalks and parks, even private residences. But no one knows the numbers, and no one knows how to stop them from coming up, or make money out of them. What’s going on behind the scenes? Read: Advertising hoardings worth crores actually get…

In the past month, Citizen Matters raised a little over 2.31 lakh. This was made possible by five people, who we are so pleased to have collaborated with. Here’s our thank you note to them: Our champions at the TCS World 10K. A big thank you to all the folks who pitched in this time around too! Your contribution will ensure that we continue to stay afloat. We will be keeping the payment gateway for our summer fundraiser open for one more day. If you’d like to contribute past the 11th hour :), please click here. This week’s highlight: Planting…

Before we get into our stories, two quick announcements. Citizen Matters now in Chennai… Any readers from Tamil Nadu gearing up to vote in the upcoming Elections? We have alpha launched our portal for Chennai, with all the news on the Elections. Who's contesting from where, what are political parties promising in their manifestos, how to find your polling booth… All this and more in the Chennai edition of Citizen Matters: chennai.citizenmatters.in. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. Please share the news with your friends and family from Chennai! Help our 5 runners reach their target! You…

The National Green Tribunal has delivered a landmark judgment against the massive SEZ project coming up on the wetlands of Agara and Bellandur lakes. The Tribunal has imposed a penalty of Rs 130 crore on Mantri Techzone and Core Mind Software Services, along with passing other important orders related to the case. What's more, they have also pronounced orders to regulate construction near lakes. A picture of the construction on the lake bed as on April 6th 2016. Pic: Shree DN Presenting a detailed report: NGT fines Bellandur SEZ developers; orders demolition of encroachment. Today, with this judgment, as citizens…

Before we get into our stories for the week, two quick announcements... We are organising a two-day workshop for teens - Journalism for Young Citizens - at Atta Galatta on May 3rd and 4th. For more information and to register, click here. Several Bangaloreans are running at the TCS 10K in support of Citizen Matters, to raise funds for coverage on specific topics. See Shilpi for Lakes and Thej for Open Data. Pledge your support today! Property Tax No update yet on extension of deadline for 5% discount on property tax; if you are paying today, here is the guide:…

Summer Workshop: Journalism for Young Citizens Following the success of our Journalism Workshop for Citizens, we are happy to announce a special 2-day students' workshop on May 3rd and 4th, in partnership with Atta Galatta, the Koramangala bookstore. The workshop is ideal for young people (14-17 years), and will introduce them to the basics of news gathering, writing, photography. Encourage your teen or a young friend to sign up and gain insights into how the city works and how to use journalism to engage and solve problems. More info » Limited seats available, so register quick! This week’s highlight Time…