Citizen Matters, Bangalore's own interactive newsmagazine

The Managing Director of BESCOM....

Deepa Mohan — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Prashanth Nuggehalli Srinivas writes on Facebook:

"Bangalorean friends - For sometime, I have been following MD Bescom. You will be amazed at how Manivannan, the present MD has used facebook to provide an open platform to directly address queries to him. Indeed, the same person who put up a live video feed of his office to make an example of transparency in public service and the also the same officer who in his earlier assignment used to personally supervise medical audits of infant and maternal deaths.
Just reading the exchanges on his wall is so informative. An amazing initiative by…

High Court lashes out at BDA, BBMP

News Desk — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The BTM 1st Stage land grab scam is closer to getting resolved. A 2 acre-31 guntas chunk of land has to become a park come what may, ruled the High Court.

In the land grab case filed by BTM Layout's Bank Officers' Co- Operative Housing Society(BOCOH) the High Court has ordered civic bodies for taking action against erring officials. The dispute over the ownership of a civic amenity site in BTM layout 1st Stage, measuring 2 acres 31 guntas seems to be fixed for now.

At a hearing on April 20th, HC confirmed in an order that this land was earmarked to be developed as a park by the BDA, or later by BBMP. The court criticised BBMP for the khata transfer of the civic amenity site, and BDA for…

Will 50% women councillors in BBMP help Bengaluru?

Abhishek Angad — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

The Karnataka cabinet on 7th May announced 50% reservation for women in urban local bodies. Is this a political gimmick?

The Karnataka State cabinet on 7th May underlined its commitment towards women empowerment and announced provide 50 per cent reservation in urban local bodies on the lines of reservation in gram, taluk and zilla panchayats.

Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs S Suresh Kumar after a cabinet meeting on 7th, reportedly said that the government will amend the Karnataka Municipalities Act, 1964 and Karnataka Municipal Corporations Act, 1976 in the next legislature.

Karnataka has nine city corporations including the recent inclusion of Tumkur. It has 205 other municipalities: 43 City Municipal Councils, 94 Town Municipal Council and 68 Town Panchayats.…

A mad rush to remove tint on glass

Navya P K — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

There have been protests and even a petition online. Bangalore Police are pushing hard to help people remove film from their cars by 19th May.
The deadline for removing films has now been extended to June 5th.

From May 20th, no vehicle in the city is supposed to have films plastered on its safety glasses, as per the recent Supreme Court ban. While Bangalore Traffic Police (BTP) is all set to fine offenders, vehicle owners in the city are rushing to BTP’s centres that offer to remove the films for free, as well as private garages.

While private garages are charging as much as Rs 350-500, even BTP centres do not remove films for free. BTP had started service in 10 centres from May 10th. Hundreds of…

Continued zoning violations upset Koramangala residents

Anisha Nair — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Residents are upset that on top of an already weak mechanism to prevent over-commercialisation, a recent High Court ruling that came as a boost is also being ignored.

Less than four months since a High Court order barred commercialisation of residential areas in Bangalore, flouting the verdict remains the norm. The HC had ruled in January this year on a petition filed by the Citizens’ Action Forum (CAF) and 12 other individuals. The petitioners, some of whom are from Koramangala, had challenged the BDA’s Revised Master Plan 2005-15 (RMP) for allowing commercialisation in residential areas.

The January 27 verdict barring shops in residential areas surprised the residents as there was a big question about its implementation. The RWA members and lawyer Aditya Sondhi had second thoughts about the execution…

“I always knew I would be a writer”

Anisha Nair — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

At 36, this Bangalorean has authored several books, including one on actor-director-producer Aamir Khan. Her next book is going to be on Bangalore.

“I always knew I would be a writer,” she says sipping her tea. She believes that writing keeps her alive and kicking. By the age of 36, Christina Daniels has authored books like ‘Ginger lemon soda pop’ and ‘I’ll do it my way’. She has worked in Print and Online media. A movie reviewer, and a corporate communicator by profession, she is currently working on a book dedicated to the city that she has seen grow, Bangalore.

Christina Daniels holds a BA in communicative english from the Bangalore University and MSc in New Media from London School of Economics…

In this Bengaluru slum, 6500 people use 10 toilets at dawn

Sankar C G — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Amid the continuing saga on never-to-see new housing for people at the Ejipura slum, nearly 6500 people are now suffering due to a water supply outage. The slum is adjacent to Koramangala 8th Block in Bengaluru.

Slumdwellers here have been facing acute water shortage for the past three months. The two bore wells in the slum are sufficient to satisfy the water needs of the people. But the motor which pumps water stopped working and this broke water supply.

“We have to travel three kilometers daily for getting water from Austin town. We take bath only once in a week due to the water shortage. Some time we may not get water that force us to buy water for higher prices,” said Habeeb A S, a local resident.

Defecation is a nightmare for the…

Movie Magic: Hugo and Méliès

Salonie Rego — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Martin Scorcese's Hugo remembers a pioneer film-maker. The sweeping panoramas of Paris will also not be forgotten anytime soon.

Seeing the posters for Hugo, you’d expect something á la The Polar Express. Or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Something right out of your childhood fantasies. If you did, you’re right! Hugo is a magical 2-hour-8-minute long story of the hand-to-mouth life of a little boy, who stumbled on a life changing secret. Film-changing for cinema lovers.

Nobody likes to be forgotten. Especially if their work is so tremendous that they are de facto pages in world history. Today, popular names in movie trivia include ‘Deepika Padukone’ or ‘Karan Johar’. Moving to Hollywood, it’s ‘George Clooney’ or…

More Citizen Matters writers are now book authors!

Subramaniam Vincent — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

A couple of years ago, we talked about some of our writers who had authored books. We are now happy to share that more Citizen Matters writers have jumped into the bandwagon of published authors.

The latest (and youngest we may add) is Malini Srikrishna. Malini writes a blog online on Citizen Matters. Malini, 14, has just published a book of her poems on Amazon. It is said to take the reader on a “roller coaster ride of a teen girl's life. It talks of best friends and bitter enemies that sometimes you can't tell apart. Of…

What will be the nail on this city's head?

Vani Balaraman — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:00:00 +0000

What makes the real Bangalore that resides behind the glitz and glamour of the shiny software parks? A citizen wonders as her cab drives through the back alleys avoiding the crazy ORR traffic.

On days such as these, when it rained through the night, our cab driver takes a alternative route. A route which traverses through the many hamlets of Bellandur and Doddanekundi villages.

This route does not ensure a faster and quicker access to Marathahalli but atleast we get to escape the traffic jam at ORR signals. It really seems like a never ending journey sometimes. So while he drives through lanes and by-lanes for a good 30 minutes, we get to see the real Bangalore that resides behind the glitz and glamor of the shiny software parks.

Narrow…