Infrastructure

One of the small, but intensely annoying practices that I am increasingly finding is that of security guards in front of large office/commercial buildings, obviously acting on instructions, to "reserve" the parking space in front of the buildings for those who are visiting an office in that building, and to prevent others from parking there.   In fact, Corporation Bank in J P Nagar  3rd Phase (1st Main, along the Mini Forest) also went to the extent of putting up cardboard notices on the chain-link fence saying that the space was for their customers. Saner counsels have prevailed and the notices…

  Though it is illegal to have licence number plates only in Kannada (or any regional language), people routinely flout this rule, and cite their love for Kannada as a reason to have number plates in Kannada alone. It would be more credible if they had number plates in both Kannada and English; with only Kannada numerals, the doubt arises that it is being done to prevent anyone taking down the number in case of an accident!

  Though it is illegal to have licence number plates only in Kannada (or any regional language), people routinely flout this rule, and cite their love for Kannada as a reason to have number plates in Kannada alone. It would be more credible if they had number plates in both Kannada and English; with only Kannada numerals, the doubt arises that it is being done to prevent anyone taking down the number in case of an accident!

Author: Tanmayee Narendra What does it mean to be “educated”? Does education necessarily mean a more heightened awareness about one’s role in society? These are some questions that I was forced to ask myself after I met with John, the manager of the Dry Waste Collection Center (DWCC) near the Jayadeva Flyover. Let me tell you more about John. John comes from a family of scrap dealers. While thoughts of garbage generally trigger images of filth and refuse for most of us, the same object is a source of income for him. John at his Dry Waste Collection Centre. Pic:…

Author: Tanmayee Narendra What does it mean to be “educated”? Does education necessarily mean a more heightened awareness about one’s role in society? These are some questions that I was forced to ask myself after I met with John, the manager of the Dry Waste Collection Center (DWCC) near the Jayadeva Flyover. Let me tell you more about John. John comes from a family of scrap dealers. While thoughts of garbage generally trigger images of filth and refuse for most of us, the same object is a source of income for him. John at his Dry Waste Collection Centre. Pic:…

On October 2nd, Prime Minister Modi announced Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Mission Clean India. In his speech, he appealed to Indians to devote 100 hours every year towards the cause of cleanliness. He also stated, “It is our social responsibility as citizens of India to help fulfil Gandhiji's vision of Clean India, by his 150th birth anniversary in 2019.” Since then, the media has been reporting of clean-up drives across the country, involving bigwigs from the industry, celebrities, politicians, NGOs and what not, almost on a daily basis. Why, some politicians even arranged for garbage to be littered, so that they had…

On October 2nd, Prime Minister Modi announced Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Mission Clean India. In his speech, he appealed to Indians to devote 100 hours every year towards the cause of cleanliness. He also stated, “It is our social responsibility as citizens of India to help fulfil Gandhiji's vision of Clean India, by his 150th birth anniversary in 2019.” Since then, the media has been reporting of clean-up drives across the country, involving bigwigs from the industry, celebrities, politicians, NGOs and what not, almost on a daily basis. Why, some politicians even arranged for garbage to be littered, so that they had…

  A Rainwater Harvesting system was implemented in Vivek Khanna's residence in Shubh Enclave in early 2009. The system comprised storage of rooftop rainwater in a large 15,000 litre sump as well as two recharge wells of 5ft diameter and 30ft depth.    A chance encounter with Vivek Khanna at Kasavanahalli lake today revealed that his sump fills up with water every time it rains, reducing his dependence on ground water. His recharge wells have not only kept his borewell running but also resulted in water in the newly dug borewells of his downstream neighbours (probably because of the recharge)…

  A Rainwater Harvesting system was implemented in Vivek Khanna's residence in Shubh Enclave in early 2009. The system comprised storage of rooftop rainwater in a large 15,000 litre sump as well as two recharge wells of 5ft diameter and 30ft depth.    A chance encounter with Vivek Khanna at Kasavanahalli lake today revealed that his sump fills up with water every time it rains, reducing his dependence on ground water. His recharge wells have not only kept his borewell running but also resulted in water in the newly dug borewells of his downstream neighbours (probably because of the recharge)…

For the past three occasions that I have arrived at Bengaluru International Airport at 1 am, I have had a major problem, because the Vayu Vajra bus services now start only at 4 am, and the earler services have been withdrawn. Earlier, the withdrawal was not even showing up on the BMTC Vayu Vajra website, but now, here is the updated schedule for the bus that I take (which actually stops at my front gate on the way to the KuVemPu, or BTM Layout, Bus Terminal). BIAS-12: Kuvempunagara Btm Layout - Bangalore International Airport / Bengaluru International Airport  Departure from Kuvempunagara…