Sunday, September 30, 2007

Hop on to Metro Rail, it’ll help trade in carbon credits

Hop on to Metro Rail, it’ll help trade in carbon credits
R Jayaprakash | TNN

Bangalore: Carbon trading is the latest buzzword and the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRC) has decided to cash in.
It’s expected to generate an annual revenue of Rs 16 crore, which will be ploughed back into the Metro project. The authority will call for request for proposal (RFP) for developing a clean development mechanism (CDM) to prevent carbon from being emitted to the atmosphere. Thus, BMRC will be the first Metro Rail in the world to join the elite club of CDM companies. The authority will register with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and trade in carbon credits. It will invite companies with experience in developing project design, documentation and methodology for transport and energy efficiency. The consultants will assist BMRC in formulating suitable norms, standards and identify buyers.
“We expect to save 1 lakh tonnes of carbon every year and retail in the carbon market through bonds. This is the first time a transport company will adopt CDM technology. The Japan Carbon Fund, based in Tokyo, is interested in being part of the carbon deal, but we are going slow as we will evaluate the pros and cons at a later stage,’’ said BMRC environmental officer C Jayaram.
BMRC is expected to complete phase-I of the Metro by 2011 and make it operational by 2012. A length of 33 km is planned in phase-I and 1 million passengers are expected to benefit from it. For BMRC to trade carbon, it has to have in place design and documentation validated with UNFCCC. The consultant will also develop a software for monitoring, data collection and operations.
What is carbon trading?
Emission trading or carbon trading is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in emission of pollutants. In such a plan, a central authority (usually a government agency) sets a limit or cap on the amount of carbon that can be discharged into the air. Companies that pollute beyond the cap must buy credits from those who pollute less than the ceiling or face heavy penalties. This transfer is referred to as a trade. Thus, the buyer is fined for polluting, while the seller is rewarded for reducing emission. Companies that can easily reduce emissions will do so. Those companies that find this harder will buy credits.
Carbon market
Currently, several trading systems are in place, with the largest being that of the European Union. The carbon market makes up the bulk of these and is growing in popularity. The Kyoto Protocol is a 1997 international treaty that took effect in 2005 and currently binds ratifying nations to a similar system, with the UNFCCC setting caps for each nation. Under the treaty, nations that emit less than their quota of greenhouse gases will be able to sell emissions credits.
Carbon emission trading has been steadily increasing in recent years. According to the World Bank’s Carbon Finance Unit, carbon is traded at 26 euros per tonne.
toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com

Saplings to be transplanted

Saplings to be transplanted

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: After having successfully transplanted nine trees from the Mahatma Gandhi Road boulevard to Manekshaw Parade Grounds, the Bangalore Environment Trust is now moving six trees near Maharani’s College on Palace Road.

Captain S. Prabhala, chairman of Bangalore Environment Trust, told The Hindu that the six trees would be transplanted on the premises of a nearby government office. The transplantation process would begin on Saturday and end on Sunday.

Capt. Prabhala said the beginning of the transplantation process coincided with the four-day training programme on “tree transplantation” for forest officials, horticultural officers and engineers. The training programme, organised by the trust and the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), was inaugurated on Tuesday.

G. Govardhan, administrator of the trust, said doubts were expressed over the effectiveness of the process when it first took up the task in May 2007. The nine trees transplanted on the Manekshaw Parade Ground were coping well with the changed location. Capt. Prabhala said the trust was in favour of including the tree transplantation process in road expansion projects. “Roadside trees can be replanted after widening roads to retain the original look of the area. Residents of the area need to be included in retaining green cover,” he said. The trust was in the process of working out the per tree cost of transplantation.

Environmentalist Yellappa Reddy explained the importance of tree transplantation. Inaugurating the training programme, BBMP Commissioner S. Subramanya said the BBMP would provide corner sites and parks for transplanting trees. He said the BBMP would remove roadside trees and replant them on the same roads after widening them.

This road stretch in Bangalore is certainly not a delight for motorists

This road stretch in Bangalore is certainly not a delight for motorists

Afshan Yasmeen

Koramangala 1st Main Road is a ‘veritable paddy field’, says a resident

— Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

Pathetic: The poorly maintained 1st Main Road in Koramangala 1st Block, in Bangalore.

BANGALORE: A “kuchcha” road with several dug-up stretches. Potholes all around making it slushy even after a slight drizzle.

An accident zone and a motorist’s nightmare. If you think we are describing the features of a road in one of the newly added areas, you are wrong.

This is the state of the 1st Main Road in the upmarket Koramangala 1st Block.

Motorists dread using this road, which connects Koramangala 80-foot Road to Jakkasandra.

Three persons have been seriously injured after their vehicles skid while manoeuvring a pothole on the road in the past few months.

Though residents of this area have been demanding for several years that the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) asphalt the road, nothing has been done except for covering it with a layer of gravel.

After The Hindu reported the residents’ grievance in its ‘Public Eye’ series a few months ago, the BBMP started work on upgrading pavements on the road.

“But that too was left half-completed. When we asked the BBMP engineers, they said that the Karnataka Land Army Corporation (KLAC), which has been given the contract, has delayed work,” Ram Murthi, general secretary of Koramangala Civic Group, said.

Fed up with not being able to get the road repaired even after repeated complaints, the residents even tried getting it done through the influence of the former BMP Commissioner K. Jothiramalingam’s wife two years ago.

“But when that too did not work, we again wrote to his successor K. Jairaj in November last and he promised us that the work would be completed soon,” Mr. Ram Murthi said.

With most vehicles avoiding this road, there is a heavy flow of traffic on the 2nd Main Road, causing inconvenience to the residents there.

“I even complained to the traffic police twice about the heavy traffic on our road and they blame the BBMP for not upgrading the 1st Main Road. It is disgraceful that in a so called ‘elite’ area, the state of roads is worse than those in a village,” Ingrid Everall, a resident of 2nd Main, said.

K.N. Nanjappa, a resident of the 1st Main, termed the road as a “veritable paddy field.”

“There are so many dug-up stretches here that we can sow paddy. There is dust and dirt all around us. The situation has worsened after the recent rain making it impossible for us to step out of our houses,” he said.

While the jurisdictional BBMP officials blamed the KLAC for delay in work, the KLAC engineers cited fund crunch. “The BBMP is yet to approve the estimates for the roadwork. We cannot take up work unless the BBMP pays us,” a top KLAC official, who did not want to be quoted, said.

BBMP Chief Engineer (Major Roads) K. S. Krishna Reddy told The Hindu that the civic body had not delayed payments to the KLAC.

Saturday, September 29, 2007

More trees to be transplanted

More trees to be transplanted

Staff Reporter

‘Include tree transplantation process in road projects’

Six trees to be moved from Palace Road

BBMP to provide corner sites and parks for transplanting trees

BANGALORE: After having successfully transplanted nine trees from the Mahatma Gandhi Road boulevard to Manekshaw Parade Grounds, the Bangalore Environment Trust is now moving six trees near Maharani’s College on Palace Road.

Captain S. Prabhala, chairman of Bangalore Environment Trust, told The Hindu that the six trees would be transplanted on the premises of a nearby government office. The transplantation process would begin on Saturday and end on Sunday.

Capt. Prabhala said the beginning of the transplantation process coincided with the four-day training programme on “tree transplantation” for forest officials, horticultural officers and engineers. G. Govardhan, administrator of the trust, said doubts were expressed over the effectiveness of the process when it first took up the task in May 2007. The nine trees transplanted on the Manekshaw Parade Ground were coping well with the changed location. Capt. Prabhala said the trust was in favour of including the tree transplantation process in road expansion projects. “Roadside trees can be replanted after widening roads to retain the original look of the area. Residents of the area need to be included in retaining green cover,” he said. The trust was in the process of working out the per tree cost of transplantation.

Environmentalist Yellappa Reddy explained the importance of tree transplantation. Inaugurating the training programme, BBMP Commissioner S. Subramanya said the BBMP would provide corner sites and parks for transplanting trees. He said the BBMP would remove roadside trees and replant them on the same roads after widening them.

Stadium now 'battle-ready'

Stadium now 'battle-ready'
DH News Service, Bangalore:
This is for the first time in the history of Indian Cricket that a disaster management endeavour is being undertaken by a district administration.


Bangalore Urban District Administration under the guidance of the National Disaster Management Authority will set up an Incident Command Post at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, to handle any kind of disaster that may occur during the One Day International Cricket Match being played between India and Australia on Saturday, a release issued by Pallavi Honnapura, Assistant Director, Information Department, Bangalore Urban District said.

This is for the first time in the history of Indian Cricket that a disaster management endeavour is being undertaken by a district administration.

The game expected to attract over 55,000 spectators to the stadium on the day, will have 13 different departments of the district involved in the Disaster Management Team. The team will act upon any kind of disaster at the premises instantly.

Revenue, BBMP, Police (Law and Order), Police (Traffic), Police (Control Room), Fire, Bomb Disposal and Detection Squad, Department of Health and Family Welfare, BWSSB, BESCOM, Department of Information, Department of Medical Education and Tejus Crisis and Trauma Foundation, an NGO will be involved in the exercise.

As part of emergency needs, arrangement of 10 beds for first aid, 10 doctors to attend, 15 paramedical staff and 10 ambulances will be made available at the venue. 200 beds will be reserved at 10 different hospitals across the City.

Bangalore City police have made massive security arrangements. “We have set up a separate control room to monitor and have issued new badges that are water proof to be tied on wrist. Once removed, the badges cannot be re-fixed.

Hence, the chances of these badges being misused are nil. As many as 3,000 police officials have been pressed into service,” DCP (Central) B N S Reddy said.

Don’ts

Do not carry children below three year of age. If accompanied, such parents will be sent back even if they have a valid ticket. Do not bring food packets, water bottles and any inflammable objects. There are 11 entry and 33 sub-entry points around the stadium on MG Road, Cubbon Road and Queen’s Road.

PARKING ZONES

Parking of vehicles has been provided in the following areas from 10 am to 11 pm

*BRV police ground-with pink pass for four wheelers/two-wheelers and police vehicles
*St Marks Cathedral Church ground Lavelle Road with yellow pass for four-wheelers
*Gate no 1 (Queen’s Road) - with green
pass for four-wheelers
*Kings Road parking on eastern side from Bal Bhavan junction to High Court junction
*Near Press Club, inside Cubbon Park
*BMTC buses and contact buses
*Cubbon Road between BRV junction and Kamaraj Road
*Ambedkar Veedhi between Gopal Gowda circle to police Thimmaiah Circle
*Kasturba Road from Ganesh temple to Siddalingaiah Circle

NO PARKING ZONES

*From CTO circle to Queen’s Statue Circle
*From Anil Kumble Circle to Queen’s Statue Circle (both sides)
*Link Road, Raja Bhavan Road, T Chowdiah Road, Race Course Road, Cubbon Road (both sides) along the compound wall of stadium (till match is over).
*Central Street (both sides)
*Both sides of Cubbon Road from BRV Junction to Dickenson Road junction except BMTC buses on Cubbon Road between Kamaraj Road and Dickenson Road Junction
*Madras Bank Road, from SBI to Ashirvadham Circle, Museum Road from MG Road to Madras Bank Road, Residency Road and Richmond Road
*Kasturba Road, from Queen’s Statue Circle to Hudson Circle on Grant Road from Siddalingaiah Circle to RRMR Circle.

Running on full throttle

Running on full throttle
Nina C George
A typically rogue autowallah is first and foremost a deviant from the community. He abhors all kinds of regulation, even refusing to join his community's attempts at organising itself.

Rogue auto drivers of the City might be the black sheep of their community, but they don't wear their deviation on their person. They cleverly camouflage their rogueness, ensuring that the entire community bears the cross for their black deeds.

Like nighthawks, these rogue autorickshaw drivers mostly set about when the day has just dawned or the dusk is about to set in. They haunt the busiest areas of the City — it could be railway stations or bus stands or the central business districts — and charge the hapless customer twice or thrice the actual fare and end up making at least five times more money than the rest of their ilk. And all this, as the men in uniform haplessly throw up their greased hands.

Recognise the rogue
A typically rogue autowallah is first and foremost a deviant from the community. He abhors all kinds of regulation, even refusing to join his community's attempts at organising itself. “There are close to one and a half lakh autorickshaws plying in the City. Only 20,000 are unionised, the rest of them don't want to belong to any union because they fear that their activities will be monitored by the union,” B S Narayana Murthy, secretary of Adarsha Autorickshaw Driver’s Union told Metrolife.

The unionised automen sport a union badge and are bound by the rules of not charging excess, display their card in the right place and will even stand out in their politeness, claimed Narayana Murthy. At first sight, there might be nothing much to give away a rogue autowallah. But scratch the surface, the deviance shows. The uniform may not be complete.

The card may be missing or even if it is there, it could be a worn out photocopy. The rogue driver is never at legitimate auto-stands. He accosts commuters, offers to take them for a fat, fixed fare between Rs 300 and Rs 400. And all this may be happening under the very nose of a policeman who would be looking the other way.
The unorganised autowallahs make the most moolah early morning between 5:30 am and 7:30 am and at night between 8 pm and 11 pm. They move about in Kalasipalyam, Jayanagar IV Block, on Race Course Road near the JD(S) office, Majestic bus stand, railway stations, Hebbal and Nagawara. Besides they are almost a permanent fixture at the airport.

To ply in these areas, these automen have to bribe the jurisdictional police. In Jayanagar, each rogue driver reportedly pays the duty policeman Rs 200 every week; it's Rs 500 at the airport, Rs 300 at Kalasipalyam and Rs 300 on Race Course Road.

Most of these autorickshaws have their meters tampered. A meter for a four-stroke engine auto is fit on to one with a two-stroke engine. If this is done, then the meters simply double up the fare. “Even in brand new autos, digital meters are replaced with old tampered ones,” said an autorickshaw driver.

No regulation
The attempts of the City police to regulate autorickshaws by introducing the mandatory display card system for the drivers, has fallen flat. The addresses on most display cards are fake. The only reliable thing could be the police serial number and the driving license number.

There could be larger reasons why these rogue drivers continue to dog the City roads. According to Narayana Murthy, "Auto driving licenses are issued without checking the antecedents of applicants. All you need to do is to go through the driving tests for formality's sake and bribe about Rs 2,000 to have a licence in hand. Most autodrivers in the City wouldn't even have a driving licence and readily pay the fine amount to get off."

A top police officer in the City says he is aware of the corruption among the cops that man the roads. “We put our police officers on rotation basis in certain places where we suspect they indulge in corrupt practices. We hope this will regulate corruption.” Some sub-inspectors have been appointed as nodal officers for public transport commuters and they are responsible for identifying areas where unorganised public transport like autorickshaws operate and where refusal to go for hire is high.

Pitching for legends

Pitching for legends
Michael Patrao
Flanked by the picturesque Cubbon Park and MG Road, this three-decade-old stadium is situated in the heart of the City.

The M Chinnaswamy Stadium — one of the premier cricket stadiums of India — will witness the clash of titans Australia and India on Saturday.

Flanked by the picturesque Cubbon Park and MG Road, this three-decade-old stadium is situated in the heart of the City. It was formerly known as Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) stadium, but later named after M Chinnaswamy, a legend in cricket administration, who had served the KSCA for four decades and was president of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 1977-1980.

Numerous matches
The stadium has witnessed numerous Tests, One-day internationals (ODIs) and other first class matches, besides musical and cultural events. The stadium is the home ground of the Karnataka State cricket team.
The efforts of Sardar Swaran Singh, the defence minister and the patronage of two Karnataka chief ministers S Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil, enabled the Mysore State Cricket Association (as KSCA was then known), to acquire the land on which Chinnaswamy Stadium was built.

The space
The land measuring 16.5 acres was uneven and had to be levelled. The foundation stone of this stadium was laid in 1969 and the construction work was commenced in April 1970. Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) donated Rs 8 lakh, a big amount in those days. Today for spectators, BEML stand is a vantage position.

The stadium was first used for first-class cricket matches during the 1972-73 season. The inaugural match at the stadium was the Ranji trophy fixture between Hyderabad and Karnataka in December 1972. The South Zone v/s MCC team match was held in January 1973 followed by the Ranji Trophy champions Bombay v/s Rest of India Irani Cup encounter later that year.

It earned Test status during 1974-75 season when the West Indies toured India. The first Test played at this stadium was held from November 22 to 29, 1974. Incidentally, this was the debut Test match for the West Indian batting giants Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge. The West Indians led by Clive Lloyd defeated MAK Pataudi's Indian team by a convincing 256 runs.

First victory
India registered their first Test win on this ground against the touring English team led by Tony Greig in 1976-77. The first ODI match at this venue was played on September 6, 1982. India defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in that match.

Floodlights were first installed at this stadium for the 1996 Wills World Cup. The first match under lights was the quarter-final clash between arch rivals India and Pakistan on March 9, 1996 in which India defeated Pakistan by 39 runs in a thrilling encounter.

The stadium also played host to Sunil Gavaskar's swansong innings when India went down to Pakistan in the series decider in 1987.

Getting lucky
The stadium has proved to be a lucky venue for visiting teams with South Africa, Australia and Pakistan winning crucial games. South Africa's historic series win in 2000, Michael Clarke's sensational hundred on debut, Inzamam's century in his 100th Test and Anil Kumble's 400th Test wicket have been some of the highlights.

After the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) chose Bangalore as the centre for the National Cricket Academy in 2000, many budding cricketers have passed out of the academy housed on this ground. This stadium also served as venue for the 1996 Miss World pageant.

And today (Saturday), this venue will be the most sought-after for the match between India, buoyant after the Twenty-20 World Cup victory, and Australia, a formidable opponent, is going to get underway in a few hours from now. So cheer on!

He had the distinction of being the only living person in the world to have a cricket stadium named after him, although against his wishes. Mangalam Chinnaswamy was born on March 29, 1898 in Pandavapura of Mandya district. His father Mangalam M Krishna Iyengar, was a headmaster at the Maharaja’s High School in Mysore.

Chinnaswamy graduated in Arts from Mysore University in 1922 followed by a law degree from Madras University.

During his student days he represented Maharaja’s College and Mysore University in cricket and football. He joined the Bangalore bar and practiced as a lawyer, specialising in commercial and company matters from 1925 till his retirement in 1975.
In 1952 he served as the treasurer of Mysore State Cricket Association (MSCA). A year later he became the secretary, a post which he held for a record 25 years from 1953 to 1978. He was the president from 1978 to 1990. He was a treasurer and second official to the Indian tour of Australia in 1967-68 and as the manager when Australia returned the visit two years later. MCC honoured him with a life membership in 1969.

In 1958 Chinnaswamy was elected joint secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. From 1960 to 1965 he was the honourary secretary following which he became vice-president, a position he held for 11 years. Chinnaswamy was the President of Board of Control for Cricket in India from 1977 to 1980. The legendary cricket administrator died after a long illness on November 8, 1991.

Friday, September 28, 2007

Policy for city’s footpaths proposed

Policy for city’s footpaths proposed
This initiative of the traffic police aims at creating convenient and safe footpaths for pedestrians in the city. Poornima B V reports


The city's traffic police have proposed a comprehensive policy for the development and maintenance of footpaths. The policy, which is in its final stages, will be put up before the State Government for clearance and approval.
According to K C Ramamurthy, Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic and Security), the traffic police are extremely concerned about the way in which footpaths, especially in commercial pockets, have been encroached on by hawkers. The lack of space for pedestrians, that puts them danger of being involved in accidents, is another concern.
Once the policy is framed, it will also be sent to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) for suggestions, before a final policy is brought out to put an effective system in place. The policy, which is a first of its kind, will bring the traffic police and BBMP together for effective implementation and maintenance of footpaths. This joint effort should make life a lot easier for pedestrians in the city, especially the elderly and children.
It aims at putting in place an aggressive approach to maintaining footpaths. It also has an agenda to develop aesthetic and convenient footpaths for pedestrians on all roads. This entails even, properly-laid footpaths, easy to walk on. The traffic police are doing this as an initiative of their own.
What the policy covers
The policy will recommend stringent action against those encroaching on footpaths
It will recommend action against those using footpaths as a dumping ground
It will also formulate rules to ensure that when roads are widened and footpath space is taken up for that widening, adequate provisions are made for pedestrians by the BBMP
It will also recommend action against people who convert footpaths into parking lots and gardens
Wherever new layouts are formed, the policy will make it mandatory to provide footpaths for the convenience of pedestrians
The purpose of this initiative by the traffic police is also to ensure a smooth flow of traffic. Traffic flow is hampered because a large number of pedestrians walk on the roads, due to the footpaths being occupied or unfit to walk on. This has led to accidents involving pedestrians.

Entry into IISc won’t be EASY

Entry into IISc won’t be EASY
Institute Will Raise Compound Wall, Install Surveillance Cameras
Amit S Upadhye | TNN


Putting in layers of security without being too intrusive has been the biggest challenge for the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) post-terror attack. But the institute is taking the task step by step. It will soon have foolproof security in the campus spread over 400 acres of green cover.
Security experts from a government agency will be mapping the campus during the second week of October. Based on the recommendations, security measures will be undertaken, IISc associate director Balakrishna told the The Times of India. He is leading the high-level committee which was set up to initiate new security measures in the campus.
“We have divided our requirements into long-term and short-term necessities. The work on tighter security is under progress and will be intensified after a few months,’’ he added.
This comes after the state police writing to IISc to increase the security levels after the recent Hyderabad bomb blasts. As a first step, the periphery of the institute is being strengthened by raising the compound wall. A road along the compound wall is under construction, which will restrict entry into the campus. The security team has identified five strategic points where compound walls will be raised and over a dozen supervisorlevel officers have been appointed to assist about 250 guards.
The committee has also recommended to install surveillance cameras, alarms, biometric readers for visitors and RFIs (Radio Frequency Indicators) installation. The most important and old books in the J N Tata Library of IISc have already been equipped with RFIs to safeguard the antique treasures.
“Our prime goal is not to disturb our researcher community and tight security measures should not disturb those who work late nights and go for coffee at 2 in the morning. So we need to take up the task without harming the academic character of the institute,’’ Balakrishna explained.
IN THE PIPELINE
Peripheral road inside the campus to regulate entry and exit. RFIs and biometric readers for visitors. Increasing number of guards and officers. Raising compound wall with barbed wire. Surveillance cameras at strategic locations. Multiple application hooters to raise alarm during emergency. Intensified night patrolling.

BMIC: apex court restrains Karnataka

BMIC: apex court restrains Karnataka

J. Venkatesan

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday restrained the Karnataka Government from proceeding further with the notification of September 17 inviting global bids from companies or consortiums for development of the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP) on the Swiss Challenge Method.

A Bench, comprising Justice B.N. Agrawal, Justice P.P. Naolekar and Justice D.K. Jain, passed the order on a writ petition filed by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) which is executing the project.

The Bench heard senior counsel Ashok Desai for the petitioner and counsel Sanjay Hegde for the Karnataka Government before passing the order. In its brief order, the Bench issued notice to Karnataka returnable in two weeks and rejoinder, if any, two weeks thereafter. “Until further orders, no action whatsoever shall be taken pursuant to the notification dated September 17 issued by the State of Karnataka and the advertisement issued pursuant thereto. Place the matter after four weeks.”
“Great prejudice”

Challenging the notification, NICE submitted in its writ petition that the Cabinet’s decision to review the project and invite global bids without cancelling the agreement with NICE was most unfortunate and disturbing for a democratic society governed by the rule of law. Great prejudice would be caused if the notification was not quashed, it said. It prayed to restrain the State from acting any further pursuant to the notification.

‘Metro work on schedule’

‘Metro work on schedule’

M. Raghuram

BANGALORE: Work is progressing as planned on the Mahatma Gandhi Road stretch of Bangalore’s Metro Rail project. On October 15, work on the superstructure is scheduled to begin on the stretch between Anil Kumble Circle and the Brigade Road junction.

Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) V. Madhu told The Hindu that the organisation was maintaining the schedule of work in every sector so as to complete the project on time by 2011.

On the Anil Kumble Circle-Brigade Road junction stretch, work on the superstructure would end on May 20, 2008, he said. By September 2008, barricades would be removed and it would be opened for normal traffic, he said. Similar schedules had been fixed for the Brigade road junction-Mayo Hall stretch.

Meanwhile, residents of Indiranagar have, in a memorandum, asked the Government to build the Metro line underground on the C.M.H. Road stretch. In the memorandum, presented on their behalf by the Karnataka State Women’s Commission Chairperson Pramila Nesargi, the residents said a major part of the C.M.H. Road stretch would pass through residential areas.

Ms. Nesargi said the elevation required for the two Metro tracks was estimated at 75 feet from the ground level but in many places on C.M.H. Road the elevation available was just 45 to 50 feet.

Slum dwellers to get title deeds

Slum dwellers to get title deeds
Friday September 28 2007 12:19 IST

ENS

BANGALORE: The Government will distribute title deeds to slum dwellers on October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti) to honour the promise made by former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda three years ago at the ‘Daridra Narayana Rally’ in Bangalore.

More than 20,000 title deeds will be distributed at a programme to be held at Palace Grounds which the JD(S) has planned to hold on Oct 2.

At the ‘Daridra Narayan Rally’ Gowda had said that October 2, 2004 was the deadline for the then Congress-JD(S) colaition led by Dharam Singh to distribute title deeds to slum dwellers.

On October 2, the JD(S) is planning to mobilise around 2 lakh people where the party’s achievements in the last 20 months would be highlighted.

The JD(S) is likely to use this platform to attack its coalition partner BJP for its alleged betrayal of the Raj dharma and coalition dharma policies.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

68 trees transplanted for road widening by BBMP

68 trees transplanted for road widening by BBMP
Wednesday September 26 2007 14:11 IST

Express News Service

BANGALORE: Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner Dr S Subramanya on Tuesday said that there are over 30 lakh trees in the City.

Of them, 63 fell naturally, while 60 were axed for various reasons during premonsoon showers.

Speaking at the training programme on tree plantation for Forest, Horticulture Department officers and BBMP project engineers, organised by BBMP and Bangalore Environment Trust (BET), he said that the civic agency has transplanted around 68 trees to various premises like Manekshaw Parade Ground, Taj West End Campus and other parks and public utility buildings.

He pointed that everyday around 900 vehicles are registered in City RTOs and every three months the vehicle population has been increasing by a lakh.

‘‘There are over 14 lakh families with over 40 lakh vehicles. The BBMP has initiated road widening works in 85 roads and widening of 10 more is underway. Trees which are planted on either side of roads will be transplanted to various public and private places, for which support and cooperation of people, NGOs and other organisations is essential,’’ said Dr Subramanya.

Speaking on the occasion, Former Secretary to Government, Department of Forests and Ecology and BET Trustee Dr A N Yellappa Reddy said that the Tree Act was introduced in the year 1976 and Karnataka was the first state to implement it.

He pointed that apart from Cubbon Park and Lal Bagh, Jnanabharathi campus is the largest bio-diversity spot amidst urban environment.

‘‘People should plant trees and ensure that the lung spaces in the City are retained. Mere solar energy is not sufficient for trees to grow, cosmic energy and positive thinking is also important,’’ added Reddy.

BET Chairman Captain S Prabala explaining the Mumbai plan, which is implementing the Tree Act, said that protection and conservation were effectively implemented in the state from January 2007.

The concept of transplanting trees was introduced during May and June where nine trees from MG Road were translocated to Manekshaw Parade Ground, playgrounds and parking spaces.

‘‘Apart from this a standard operation system for the same is important. It’s important to know where trees should be translocated, a pilot study should be conducted to know the viability of the translocation, institutionalisation and shifting,’’ he said.

BBMP Additional Commissioner (Projects) K R Srinivas, BET Trustee Zafar Futehally, Administrator and BET Trustee G Govardhan, Horticulture Consultant, Taj West End Hotel S V L Prasad were also present on the occasion.

Puttenahalli demolitions will resume today

Puttenahalli demolitions will resume today

Staff Reporter

Parts of 14 buildings to be targeted

During last week’s drive, 13 structures were razed

Officials asked not to yield to any pressure

BANGALORE: The Bangalore Urban district administration in association with Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will resume demolition of unauthorised structures in Puttenahalli on Thursday.

Puttenahalli, which is one of the three major flood-prone areas in the city (the other two being Bhadrappa Layout and Nayandahalli), was inundated to the brim during the recent rains. This was because of lack of drains in the area and scores of encroachments. During its drive last week, the BBMP demolished 13 unauthorised structures, including a five-storeyed building in Puttenahalli.

The continued drive on Thursday will bring down parts of 14 buildings that have encroached upon the “raja kaluve” connecting Sarakki Lake to Bilekahalli. These encroachments include the entrance wall and frontage of an apartment owned by an influential builder.

Bangalore Urban Deputy Commissioner M.A. Sadiq told The Hindu on Wednesday that all encroachments would be removed mercilessly. “We had identified 17 buildings that have come up unauthorisedly on the raja kaluve. But three of these have obtained a stay from the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal (KAT). While we will start with the removal of encroached portions of the remaining buildings, we will be on the job of getting the stay vacated,” he said.

Mr. Sadiq said he had directed the officials not to yield to any pressure and bring down all encroachments. Pointing out that Thursday’s demolition would clear the main raja kaluve of all obstructions, Mr. Sadiq said: “The plan is to connect Sarakki Lake to the BBMP’s major storm water drain near Bilekahalli. We have roped in the BBMP and local police for this major task,” he added.

Destination: Bangalore

Destination: Bangalore
Swapna Dutta
The number of entries in the Limca Book of Records from Southern India is phenomenal. Karnataka has a fair share and there are many that belong to Bangalore. ..

When I first joined the editorial team of the Limca Book of Records more than a decade ago, one of the first things that impressed me was the number of entries from Southern India. Karnataka has a fair share and there are many that belong to Bangalore itself.

Those of you who know about them already, might like to know the details. Those who don't, might be interested in learning how frequently our City features among "Indian Records". Here are a few related to science and scientific development.

Did you know, for instance, that the first international technology park was set up in Bangalore in 1994 that provided all kinds of facilities for global and domestic companies dealing with electronics, telecom, computer hardware and software? Or that Avinash A Deshpande of Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, and Joanna M Ranklin of University of Vermont, USA, created a weather map of radio-signal-emitting storms, occurring on a pulsar in 1999?

Bangalore has the honour of housing the first-ever space organisation in the country. Government of India had set up the Space Commission and the Department of Space in June 1972.

Under this department, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Bangalore, executes India's space programmes through it’s establishments, located in different parts of the country. The ISRO has many centres, of which, the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, functions as one of the main centres for research and development in space technology.

To Bangalore also goes the credit of creating the first intelligent robot. It was the scientists at the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (CAIR) of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, Bangalore, who first built an intelligent robot with stereo vision. The robot could navigate by itself avoiding obstacles, just like a human being. It was battery-driven, with two cameras to provide it with binocular vision.

Now for another scientific development, Dr Subita Srimal of Manukirti Biogems Co in Bangalore, had developed a process to fashion a chemical re-agent, used for checking drips and syrups for contamination, from the blood of the horseshoe crab in 1998. This lab chemical was supposed to be 60 per cent cheaper than imported ones.
R Rajamohan of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, and his team had discovered an asteroid (No 4130) through the optical telescope at Kavalur, Tamil Nadu, in 1988. The asteroid is now called "Ramanujam" in memory of the great Indian mathematician.

J C Bhattacharya and Kuppuswamy, also of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, had discovered rings of the planet Uranus in 1976, also at the Vainu Bappu Observatory at Kavalur, Tamil Nadu. Incidentally, James Elliot and his team had also made this same discovery around the same time aboard the airborne Kuiper Observatory.

V K Gaur from the Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation, National Aerospace Laboratory, Bangalore, invented in 1959 the host rock effect that produces anomalous electric and magnetic fields in a geological body buried in a partially conducting host. Also, Rajat Varma and Satyajit Mayor of the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore, discovered tiny rafts on cell surface, transporting a kind of proteins just like the way rafts carry people across the river. This phenomenon of "rafting" observed for the first time in living cells is a medically significant discovery. Ladies, please note, Parvathi Gopal of the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, Bangalore, is the first woman aerospace doctor, recorded in the Limca Book of Records.

Yet another significant contribution by this City. Green Universe, Bangalore, launched www.greenuniverse.com on December 1, 1998, the first dedicated online forum for information on AIDS. A repository of information, resources, advice and counselling support, the forum provides this service free of cost. And of course, all of you must remember Bangalore-born Sabeer Bhatia of hotline fame.


(The author was part of the editorial team Limca Book of Records from 1994-99 and later, one of their consultants)

Post-immersion, clean-up act starts

Post-immersion, clean-up act starts
DH News Service, Bangalore:
While the city was celebrating Ganesha habba with elaborate processions to the immersion tanks, BBMP staff and workers were hard at work to ensure the festivities ended smoothly.


While the city was celebrating Ganesha habba with poojas, music and dancing, food and festivities and elaborate processions to the immersion tanks, BBMP staff and workers were hard at work to ensure the festivities ended smoothly.

Most devotees who came to immerse their Ganesha idols said, they deserve a pat on their back for their efforts.

The immersion tank at Ulsoor Lake recorded 1,08,645 immersions up to Wednesday evening, while the one at Sankey Tank recorded 90,000 immersions. At Sankey Tank, BBMP had 40 workers including swimmers and cleaners along with 15 BBMP staff on duty while at Ulsoor Lake, the BBMP had 22 workers and six members of their staff on the job.

BBMP officials said cleaning of the immersion tank took place on alternate days at Ulsoor Lake. BBMP workers armed with mosquito nets and cleaning tools fished out the flowers and debris out of the lake on a boat.

After 11 am, the water from the immersion tank is pumped out into the manhole close by, after which five feet of water from Ulsoor lake is pumped in for immersions the next day, explained a BBMP engineer.

While clay idols dissolve easily, those over 12 feet made of fibre glass and plaster of paris don't, he said. A crane was used to take the remains of the idols out the next morning in such cases.

Possibilities

Truck loads of solid waste has been sent to the dumping yard from Ulsoor Lake and containers with flowers and other pooja material was also disposed, he said. Desilting the immersion area in some areas has taken place already and will be done again a week from now.

An officer with the Lake Development Authority said regular change of water and early desilting is welcome.

Plaster of paris has a tendency to cake up, thereby making cleaning more difficult and expensive. There is also a possibility of the polluted water inside and outside the lake to reach the underground water and polluting it if left for over 15 days, he explained.

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

200 YEARS: Going past forward

200 YEARS: Going past forward
Starting September 30, St Mark’s Cathedral on MG Road will celebrate 200 years of its existence. Ashwini Y S narrates the story of this heritage structure


It was the first church to be built in the city and was known as the ‘mother church of Bangalore.’ And it has undergone many trials and tribulations in its 200-year history. St Mark’s Cathedral, located on MG Road, was built in 1808 by the British as a garrison church for Protestants. After construction, the lowroofed church bore a plain and rectangular look.
While construction work began in 1807, it was opened for worship in 1812, with a capacity to hold 400 people. However, more than 2,000 devotees thronged to the church. The space crunch wasn’t resolved until a century later.
In 1901, enlargement work were taken up, including construction of a central tower, chancel, transepts and raising of the roof. Unluckily, the new tower over the chancel, which was to house the belfry, came crashing down in 1902, and the church was in ruins. It only got worse when the church’s interiors were destroyed in a fire started by an arsonist in 1923. From then on, however, the church has remained untouched.
Today, to commemorate 200 years of its existence, the church administration has taken up several activities for an entire year, starting September 30.
The church will set up a home for the children of prisoners and will also start a day care centre for the elderly at the church. “The elderly can come here, participate in activities or just relax until evening and get back home,’’ said Fr Vincent Raj Kumar.
He said the church will also adopt a slum in Lingarajapuram, while vocational training will be extended to around 300 sex-workers from Hosur and its surrounding areas.

Shift, not cut, them

Shift, not cut, them
Bangalore, DHNS:
To create awareness about the process of tree transplantation among forest/horticulture officers and project engineers of BBMP, a training programme was jointly organised by BBMP and Bangalore Environment Trust on Tuesday.


The City has been expanding rapidly and many trees have been cut to widen roads and build flyovers. Tree translocation seems to be the only option left.

According to Bangalore Environment Trust, the process is tedious. It’s also expensive since the translocation of huge trees require mechanical help. The Metro Rail authorities experimented with translocation of trees.

To create awareness about the process of tree transplantation among forest/horticulture officers and project engineers of BBMP, a training programme was jointly organised by BBMP and Bangalore Environment Trust on Tuesday.

Support needed

Dr S Subramanya, BBMP Commissioner, said: “Eighty five roads across Bangalore will be widened in the coming days which will affect 1,068 trees. BBMP, with help from Bangalore Environment Trust and Forest Department, will examine how many of these trees can be translocated. The public and NGOs should support BBMP in this endeavour.”

On the cost of translocating trees, the Commissioner said if trees are translocated in a planned manner, it can be reduced to a large extent.

False charge

Dr Subramanya denied the BBMP cut a large number of trees. “Of the 30 lakh trees under BBMP limits, 63 were lost due to rains and other natural calamities and 60 cut with BBMP’s permission last year.”

According to horticulturist G Rame Gowda, the cost of transplanting trees varies from place to place. Translocating a large tree can cost anywhere between Rs 15,000 and 25,000. The cost for smaller trees is negligible.”

NEED FOR IT

*To prevent loss of trees which can be
uprooted

*To instantly alter landscape

*To pave the way for urban development

*To avoid losing green cover to urbanisation

Elegant auditorium at an affordable price

Elegant auditorium at an affordable price

M. Raghuram

Yavanika in Bangalore has acoustics that have been specially designed

— Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

A view of Yavanika auditorium on Nrupatunga Road in Bangalore.

BANGALORE: At a time when auditoriums are designed for those who like to sink into plush seats in air conditioned environs, it is hard to find a no-frills, elegant, comfortable — and affordable — auditorium in Bangalore.

The renovated Yavanika auditorium at the State Sports and Youth Services Department on Nrupatunga Road can now claim to provide just this.

Last March, the 20-year-old U-shaped auditorium, styled after a classical opera house, got itself a new hi-fi sound system, electronic light control, an overhaul of seats and a fresh coat of polish to the elaborate wood-panelled walls.

The 400-seat auditorium has become a popular venue for theatre performances, lectures and youth programmes. But the reason for its popularity owes to another reason: while the rent for plush auditoria is Rs. 30,000 a day, it is Rs. 3,500 a day for Yavanika auditorium, and better still, youth can avail themselves of the facility for free.

The renovation is not complete yet, Commissioner of the Sports and Youth Services Amar Kumar Pandey told The Hindu.

Still in the pipeline are wall-to-wall carpeting, replacement of floor tiles, a make-over for the green rooms, changes which have been approved by the Government. Within six months, audiences can expect a fully renovated Yavanika auditorium.

Mr. Pandey said these changes would certainly add value to the auditorium, a space that had always been accessible to the common man and extensively used for youth related activities. Every Friday, Yavanika is booked for youth related activities between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. at subsidised rates and sometimes free.

G. Shivanna, editor of Yuva Karnataka, the official organ of the department, said: “The acoustics have been specially designed to make it possible for Yavanika to use a minimum number of speakers, but yet reach remarkably clear sound to every corner of the auditorium.”

Mr. Shivanna said the wood panelling of the walls prevented echoing and leak of the sound outside the auditorium even when the doors were open.

The crescent shaped seating provides unhindered view of the stage.

Trumpet junction: KIADB to file objections

Trumpet junction: KIADB to file objections

Staff Reporter

Landowner says

she was not informed about acquisition

BANGALORE: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) to file its statement of objections on a petition by Tripti Thomas, challenging the board’s decision to acquire a part of her land at Shettihalli village in Jala hobli, Bangalore north taluk.
Ramp on land

In her petition, Ms. Tripti claimed that the KIADB authorities had told her that a ramp would come up on her land to connect to the trumpet junction being planned to connect the national highway between Bangalore and the international airport coming up at Devanahalli.

She said no notice was served on her, nor was she informed about any move to acquire her land. She urged the court to quash the proposed acquisition.

The KIADB justified the proposed acquisition, saying it had given notice to the original owner of the land and said that Ms. Thomas had not effected any change in the ownership records.

It said the authorities would come to know of the sale of the land only when it is registered or the name of the new owner was entered in the revenue records.
Needless apprehension

It said the apprehension of the landowner, that her land would be encircled by the project, was not justified. It said only a part of the land is sought to be acquired.

A Division Bench comprising Justice K. Sreedhar Rao and Justice L. Narayanaswamy, which had on Monday ordered issue of notices, asked the KIADB to file its objections and adjourned further hearing on the petition.

None can touch BMIC: Kheny

None can touch BMIC: Kheny

Staff Correspondent

MYSORE: “The Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor [BMIC] will be developed by Ashok Kheny. Nobody can touch it,” said Managing Director of Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) Ashok Kheny.

Mr. Kheny, who criticised former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda here on Tuesday for placing hurdles in the path of the project, told presspersons that the project would benefit millions of people.

He said the Supreme Court on October 5 was scheduled to hear his application with regard to the Karnataka Government’s recent Cabinet decision to not only stop executing sale deeds of land in favour of NICE, but also to invite global bids for completing the remainder of the project as per a proposal given by Global Infrastructure Consortium (GIC).

Mr. Kheny said he was confident of securing a favourable ruling from the Supreme Court.

According to Mr. Kheny, the Cabinet decision amounted to contempt of Supreme Court as well as the Karnataka High Court.

A contempt petition filed by him in this regard would come up for hearing on October 5, which was also his birthday. “I am confident that I will get a good birthday gift,” he said.

Mr. Kheny accused Mr. Deve Gowda of promoting GIC that had “falsified” its addresses in Bangalore and Mumbai.

The partners mentioned in the GIC consortium such as New York Life and Indus Capital had distanced themselves from it.

Mr. Kheny said Karnataka would take at least 20 years to overcome the adverse impact of Mr. Gowda’s actions.

90-year-old banyan tree falls near Queen’s statue

90-year-old banyan tree falls near Queen’s statue
Tuesday September 25 2007 12:09 IST

Express News Service

BANGALORE: A 90-year-old banyan tree fell opposite to Queen’s statue near Cubbon Park, blocking the traffic for around an hour on Monday morning. Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) tree warden officials who were rushed to the spot to clear the branches said that around 30 vehicles which were parked in the allotted parking area were damaged.

The task of clearing the branches will be carried out with the help of the Horticulture and Fisheries Department, a senior Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike forest official said.

‘‘Branches of the banyan tree had become heavy and this inturn weakened the roots of the old tree trunk. We have axed the tree and the place will be cleared soon. The BBMP will not give compensation to people whose vehicles have been damaged,’’ a senior BBMP tree official said.

People who witnessed the tree fall said that the incident took place within seconds. ‘‘We were standing near the bikes, when the tree fell. The parked bikes have been severly damaged. Traffic police officals, BBMP officials and the citizens had to lift the branches to search for motorcycles,’’ said Raja, a parking official.

Leopards on prowl on Bannerghatta main road

Leopards on prowl on Bannerghatta main road
Tuesday September 25 2007 12:37 IST

EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

BANGALORE: The periodic sighting of leopards on a busy five-km stretch of Bannerghatta Road has created panic among people, following which the state forest department has declared the stretch as a danger zone.

Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) officials along with the forest department have appealed to people to ensure safety of children. The BNP officials received complaints from locals on Saturday stating that a female leopard and a cub were sighted near Mount St Joseph Institution in Kalena Agrahara area and the adjacent Holy Trinity Church campus. On Sunday, two cubs and a female leopard were spotted there.

It is not the first time that wild cats have been spotted. Three of them were spotted on Sept 9 and 10 on these premises.

Local people say that a female leopard and two cubs were spotted in the school again on Sept 22 and the following day at a cinema tent, situated a kilometre away from the school. Speaking to Express, BNP Deputy Conservator of Forests Vanashree Vipin Singh said that the five kilometre stretch from Kalkere State Forest to St Joseph Church on Bannerghatta Road, towards the north has been declared as danger zone and people residing here have been requested to be cautious.

She added that the team has set traps with scapegoats to catch the animals, which would be released into the wild later. It is difficult to tranquilize them, she added. So far no injuries or attacks have been recorded and adequate measures are being taken to ensure that the animals are caught, Singh said.

BNP ACF Ranganath added that the staff are patrolling the area and are searching for traces of the animals like pug marks and scats. ‘‘Since it is a female with two cubs, extra precaution must be taken as she could be very protective about the cubs.

Labourers working in Sampige Farm House in Gottigere also reported that they spotted a leopard on Sunday,’’ he said.

Bomb hoax at IBM, Microsoft

Bomb hoax at IBM, Microsoft
Wednesday September 26 2007 02:52 IST

Express News Service

BANGALORE: IT professionals working in IBM and Microsoft campuses on Airport Road were put to anxiety after they received a bomb threat on Tuesday morning.

Police said an unidentified caller informed one of the staff at 10.30 am that a bomb had been planted on the company's premises which would explode in an hour. Following this, the bomb disposal squad was put to service.

Sniffer dog squads also rushed to the spot and undertook search operations. However, the bomb threat turned out to be hoax. Efforts are on to trace the phone call, police added.

VVIP encroachers' list: Netas, developers top in Bangalore North

VVIP encroachers' list: Netas, developers top in Bangalore North
Wednesday September 26 2007 02:47 IST

S Rajashekara

BANGALORE: Big and small-time politicians and developers top the list of VVIP land grabbers in Bangalore North, according to an official list prepared by Bangalore North (additional) taluk tahsildar.

The encroached land in this region alone is estimated to be worth over a few hundred crores. According to the official list obtained by this website's newspaper, prominent politicians whose names figure in it include Congress MLA Dinesh Gundurao, former Union Minister C M Ibrahim, former minister K K George, family members of former Chief Ministers Ramakrishna Hegde, Gundurao, relatives of Forest Minister Chennigappa, relatives of former Tumkur MP Lakkappa, among others.

Most of the encroachment is by small-time politicians like Gram and Zilla Panchayat members and block level leaders from all major political parties. This apart, the list also includes play back singer and bollywood actor Lucky Ali, multinational companies like ITC and L&T, businessman Dayananda Pai, land developers including Sobha Developers, Literate Developers, Tulip Garden Developers, Prestige Group, G R Group Developers, Prasiddi Developers, Samy's Dreamland Developers, Silver Oak Resorts besides individual grabbers who later turned into realtors.

Barring a case filed against the ITC, the Government is yet to initiate any action either to recover land or file cases against alleged encroachers. Ibrahim, according to the list, is accused of encroaching 30 guntas of Gomal land (grazing lands) in Sampigehalli, while George is accused of encroaching four acres of Gomal land at Dasenahalli.

The list specifies that family members and relatives of former Chief Minister late Gundurao including his widow Varalakshmi Gundurao, sons Dinesh, Rajesh, and Mahesh and relative H N Jamuna, allegedly encroached of 4.66 acre gomal (grazing land) land at Navaratna Agrahara.

Similarly, Shakuntala Hegde is also accused of encroaching 1.32 acres of government land in Kasaghattapura. Relatives of Chennigappa, who are running the Vivekananda School in Attur Layout, have been accused of grabbing 0.8 guntas of Gomal land, while relatives of a Lakkappa are facing action for acquiring 15 acres of government land on which they are running a touring talkies in JB Kaval.

A case has been registered against ITC factory for grabbing 6.27 acres at Tarabanahalli and an FIR has been filed, while L and T is facing charges of encroaching 36 guntas of Gomal land.

Lucky Ali is accused of encroaching a government tank measuring 1.2 acres at Kenchenahalli where he owns a Mohammed Lucky Ali estate, while Sunil Pai is accused of grabbing 2.10 acres at Kenchenahalli. No cases have been filed on them.

One C R Govinda Reddy brother of Jayappa Reddy a PLD bank director is facing charges for allegedly encroaching 23.38 acres of land at Singhanayakanahalli and at Honnenahalli. But the biggest encroacher in the list is a local Congress leader Manchanna and his relatives in Kodigehalli. In all, his family members and relatives are said to have encroached around 49 acres of land.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Sunita Narain: We don`t smell the air

Sunita Narain: We don`t smell the air
DOWN TO EARTH, Business Standard
Sunita Narain

I smelled the air of Bangalore last week. It was foul. I remembered how in the late 1990s, when Delhi’s air was dark and dirty, we had run an advertisement in the newspapers: “Roll down the window of your bullet-proof car, Mr Prime Minister, the security threat is not the gun, it is the air of Delhi.” Since then, Delhi introduced compressed natural gas, it increased the number of buses, it got better quality fuel. With all this, the air got less dirty and less toxic. But now with each passing day, the city adds just below 1,000 new private vehicles. With each passing day, the gains of clean air are being lost. It is also losing the battle of the bulge: congestion is throttling the city; parking spaces are hard to find and pedestrians can’t walk or cross roads without being run over.

Now Bangalore is similarly afflicted. I suspect we don’t learn because we don’t know how to do things differently. We live with the arrogance that we can tame the beast. Alternatively, we don’t care. We don’t roll down our windows. We don’t smell the air.

Bangalore adds more vehicles than Delhi each day — over 1,000. It has less road space than Delhi and more green space. The future the city has is ugly and hopefully not inevitable. The trees will have to make way for the roads and the flyovers that will carry its vehicles. But as the road space expands, as more flyovers get built, the expanding numbers of cars will inevitably fill it up.

The many-lane road that rings London — its orbital — is called the country’s biggest car park because cars have filled it up. Closer home, the multiple flyover-cum-highway that has been inaugurated between Delhi and Gurgoan with the promise of a speedy ride home has already become a nightmare as cars crawl and people run madly to cross the road. We forget completely that stopping traffic at red lights also allows for people to cross. We forget because we don’t walk. We drive.

The movers and shakers of Bangalore will tell you that their city is in transition. These are merely growing pains. Wait, till we have made our buildings higher, our streets broader, our many multi-level automated parking lots, our bridges, highways, tunnels, flyovers. Wait, till we have our city infrastructure in place. Then this problem of pollution and congestion will be a thing of the past. Just wait, don’t worry.

This is an infantile illusion. The fact is that cities in the poorer world — which lack investment to clean up technology or governance to get rid of old technology — have not been able to deal with pollution. Take Beijing, where the organisers of the next Olympics have declared that the city’s air is too unhealthy for athletes.

It is also clear that even the rich world, the world we wish to emulate, has only cosmetically dealt with air pollution — and never been able to deal with congestion. New York is now spending US $350 million to implement the mayor’s alternative plan to reduce its horrendous and crippling traffic congestion. This plan is primarily about spending money on buying new buses and building a rapid transit system for the city.

But Bangalore (like the rest of us) knows only how to follow, not how to lead. The fact is that today, the bulk of our city people travel by bus, by bicycle, or walk to work. The city has only 4,000 buses on the road and after much prodding is adding a few more hundreds. It is also building a metro rail, which will definitely help. But remember, till the metro gets operational — the earliest date is 2010 — the city would have added over a million vehicles to its already choked roads. And if people get wealthier, or if the cars get cheaper (as our industry is desperately trying to make them) then the vehicles added will be cars, not two-wheelers. This only means that vehicles will take more road space to carry even fewer people and will lead to worse congestion and even worse pollution.

Clearly, the option is to build a viable public mass transit system that will replace the car or marginalise it. At this moment, let us be clear, Bangalore like all our cities is on one road and it leads straight to hell.

The city as global village

The city as global village
The influx of foreigners into Bangalore is at an all-time high. BT explores how it’s changing workplaces
NIRMALA GOVINDARAJAN


THE restrooms in an IT company display instructions in German, French, Spanish and English. It’s another indication that Bangalore is seeing a record influx of foreigners who come here for work. BT looks at how they are adapting.
Head of a firm that deals with inter-cultural training, relocation and well-being, Prithvi Ramachandran says, “There are a lot of people coming into town.
The French and Spanish share some of the same values as us: they like the culture and smells and it’s easier for them to get assimilated here.” Food engineer Brice Canivet from France loves Indian food. “It’s one of the things I look forward to after a hard day’s work,” he says.
Meanwhile, Germans, Austrians and Americans are much less receptive to change, concedes Prithvi. “They find it difficult to deal with our sense of time,” he says.
German national Katrin Schmidt, language and intercultural trainer in an IT company, admits there’s a cultural gap between the way Indians and Europeans work. “In Germany, we are task-oriented. But in India, people are relationship-oriented and hierarchy is stronger,” she says. Brice agrees that the organisational chart is pretty frozen and defines the way people interact with him. “As a manager, when you deal with an executive, there’s this top-down effect. They take my word as sacred and won’t discuss matters, whereas what you look for in any relationship is an exchange of ideas,” he says.
But several companies that collaborate with other countries have adopted practices from these countries to arrive at a smart working environment. Strategy head of a financial and software services company, Rajiv Srinivas, says, “We are a global organisation and have a lot of people coming to Bangalore for induction orientation. Japanese culture, for instance, is very similar to that of Indians. We’ve had some challenges in dealing with French and German markets. A lot of experts work with us on shortterm assignments and we take care to provide for them the right kind of houses, identify the right restaurants for them to frequent, and also schools for their children if they are staying for over a year.”
Vijayalakshmi A, divisional manager, special projects in a software subsidiary of a German multi-national, adds that their company has adopted international working norms to cater to their German counterparts who work here. “We have adapted the German sense of time and structured system of working. When they are here, we like them to understand India. We organise inter-cultural training and joint group work for them to understand how both cultures behave. We show them a bit of Bangalore and how we live,” she says. So when the environment is similar to that of home, working here is a rewarding experience for foreigners. Peter Grosshans, deputy general manager, engineering services, in software subsidiary of a German MNC, says, “The environment in my organisation here is perfect. Whenever I have customers over from my country, they are surprised at how good the working conditions here are.”

Bangalore is now A-1 city

Bangalore is now A-1 city
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Bangalore: After a long wait, largely due to state government’s delay, Bangalore got the ‘A-1’ class status on Monday. The Centre in an order, said the new status will be applicable to Bangalore with retrospective effect from July 1, 2006. It will mean the House Rent Allowance (HRA) of central and state government employees going up from the present 15% of their basic salary to 30%, while the hike in City Compensatory Allowance (CCA) is meagre.
Though Bangalore and Hyderabad became qualified for the A-1 status in 2006 with more areas being added to their corporations’ jurisdiction, Hyderabad got the tag on August 30. Greater Bangalore now joins the elite clique of New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata as A-1 city.
Hitherto, Bangalore was classified as ‘A’ class, but had qualified for the upgradation (A-1), which stipulates the population should be above 50 lakh. With the merger of seven city municipal councils, one town panchayat and 110 villages, the population has gone up to 57,99,613 from the previous 43,01,326, while the extent of area went up from 226 sq km to 757.92 sq km.
Speaking to The Times of India, Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association president L Byrappa said while his central government counterparts would get the benefits immediately, the notification had to go before the state cabinet for approval.
“We will ask the government to expedite the process. The minimum basic salary of a state government employee is Rs 4,800 per month. With the HRA going up exponentially, it will benefit us a lot,’’ he added.
Touch of class
5.32 lakh Karnataka and over 51,950 central government undertakings employees benefit.
HRA will increase from 15% to 30% of their basic salaries.
CCA (15% for both sectors now) will be meagre.
It entitles Karnataka for higher grants from Centre for various schemes.

HC orders clearance of encroachments

HC orders clearance of encroachments
Bangalore, DHNS:
The Karnatak High Court on Monday ordered authorities to clear encroachments on a portion of land belonging to Bangalore University.


The Karnatak High Court on Monday ordered authorities to clear encroachments on a portion of land belonging to Bangalore University, falling on the boundaries of City Civil Courts complex.

The division Bench headed by Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph passed the order in course of a PIL filed by Advocates’ Association. It has sought a portion of University’s land to form a double lane road in order to ease congestion on the busy route.

At the hearing on Monday, BU filed a memo before the court saying it is ready to hand over land for the formation of proposed double lane road.

The University, however, wanted the unauthorised occupation of the land by petty shops and labourers to be cleared first, while also seeking the status quo order granted earlier, to be vacated. The court directed the Public Works department, BBMP and Police Commissioner to take all steps to remove the unauthorised occupation in accordance with law.

The hearing has been adjourned to October 8.

Officer summoned

The High Court has summoned the Special Land Acquisition Officer of Bangalore District on Wednesday.

Justice N Kumar, dealing with a petition complaining of delay in returning the possession of certain lands, said to be dropped from acquisition proceedings, summoned the Special LAO seeking an explanation.

Petitioner, N Narasimhaiah, said 32 guntas and 12 guntas of land at B Narayanapura village had been dropped from acquisition proceedings. This was as per a compromise memo filed in Supreme Court during 2001 in which the acquisition authorities had undertaken to allow the said portion of land to be retained by him while seeking possession of some other portions. But the possession had been returned to him till date.

Notice to KIADB

A division Bench of High Court ordered issue of notices to State government and KIADB following a plea seeking modification of the alignment of one of the ramps to the trumpet interchange of proposed Expressway to Devanahalli airport.

The appeal by Tripti Thomas, owning six acres land in Shettigere village, Jala hobli, Bangalore North taluk, has challenged the present alignment of the ramp stating it would take the ramp very close to her house.

Ecstatic fans on victory lap

Ecstatic fans on victory lap
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Victory laps were taken out with giant-sized tri-colours on MG Road, Brigade Road, Commercial Street and other busy roads as traffic came to a grinding halt after India won the match against Pakistan in the final of T-20 world cup.


The moment Sreesanth held Misbah-ul-Haq’s skier in the last over of the final of the T-20 match, the City erupted and it was time for wild celebrations which continued till late in the night.

While Dhoni’s men sweated out on the field, frenzied fans soaked and celebrated. Almost every nook and corner of the City wore a festive look and there were chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Chak De India’, ‘Dhoni Ki Jai’ ...
Scores of fans lined up on the streets flashing victory signs and exchanging congratulatory messages.

Victory laps were taken out with giant-sized tri-colours on MG Road, Brigade Road, Commercial Street and other busy roads as traffic came to a grinding halt.

Fans, who were keeping their fingers crossed during the thrilling encounter, came out and danced in the middle of the road, while others gassed their vehicle throttles to celebrate.

The pubs and malls across the city were no different as fans caught the cricket action on giant screens.

“Despite being a Monday, pubs were filled with cricket buffs and chilled beer sold like hot cakes,”said a pub owner.

Though it was victory at the end, there were some heart-stopping moments during the course of the match, especially when the Pakistani batsmen hit those towering sixes during the last overs of the match.

The moment the match began, the City roads wore a deserted look as cricket fans were glued to their television sets.

Cancelled functions

A few public functions were also cancelled in the evening expecting a thin attendance.

It was not just the Indian flags that flew high but also flags of a few actors’ fans associations and political parties.

At a few spots, revellers were seen going a bit overboard as they disrupted traffic movement.

It was not just Bangaloreans, foreigners too joined in the revelry on Brigade Road. Many, who were introduced to cricket just a week ago, were sporting the ‘Team Blue’ T-shirt and dancing with the crowds.

Fans stopped commuters and invited them to join the party.

A few Sardars were seen giving their south Indian counterparts lessons in the bhangra!Ecstatic fans on victory lap
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Victory laps were taken out with giant-sized tri-colours on MG Road, Brigade Road, Commercial Street and other busy roads as traffic came to a grinding halt after India won the match against Pakistan in the final of T-20 world cup.


The moment Sreesanth held Misbah-ul-Haq’s skier in the last over of the final of the T-20 match, the City erupted and it was time for wild celebrations which continued till late in the night.

While Dhoni’s men sweated out on the field, frenzied fans soaked and celebrated. Almost every nook and corner of the City wore a festive look and there were chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’, ‘Chak De India’, ‘Dhoni Ki Jai’ ...
Scores of fans lined up on the streets flashing victory signs and exchanging congratulatory messages.

Victory laps were taken out with giant-sized tri-colours on MG Road, Brigade Road, Commercial Street and other busy roads as traffic came to a grinding halt.

Fans, who were keeping their fingers crossed during the thrilling encounter, came out and danced in the middle of the road, while others gassed their vehicle throttles to celebrate.

The pubs and malls across the city were no different as fans caught the cricket action on giant screens.

“Despite being a Monday, pubs were filled with cricket buffs and chilled beer sold like hot cakes,”said a pub owner.

Though it was victory at the end, there were some heart-stopping moments during the course of the match, especially when the Pakistani batsmen hit those towering sixes during the last overs of the match.

The moment the match began, the City roads wore a deserted look as cricket fans were glued to their television sets.

Cancelled functions

A few public functions were also cancelled in the evening expecting a thin attendance.

It was not just the Indian flags that flew high but also flags of a few actors’ fans associations and political parties.

At a few spots, revellers were seen going a bit overboard as they disrupted traffic movement.

It was not just Bangaloreans, foreigners too joined in the revelry on Brigade Road. Many, who were introduced to cricket just a week ago, were sporting the ‘Team Blue’ T-shirt and dancing with the crowds.

Fans stopped commuters and invited them to join the party.

A few Sardars were seen giving their south Indian counterparts lessons in the bhangra!

No room for tourists in Bangalore

No room for tourists in Bangalore
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Ever wondered why the IT City, despite offering umpteen business opportunities, has never been tagged as a hot tourist destination?

Bangalore, a must-visit destination for 51 per cent of the foreign tourists, is actually short of around 15,000 hotel rooms. While occupancy rates at the hotels are full during weekdays, it drastically dips to under 65 per cent on weekends.

“Many people in the world might not have heard about Karnataka but most have heard of Bangalore. The city which attracts two multinational companies (MNCs) to set up shop every month, at present has only 4,000 rooms in the two to five-star hotels category. Even tourists on business visits wind up their trip once their work is done due to the shortage of rooms,” principal secretary for tourism I M Vittala Murthy, told Deccan Herald while making a presentation on “Tourism and Karnataka” here on Monday.

To cash in on these business tourists and convert them into leisure tourists the tourism department will ask the hotel industry to increase the number of rooms in the City and organise weekend packages.

The department will reintroduce Karnataka Unforgettable Weekends (UFW) in October with focus on water parks. The UFW is aimed at attracting techies, he said. “Around 6,000 rooms are in the pipeline. But this won’t be enough because once the international airport comes up, more people will visit Bangalore. We want these tourists to extend their business stay in the city to leisure stay for at least two or three days,” he added.
Sources said The Leela Palace has a 90 per cent occupancy during weekdays and about 60 per cent during weekends.

The Park Hotel has 100 per cent occupancy from Monday to Wednesday and it tapered of to 65 per cent on Saturday. St Marks Hotel had 102 per cent on weekdays and 87 per cent on weekends. The marketing heads of the hotels have varied opinions. Some said a lot needs to be done by the department, while others welcomed the idea of weekends packages which will include a trip to heritage and tourist spots near the city.

“We have packages but it does not help — Bangalore has to be made a happening place and not enough is being done,” said head of sales and marketing of Leela Palace, Sunil Prabhakar. “Bangalore is not on the itinerary of any travel agent and the tourism officials should take take this challenge up on a war footing.”

Director-head of sales and marketing of Park Hotels, Ranjiv Ramamuti said it needs to be marketed as “more than a corporate city”.

Develop Malleswaram railway station: residents

Develop Malleswaram railway station: residents

Staff Reporter

Authorities urged to install electronic display board

Plea to extend platforms both ways

BANGALORE: Demanding development of Malleswaram Railway Station, members of the Malleswaram, Rajajinagar and Yeshwanthpur units of Jagrutha Nagarikara Sanghatane on Monday staged a protest demonstration in front of the station.

They raised slogans against the South Western Railway for ignoring the Malleswaram station, which is just a few kilometres away from the City Railway Station.

Addressing the residents and members, Prakash Urs, convenor of the sanghatane’s Yeshwanthpur unit, urged the authorities to install a proper electronic display board to show train names, number, arrivals/departures and platforms and make clear announcements.

Narrating the problems faced by people, who board trains from Malleswaram, Mr. Urs said that all trains passing through this station should halt for a sufficient duration to ensure safe boarding and alighting. The trains stop only for a minute, he said.

Another member, Sobha. S. said as there was no electronic display board to show the arrival of trains on various platforms. “Because of this, passengers run helter-skelter with their luggage at the last moment to catch the right train. In April, an elderly person was killed while trying to cross the tracks. Several other major accidents have also taken place because of this confusion,” she said.

Though the Railway Ministry had set aside Rs. 834 crore this year for modernisation of railway stations, there is hardly any progress, she said.

The other demands include extension of the platforms both ways to accommodate the entire length of the train and providing shelter to passengers, provision of drinking water, toilet, lighting and other facilities and a separate ticket counter on Platform Number 2 (on the Gayatrinagar side). That apart, all express trains passing through this station should stop there for the convenience of passengers, she added.

The members then met Deepak Chabra, Additional Divisional Railway Manager, and submitted a memorandum.

Monday, September 24, 2007

Govt spent Rs 1 cr on frivolous BMIC battle

Govt spent Rs 1 cr on frivolous BMIC battle
Naheed Ataulla | TNN

Bangalore: How much has it cost the Karnataka government to legally battle out the 111-km Bangalore-Mysore expressway in the past two years? It is Rs 1,00,29,780 in the Supreme Court alone. That too on apppeals dismissed by the Supreme Court as frivolous. The fight is still on at the cost of public exchequer.
According to data obtained under the RTI Act by The Times of India, this whopping figure for engaging a battery of lawyers is not for any case suo motu filed by the government in the Supreme Court. It is on appeals challenging the verdicts to petitions of others in the high court here.
Rs 50,000 was paid on Nov. 17, 2005 to an advocate; and the latest was Rs 2.80 lakh on September 13. The highest amount is Rs 63,63,500, while the lowest Rs 1,680.
To a query on any original suit filed by successive governments on the project, the reply is: “Karnataka has not filed any case on BMIC in the high court. However, it filed a civil appeal before the apex court against the high court’s order of May 3, 2005.’’
But it has been only raps from the Supreme Court to these appeals. The reply mentions that the SC on April 20, 2006 upheld the HC’s order observing:. “There is no merit in the appeal. Considering the frivolous arguments and the mala fide with which the state of Karnataka and its instrumentalities have conducted this litigation before the high court and us, it shall pay NICE (executors of BMIC project) Rs 5 lakh.’’ A review petition filed on this was dismissed as “not having merit.’’
Besides in the land acquisition matters, the appeals challenging the high court orders were “dismissed as without substance.’’
Present status
Government has filed an affidavit on July 28 stating it has got an offer from a USbased consortium to take over BMIC project on “as is where is basis.’’ Since the project under NICE has not progressed as envisaged, it has sought court’s permission to go ahead with the offer. It has also floated global tenders for fresh bidding of BMIC.

Living amidst stench

Living amidst stench
DH News Service, Bangalore:
The recent heavy spell of rain only poured some more to the woes of residents living in Queen's Road near Krishna Upahara.


Whether a rainy day or a dry spell, water-logging is the fate of Queen’s Road near Krishna Upahara. And the recent heavy spell of rain only poured some more to the woes of residents living in the area.

A reader Ananth Rao P Kulkarni sent photographs and narrated the pitiable state of the locality where he lives. “I am living here for the last ten years but never I faced this situation. For the last eight months water has stagnated on the road due to which we are having a difficult time,” said Mr Kulkarni.

The problem of water-logging persisted because of the choked underground drain. “Our’s is a low-lying area so water logging is quite obvious, but due to underground drain, water never stagnated. Now that the drains are choked, water is clogged on the roads,” he added.

He complained to the BBMP authorities several times about their problem but nobody has paid heed to them. The stagnant water is not only emitting out foul smell but also is giving birth to several water-borne diseases. He said that some families were paying a good share of their earnings to the doctors since diseases have made hub in their houses.

“Sometimes we feel that we are living in a slum. Most of the time we always keep our windows and doors shut to avoid the foul smell and mosquitoes. We cannot open the windows, even during summer,” he said.

Violation of rules in the BMICP global tender bid

Violation of rules in the BMICP global tender bid

Sharath S. Srivatsa

The PWD tender rules stipulate a period of 90 days for all global tenders

BANGALORE: The global bid floated by the State Government inviting companies/consortiums to take over the controversial Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project (BMICP) on the Swiss Challenge Method appears to have been done in a hurry. The Public Works Department, that has invited bids, has given only a week’s time for applications.

The first stage of the tendering process will be completed on Monday.
Last date

While the notification inviting global bids for the takeover of Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor Project from Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE) was issued by the Public Works Department (PWD) on September 17, the last date for receiving application from the bidders is September 24, and the Request for Proposal (RFP) document will be issued to the bidders from September 26. The last date for submission of the same is October 18.

A Public Works Department official, who did not want to be named, told The Hindu that the whole process has been initiated in a hurry, and invitation for global bids issued by the department was in violation of its rules. The Public Works Department Codal Rules and Tender Rules formed under Public Works Department Act stipulate a period of 90 days for all global tenders and 60 days for other projects.
Time period

In fact, for any tender that involves an amount of over Rs. 10 lakh should be provided a period of 60 days to enable participation of bidders, the official said.
No publicity

Besides, the official said that the State Government has not given wide publicity through the media inviting bidders to participate in tender process, nor has a tender bulletin been published.

A project of this enormity should have been provided nation-wide publicity so as to attract the best players in the industry, the official said.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the State Government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court informing the court of cancellation of the original agreement signed with Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise, the current executor of the project.
Preparation

In a project of this size companies or consortiums are given at least three months time to prepare detailed project report (DPR) and feasibility report.
Opportunity lost

A spokesperson of an infrastructure development company said that many companies from abroad may miss participating in the project. “The last date for application is Monday, and many companies from the United States may not be able to meet the deadline due to a difference in time zone. Besides, one week is too short a period to form a consortium and participate in the bidding process,” he said.

A bumpy ride to Nityanandanagar

A bumpy ride to Nityanandanagar
Monday September 24 2007 10:41 IST

SHARATH N MURTHY

THE ride to Nityanandanagar, from Kumbalgudu on Mysore Road, is literally a roller coaster one. The road, which was laid 16 years ago, has not seen a trace of asphalt since two years.

The road is frequently used by many since it houses three prominent educational institutions: Vivekananda Institute of Technology (VIT), Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM) and B.G.S International School.

VIT, an engineering college with more than 1,000 students, has been on this road for over a decade. The students of this college have been victims of various minor accidents. College Principal Doddanna Hemanth says that repeated requests to the panchayat office and to Health Minister R Ashok, who is from the constituency, have gone unheard.

‘‘The road needs to be broadened since there have been many minor accidents involving the college buses, though there were no major injuries and casualties,’’ he remarks.

The condition of the roads worsens during the rainy season and the Principal of BGS International School Sheila moots for a public-private partnership.‘‘There should be some kind of a private and government partnership to take care of the roads. These partnerships have tremendous scope for improving the infrastructure of the road and the City,’’ she says.

Apparently, only two of their fleet of 10 buses use the Kumbalgudu Road and the others use the Kanakapura Road. She adds that many City students reside in the school to avoid commuting on these roads.

Administration head of the school Shiviah says that the bad roads have taken a toll on the school buses. The maintenance costs of the buses have increased due to the condition of the road.

The road leading to the school has a median but the bad condition of the road has lead to people using just one side of the road, increasing the risk of accidents. Though frequent commuters prefer walking than taking a bus on this road, the lack of street lights makes it a scary walk after sunset. There have been incidents of eve teasing and students of IIJNM becoming victims of eve teasing. In fact, a complaint has also been registered with the Talaghattapura police station.

Since the Main District Road between Mysore Road and Kanakapura Road is being relaid right now, residents are hoping that the attention could be turned to this road as well.

The only hope is that Public Welfare Department’s Junior Engineer Suresh has said that the tender for re-laying the road has been approved and the repairing of the road would start within two months.

Cubbon Park De-littered

Cubbon Park De-littered
Monday September 24 2007 10:38 IST

Express News Service

ON a day when most people were recovering from a heart stopping India-Australia match, several people from Oracle chose to spend the day picking litter and painting kerbstones on the sidewalks at Cubbon Park. Absolute dedication to civic causes?

Well not really, but a chance to volunteer along with Cubbon Park Mitra Sangha, an organisation that has been working at the Park for the past eight months.

About 36 volunteers spent the day picking up litter from various places at the park, talking to people spreading awareness about keeping the park clean and also swishing up the sidewalks with fresh green and white paint. Oracle volunteer Guneet Singh said they had gathered about 160 kgs of litter and they had not even finished yet. The Department of Horticulture would be later picking up all the garbage collected at the site.

One part of the cleaning involved spotting people who are littering the place and talking to them about the importance of maintaining clean surroundings.

One of the volunteers remarked that most people they approached including the vendors at the roadside were open to suggestions about keeping the place clean.

‘‘Initially we were hesitant thinking that they might be very hostile. But they were surprisingly very open and most people agreed that it was very important that we try to maintain this cleanliness all the time,’’ she said.

Artist Suresh Jayaram, who works with Cubbon Park Sangha Mitra, interacted with volunteers and devised ways to make the non bio degradable waste more visible. The volunteers chose to portray the waste as Organic Versus Inorganic to highlight the waste that we create rather than instinctively hide it.

Suresh said, ‘‘We are trying to promote art as activism. It is a kind of creative intervention. The point is not just to make people aware of the litter they have spread in this place.

We are also trying to effect a change in their way of thinking.’’

He also said that using litter as an expression of art was an attempt to make it socially relevant and convey the message of reusing the waste as well.

Cubbon Park Mitra Sangha which routinely conducts these clean up programmes have gone a step ahead and are starting a pilot programme for recycling the waste that is generated at Bal Bhavan

Mitra Sangha cleaning Cubbon Park as part of clean city awareness programme in Bangalore on Sunday.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Traffic thrown out of gear in City

Traffic thrown out of gear in City
DH News Service, Bangalore:
Traffic was affected on Mahatma Gandhi Road for nearly four hours as three massive protests were held on Saturday.


Traffic was affected on Mahatma Gandhi Road on Saturday for nearly four hours from 9 am as three massive protests were held on Saturday.

The police had a tough time to keep the slogans-shouting protesters under control, who blocked the road. The Hindu Jagaran Vedike and the Sri Rama Sene had organised protests to counter the rally called by BJP leader and Bangalore North member of parliament H T Sangliana to condemn incidents of increase in attacks on Christians.

Activists of the Karnataka Chraista Ranga and the Global Council of Indian Christians took part in the rally from Trinity Church to Mahtama Gandhi Statue junction. A large number of police personnel had been deployed to prevent untoward incidents. The protests, however, passed off peacefully, according to DCP (East) B K Singh.



The activists of Vedike and Srirama Sene shouted slogans against Sangliana as he came out of Raj Bhavan after submitting a memorandum to Governor Rameshwar Thakur.

The Hindu outfits alleged that Sangliana has formed his own outfit, which has been supporting forced conversions. The charge was denied by Sangliana.

Effigies of Sangliana and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi were burnt by the organisations.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Sangliana said the Christians in the State had no problems. But of late, attacks had increased on them and pastors and churches in Bellary, Hubli, Bidar, Mangalore and South Canara were the targets. “The self-appointed custodians of religion have time and again taken the law into their own hands”, he added.

To a question, Sangliana said he had led the rally following a request. He was participating in it as a social worker and not as a BJP leader. The BJP as a party was not against minorities. “In my meeting with the Dy CM B S Yediyurappa, the State govt has assured protection to all minorities,” said Mr Sangliana.

On Ram Sethu controversy he said, “The whole issue on Ram Sethu is politicised. Every individual in this country has the freedom to believe or not to believe in their religious beliefs. Questioning faith or belief should be avoided. Communal harmony should not be disturbed.”

Meanwhile, the Catholic Association of Bangalore (CAB), in a statement, said that the Catholic Church has not participated in the protest rally and has condemned the atrocities on Christians. The CAB has also denied any sort of forceful conversion.

Master plans are failing to achieve results'

Master plans are failing to achieve results'
DH News Service, Bangalore:
The conference, 'Town Planning at Crossroads: Crisis in Urban Development and Governance', threw open debates on various aspects in town planning that have over the years impacted cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.

The scope and limitations of urban masterplans were the key point of debate as a group of bureaucrats and NGOs gathered around on Saturday, as part of a conference on town planning.

The conference, ‘Town Planning at Crossroads: Crisis in Urban Development and Governance’, threw open debates on various aspects in town planning that have over the years impacted cities including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.

Master plans

Environmental expert M C K Swamy, representing the Centre for Symbiosis of Technology, Environment and Management (STEM), called for regional, state-specific masterplans to help conserve natural resources in forest, coastal and agricultural areas.



“The present masterplans are failing to achieve the desired results because the plans are not factoring in the burgeoning population of the cities.

Further, the plans are more focused on housing and layouts and they sideline the infrastructure demands that development brings with it,” he said.

While chairing a session on rigidity among urban development agencies Subhash Chandra, Secretary, Urban Development Department, said cities were becoming “victims of their own success”.

He called for a shift from present town planning policies that bracket layouts as exclusively for housing and said creation of more Central Business Districts around the layouts was the way forward.

“The focus should be on retro-fitting the City and making it future-proof,” he said. Prof N S Ramaswamy, former director of Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore said that there was an urgent need to revitalise the municipal corporations and their utility services.

Destinations

Madhusudan, representing the Karnataka Kolegeri Nivasigala Samyuktha Sanghatane, said that masterplans were converting cities into business destinations in an undemocratic fashion.

Seminar

The seminar was organised by STEM, Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation, Karnataka State Town Planning Board, Indian Institute of Public Administration (Karnataka) and Bangalore Development Authority.

POLICY FOR COMPENSATION

Metropolitan Commissioner Subir Hari Singh on Saturday called for a policy that ensures compensation for property owners, whose land falls in areas marked by development authorities under green belt. He was speaking to reporters on the practicability of urban masterplans, on the sidelines of a seminar on town planning.

“Under the present system of masterplans, while someone who owns land in the green belt has to give it away, those who own land just out of the belt can go ahead and build commercial complexes. There should be a financial mechanism that makes sure that these land losers are compensated,” Singh said.

He also suggested the provision of Transferable Development Rights for the land losers. The Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority Chairman added that the Karnataka government was considering a proposal which earmarks 20 per cent of land in proposed layouts to workers from fringe service sectors, including housemaids and labourers.

BDA TO SUBMIT PROJECT REPORT

Bangalore Development Authority is expected to submit the Detailed Project Report on the first phase of its proposed Peripheral Ring Road, by October 15.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, BDA Commissioner M K Shankaralinge Gowda said different government agencies were updated on the project during a presentation that was held on Friday.

Officials of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Indian Railways and the National Highways Authority of India attended the meeting, Gowda said.

The first phase of the mega project that covers a stretch of around 65 km involves acquisition of over 1,800 acres of land in the Bangalore North, East and Anekal taluks.

The Commissioner said BDA’s decision to earmark 20 per cent of land in its five proposed layouts for economically weaker sections of the society was in line with the National Housing Policy guidelines.

He added that land acquisition for the five layouts will be initiated after the Cabinet clearance for the layouts, expected to offer around 176,000 sites.

MISSING

*Violation by government agencies

*No space for urban poor’s concerns

*Lack of infrastructure investment plan

*Lack of emphasis on urban transport systems

*Drafting that runs into 10-15 years