bangalore journal

It was a preventable fire that took nine lives and injured scores of others. On February 23rd, the Beyond Carlton trust, co-founded by a parent of one of nine who died in the Carlton Towers fire, conducted its memorial service at Manipal Hospital Auditorium. Shankar Bidari should have attended this memorial service. Not just in honour of the people who lost their lives, but in honour of the high-minded notification he issued in March 2010, just a week after the tragedy. Bidari in an exercise of police power unseen in Bangalore till then, had asked owners and leasers of all…

It was a preventable fire that took nine lives and injured scores of others. On February 23rd, the Beyond Carlton trust, co-founded by a parent of one of nine who died in the Carlton Towers fire, conducted its memorial service at Manipal Hospital Auditorium. Shankar Bidari should have attended this memorial service. Not just in honour of the people who lost their lives, but in honour of the high-minded notification he issued in March 2010, just a week after the tragedy. Bidari in an exercise of police power unseen in Bangalore till then, had asked owners and leasers of all…

Praveen Sood, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) talked recently about effective traffic management.Given that only about 1% of the total traffic violations are actually ever fined and the traffic police department is just 2500 strong, what is the way forward? Sood has mentioned (The Hindu, January 31) how about 40% of road space is taken up by parking mostly unauthorised. Earlier at the Jayanagar meeting, Sood talked about active Residents' Welfare Associations can replicate the Brigade Road parking model and charge vehicles for parking. They can also help prevent illegal parking - Clamps, he said, can be bought by the…

Praveen Sood, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic) talked recently about effective traffic management.Given that only about 1% of the total traffic violations are actually ever fined and the traffic police department is just 2500 strong, what is the way forward? Sood has mentioned (The Hindu, January 31) how about 40% of road space is taken up by parking mostly unauthorised. Earlier at the Jayanagar meeting, Sood talked about active Residents' Welfare Associations can replicate the Brigade Road parking model and charge vehicles for parking. They can also help prevent illegal parking - Clamps, he said, can be bought by the…

Among all the animals, snakes fascinate us the most. The very word ‘snake' causes a rush of emotions, unfortunately mostly negative. This is mostly because we do not know much about them and thus misunderstand and fear them. There are over 270 different species of snakes in India most of which are harmless to humans. However four species are venomous and one of them is the Cobra. A resting cobra. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa. The Cobra has made itself at home in Bengaluru. They are usually found in agricultural fields and fallow areas on the periphery of the city but with…

Among all the animals, snakes fascinate us the most. The very word ‘snake' causes a rush of emotions, unfortunately mostly negative. This is mostly because we do not know much about them and thus misunderstand and fear them. There are over 270 different species of snakes in India most of which are harmless to humans. However four species are venomous and one of them is the Cobra. A resting cobra. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa. The Cobra has made itself at home in Bengaluru. They are usually found in agricultural fields and fallow areas on the periphery of the city but with…

Saw this awe-inspiring scene at Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens. Busy bee. Pic: Ravi Kaushik. The bee skipped from flower to flower and I had a tough time keeping up. No Image processing done.⊕

Saw this awe-inspiring scene at Lal Bagh Botanical Gardens. Busy bee. Pic: Ravi Kaushik. The bee skipped from flower to flower and I had a tough time keeping up. No Image processing done.⊕

Trees, plants and shrubs are all important parts of the urban ecosystem. Without them there would be very little urban wildlife. It is impossible to separate the animal from its habitat and Bangalore has the privilege of having many varieties of flowering and non-flowering trees. These trees comprise of both native and non-native species that were introduced into the city. Some of these non-native trees have been in India for long that we take them to be native, some have adapted and flourished so well that we now call them ‘naturalised'. The Temple Tree. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa. The Frangipani ,…

Trees, plants and shrubs are all important parts of the urban ecosystem. Without them there would be very little urban wildlife. It is impossible to separate the animal from its habitat and Bangalore has the privilege of having many varieties of flowering and non-flowering trees. These trees comprise of both native and non-native species that were introduced into the city. Some of these non-native trees have been in India for long that we take them to be native, some have adapted and flourished so well that we now call them ‘naturalised'. The Temple Tree. Pic: Vikram Nanjappa. The Frangipani ,…