Civic

Yesterday, hundreds of concerned citizens turned up at the spot where BMRCL proposes to have a Metro station inside Lalbagh itself...and had broken down a part of the Lalbagh wall, and felled several eucalyptus trees. They have not yet received permission to do this, so it was illegal, and citizens also reacted emotionally to their greenery being despoiled in this way.Here's the portion of the wall that was broken down:Several police officers were on duty, and they had the unenviable task of keeping the peace while not antagonizing the citizens. Mr Dawood Khan kept a low profile throughout, though he…

  Just sometimes, one gets entertained when one least expects it...  With thanks to L.Shyamal, whom I know as an experienced ornithologist with a great sense of humour...  ⊕

  Just sometimes, one gets entertained when one least expects it...  With thanks to L.Shyamal, whom I know as an experienced ornithologist with a great sense of humour...  ⊕

I read this post...http://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/812-safer-footpathsDuring a walk from my home to IIM-Bangalore on Bannerghatta Road, a distance of about 2.5 kms, I met with the following obstacles:1.Open drains2.Missing granite slabs that would decant me instantly into the gutter beneath if I was not careful.3.Large piles of garbage stretching all the way to the road.4. Furniture and other wares set out by shopkeepers.5. Pushcarts parked randomly.6. Two-wheelers parked, and sometimes being driven, on the pavement.7. Transformers of BESCOM.8. Huge dug-up craters, sometimes with cables being laid, sometimes pipes, sometimes nothing that I could see to account for the digging.9. Families sitting and…

I read this post...http://bengaluru.citizenmatters.in/articles/view/812-safer-footpathsDuring a walk from my home to IIM-Bangalore on Bannerghatta Road, a distance of about 2.5 kms, I met with the following obstacles:1.Open drains2.Missing granite slabs that would decant me instantly into the gutter beneath if I was not careful.3.Large piles of garbage stretching all the way to the road.4. Furniture and other wares set out by shopkeepers.5. Pushcarts parked randomly.6. Two-wheelers parked, and sometimes being driven, on the pavement.7. Transformers of BESCOM.8. Huge dug-up craters, sometimes with cables being laid, sometimes pipes, sometimes nothing that I could see to account for the digging.9. Families sitting and…

As long as things go smoothly, our system works. But let there be a problem and one is up against the most people-unfriendly scenario possible.Our mobile bill (my mobile phone is an add-on to KM's) was vastly over what's normal, and we have given complaints twice, and both complaints have been registered on the Airtel site.Now every day, several times, honey-voiced "customer care executives" call up on either phone, asking why we have not paid the bill. Increasingly, we are irritated by having to repeat our complaint, which the Airtel people say is not showing up on their system, so…

As long as things go smoothly, our system works. But let there be a problem and one is up against the most people-unfriendly scenario possible.Our mobile bill (my mobile phone is an add-on to KM's) was vastly over what's normal, and we have given complaints twice, and both complaints have been registered on the Airtel site.Now every day, several times, honey-voiced "customer care executives" call up on either phone, asking why we have not paid the bill. Increasingly, we are irritated by having to repeat our complaint, which the Airtel people say is not showing up on their system, so…

One of the things I feel very proud about as I travel by the buses of the BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) is the fact that many women conductors are now employed by the organization.I decided to watch, without any intervention, as one such young woman went about her job on the bus that I was travelling by.Here she is:She was quite diligent about asking passengers for their tickets or passes, and unlike some men conductors that I have (alas!) seen, she gave back the necessary change, too, all the time that I watched her.Apart from the regular duty, there…

One of the things I feel very proud about as I travel by the buses of the BMTC (Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation) is the fact that many women conductors are now employed by the organization.I decided to watch, without any intervention, as one such young woman went about her job on the bus that I was travelling by.Here she is:She was quite diligent about asking passengers for their tickets or passes, and unlike some men conductors that I have (alas!) seen, she gave back the necessary change, too, all the time that I watched her.Apart from the regular duty, there…

I belong to a volunteer group called Clean and Green, which has been going out on trips to the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary and cleaning up as much of the plastic trash as possible in the time available. On the last two occasions, Wipro has both sponsored the trip, as well as providing volunteers to help us with our task.I thought I would post about how a cleanup usually happens....this is probably the 16th or 17th such trip we are making. This time, the trash collected in two hours was 167 kg, and I am happy to say that the amount…