Civic

Building Brand Bengaluru The ‘Brand Bengaluru’ project spurred the state government to sign an agreement with Canada-based World Design Organisation (WDO) for suggestions to the BBMP to build the city. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that 200 engineers from the WDO will study and give suggestions on infrastructure, including roads, flyovers, footpaths, junctions, and more. D K Shivakumar had earlier launched a ‘Brand Bengaluru’ campaign and an online portal to invite suggestions by the public on the city’s development. He received 70,000 suggestions from the public, experts, and schoolchildren. Students from 17 schools in a special function spoke…

Amid the relentless downpour last week, Dnyaneshwar Paugul, accompanied by his daughter, Yogita, and 6-month-old granddaughter, were travelling from Mumbai city to Bhiwandi after seeking treatment for the little one at KEM hospital. As the local train made its way through the suburbs, heavy rains continued and soon the train stopped between Thakurli and Kalyan on flooded railway tracks. With no sign of the train moving, impatience and anxiety began to rise among the passengers. Some of them decided to get down and walk towards the nearest railway station. Among them were Paugul and his daughter, who held her ailing…

Two young labourers, 25-year-old Ramkrishna and 30-year-old Sudhir Das died of drowning in June, when they were cleaning an overflowing manhole in Govandi. Normally, the cleaning and repairs of sewer lines are done before the monsoon begins and not during heavy rains. "Why did they make the two men enter the manhole? Why wasn't the sewer line treated on time, before monsoons?", asks Rukhsana Nazim Mohammed Siddiquii, the ex-corporator of Govandi. Rukhsana says one of the major reasons why an incident like this happened, was because of absence of corporators, when various measures for monsoon preparedness were planned and undertaken. She…

What do we talk about when we talk about climate change? In Mumbai, most people hark back to the 2005 deluge. Between July 26 and 27 that year, the city received 944 mm of rain in 24 hours. Many parts of the city and its suburbs were flooded; the water rose to our knees, our waists, even our necks. According to a 1992 report by the Central Water Commission, this could be considered a once-in-a-hundred-years flood. Scientists predict that with global warming the frequency of extreme climate events is likely to increase in the future. So Mumbai’s once-in-a-hundred-years flood could…

Application for basic income scheme for women launched in Chennai Applications have been made available for the Kalaignar Magalir Udhavi Thittam, the basic income scheme for women launched by the Tamil Nadu state government.  The scheme excludes households that own a four-wheeler or consumes more than 500 units of electricity per billing cycle. The scheme is expected to benefit one crore women state-wide.  The first phase of the scheme will be rolled out in half of Chennai’s 200 wards. Eligible beneficiaries will be identified and provided financial assistance of Rs 1000 per month. A total of 8.56 lakh application forms…

Monsoon tragedy: Passenger's four-month-old baby falls in nullah, landslide in Raigad  In a heartbreaking incident, a four-month-old baby fell in a nullah on Wednesday, when the train service was disrupted between Thakurli and Kalyan due to waterlogging on tracks. As the train was stuck for hours, the child’s mother Yogita Rumale accompanied by the child’s grandfather Gyaneshwar decided to get down from the train and started to walk on the tracks. While walking on the slippery tracks, the baby slipped from Gyaneshwar’s arms and fell in nullah. Railway Protection Force, National Disaster Response Force, local police team along with local…

BBMP's steps to raise revenue The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) targets increasing its revenue through property tax collection by 50% this year. It collected Rs 2,300 crore in 2022-23, but aims to collect Rs 4,600 crore for the ongoing financial year. BBMP Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath said that they have set weekly targets for every zone and are reviewing the progress on tax collection every week. He added that those who fail to meet the revenue collection targets will be shunted out. They might either get transferred to other zones or to non-executive posts. Though the current target…

Chandivali is an upscale residential locality in Andheri East. It is isolated and connectivity to public transport is limited. The nearest railway station on the western, Andheri station, and on the central line, Ghatkopar station, are 6 km and 4 km away respectively. This makes the citizens of the area heavily dependent on roads for commuting. Unfortunately, the roads in Chandivali are one of the worst in the city. The DP road-9, Powai is an important road that connects the Chandivali Farm Road with the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road. The road is riddled with numerous potholes making it dangerous for commuters,…

For the past few months, there has been contention over the redesign of Gandhi Bazaar. The conflict at hand revolves around the clashes between the preservation of heritage and the construction of a modern shopping hub. The primary issue is in the inability of traders/vendors and authorities to find a compromise or middle ground that satisfies both parties. There is a lack of communication and a lack of clarity regarding the existing plans for development. While traders/vendors have objected to their recommendations not being considered, the authorities say they have documented evidence of repeated meetings and workshops held with the…

Queuing up to buy Aavin milk from the milk booths makes a quintessential Chennai morning for many of us.  However, recent steps introduced by the state government have made it difficult for many customers to be able to continue buying Aavin milk in the city. What I assumed was a simple exercise to link my Ration card and Aadhar information with the milk cards issued by Aavin turned out to be a much more complicated exercise that laid bare the failings of the system.  Read more: How to get your Aadhaar card in Chennai Chaos reigns at Aavin office When…