By Aratrika Dey & Qamar ZJ The next time you park your vehicle on the footpath, the Bengaluru Traffic Police will fine you Rs 1000 for encroaching pedestrian territory. This fine applies to the riders of two-wheelers and drivers of four-wheelers as there is no differential pricing. Before 2019, the fee stood at Rs 100, … Read more
By Aratrika Dey Close to the inauguration date of the much-anticipated railway terminal at Baiyappanahalli, the residents are worried about Metro connectivity issues. After missing several deadlines due to varied reasons, the station named Sir M Visvesvaraya Terminal Bengaluru (after Karnataka’s eminent engineer) was initially set to be launched on February 15, 2021. However, the … Read more
By Aratrika Dey Back in September 2019, under the suggestion of IPS officer Isha Pant, thirteen police stations were set to get ‘child play areas’ inside their buildings. The first police station to set up such a facility in the city was the HSR Layout police station. However, it is also the first one to … Read more
By Aratrika Dey Citizens a concern over bus priority lanes going empty, while contending that the current system has reduced the road capacity for regular traffic, resulting in heavy congestion. Special mention is made about the stretch from Outer Ring Road to Marathahalli. “For bus connectivity, frequency is critical. Unless a mobility plan with a … Read more
By Aratrika Dey The seventh installation of the Harry Potter books, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows saw the introduction of the ‘Snatchers’ (an organization of bounty hunters) who were essentially tasked with ‘snatching’ people. In and around HSR Layout, similar snatchers have started popping up recently; the only difference is that they snatch away … Read more
By Aratrika Dey Resident-led civil rights group Namma Whitefield has filed an online petition to the Apex Committee on Lakes besides asking for help from Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner and the Karnataka Chief Minister. They want the authorities to kick start the rejuvenation process of Pattandur Agrahara Lake and free it from the … Read more
By Aratrika Dey Comicverse Queens, New York City has had Peter Parker as the resident ‘Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman’ since 1962, and now Bengaluru has a ‘real-life’ web slinger of its own. Asrar Khan Usmani (23), or just Usmani, as he is commonly known, is addressed as the ‘Spiderman of Bommanahalli’. However, there’s a catch, instead … Read more
By Aratrika Dey The Karnataka RTI Workers Seva Samithi (KRWSS) recently filed a petition with the Central Information Commissioner, demanding that RTI (Right to Information) second appeals be disposed off within 45 days. Second appeals before the Karnataka Information Commission are taking longer disposal time, some going up to more than three to five years. … Read more
By Manasa Manjunath First things first, my story is not a testimony of COVID-19 cases in India being on a steady decline. It is my personal experience about the protocols in place and the precautions taken by the citizens of Bengaluru. Originally from Bengaluru, I did my schooling and bachelors in engineering here. I moved … Read more
By Aratrika Dey Yesterday, HSR Layout natives protested in front of the BESCOM (Bangalore Electricity Supply Company) office in HSR Layout. They complained about the poor electrical supply in the area. They met with the Executive Engineer and Assistant Executive Engineer Jyoti Prakash and MH Jagdish respectively. They wanted the officials to address the problem … Read more
By Aratrika Dey This pandemic saw the championing of the Stop India Spitting campaign, a national movement led by the citizens of Beautiful Bengaluru (also known as Beautiful Bharat nationwide). Established in 2015 and spearheaded by Bellandur resident Odette Katrak, a behaviour change professional, writer and changemaker, Beautiful Bengaluru is a voluntary citizens’ initiative working … Read more
By Aratrika Dey Across India, citizens are frustrated when the promised delivery of a particular service from the government is either received after the due date or not at all. That is when you should turn to Sakala, a public service scheme under the Karnataka Guarantee of Services to Citizens Act, 2011. If your application … Read more