Articles by Shilpi Sahu

  Pic Courtesy: Girish S V   The Pied Kingfisher used to be a frequent visitor to the Haralur Lake before the lake was drained for renovation. While most kingfishers are predominantly blue in color, this one is black and white (referred to as Pied) and it has a very unique characteristic of hovering over the water before diving vertically into the water. Obviously this requires clear and unpolluted water for the Pied Kingfisher to make a catch. They nest in a hole excavated in a vertical mud bank about five feet above water. We can still see a few of…

  Pic Courtesy: Girish S V   The Pied Kingfisher used to be a frequent visitor to the Haralur Lake before the lake was drained for renovation. While most kingfishers are predominantly blue in color, this one is black and white (referred to as Pied) and it has a very unique characteristic of hovering over the water before diving vertically into the water. Obviously this requires clear and unpolluted water for the Pied Kingfisher to make a catch. They nest in a hole excavated in a vertical mud bank about five feet above water. We can still see a few of…

This newsletter is shared fortnightly by the citizen group bellandur-forum@googlegroups.comVoting Day – Post mortem   The dance of democracy hasn’t ended! Election day. 17th April. Many of us went to our polling booths and did our good deed for the day, with a turnout of some 50-65% across the ward. Some of us couldn’t (thanks to voter roll mess ups) and some of us, sadly didn’t.   The Bellandur forum has been debating on this and active citizens want to understand the reasons - voter apathy is the biggest obstacle when residents associations try to get civic issues fixed - whether we…

This newsletter is shared fortnightly by the citizen group bellandur-forum@googlegroups.comVoting Day – Post mortem   The dance of democracy hasn’t ended! Election day. 17th April. Many of us went to our polling booths and did our good deed for the day, with a turnout of some 50-65% across the ward. Some of us couldn’t (thanks to voter roll mess ups) and some of us, sadly didn’t.   The Bellandur forum has been debating on this and active citizens want to understand the reasons - voter apathy is the biggest obstacle when residents associations try to get civic issues fixed - whether we…

Bangalore Central candidates at the BPAC debate. Pic: Shree D N Here are the Bangalore Central MP candidates' responses to common questions about the Lok Sabha General Elections 2014. This has been compiled by Bellandur ward resident, Nagesh. Candidates from all major political parties were asked some direct questions at the BPAC meet. A citizens' team from Bellandur emailed them a questionnaire. This document lists the verbatim responses of the candidates for both series of questions. Before you go through these responses, a few cautionary notes: The statements are reproduced “as is” basis. A fact-check may reveal that some of the…

Bangalore Central candidates at the BPAC debate. Pic: Shree D N Here are the Bangalore Central MP candidates' responses to common questions about the Lok Sabha General Elections 2014. This has been compiled by Bellandur ward resident, Nagesh. Candidates from all major political parties were asked some direct questions at the BPAC meet. A citizens' team from Bellandur emailed them a questionnaire. This document lists the verbatim responses of the candidates for both series of questions. Before you go through these responses, a few cautionary notes: The statements are reproduced “as is” basis. A fact-check may reveal that some of the…

Answers to the questions sent by residents from Bellandur ForumBy: Nandini Alva (Candidate for Bangalore Central from JDS)   1.If you get elected, what will you do, to prove to voters that you are honest and communicate to us about your work transparently? Will you commit to a monthly communication - email/website and/or public meeting? How can we residents send you our concerns and how will you act on those concerns? Nandini Alva: I will be launching a CitizensConnect platform shortly specifically to hear Citizen concerns and issues. This platform will have an office in each of the Assembly constituenciesunder…

Answers to the questions sent by residents from Bellandur ForumBy: Nandini Alva (Candidate for Bangalore Central from JDS)   1.If you get elected, what will you do, to prove to voters that you are honest and communicate to us about your work transparently? Will you commit to a monthly communication - email/website and/or public meeting? How can we residents send you our concerns and how will you act on those concerns? Nandini Alva: I will be launching a CitizensConnect platform shortly specifically to hear Citizen concerns and issues. This platform will have an office in each of the Assembly constituenciesunder…

Bellandur residents had posed a series of questions to all the candidates contesting from Bangalore Central for Lok Sabha Elections 2014. This is the email response we received from INC candidate, Rizwan Arshad.   1.If you get elected, what will you do, to prove to voters that you are honest and communicate to us about your work transparently? Will you commit to a monthly communication - email/website and/or public meeting? How can we residents send you our concerns and how will you act on those concerns?   There will be monthly updates on my official site and associated social networks.…

Bellandur residents had posed a series of questions to all the candidates contesting from Bangalore Central for Lok Sabha Elections 2014. This is the email response we received from INC candidate, Rizwan Arshad.   1.If you get elected, what will you do, to prove to voters that you are honest and communicate to us about your work transparently? Will you commit to a monthly communication - email/website and/or public meeting? How can we residents send you our concerns and how will you act on those concerns?   There will be monthly updates on my official site and associated social networks.…