Articles by Nikita Malusare

When it appears that everybody has lost hopes with the Indian National Congress, Bengaluru’s own billionaire Nandan Nilekani decided to partner with the party. With the aim of becoming the champion for Bengaluru, the man behind the multi-crore Aadhaar project, gave an exclusive interview to Citizen Matters at his campaign office in Jayanagar on March 20th 2013. This was just a day before he declared his family assets — Rs 7,700 crore.   Nilekani shared his thoughts on governance, why he chose to join Congress, and what he can do as an MP for Bengaluru, which is run by MLAs…

Hundreds of residents took to streets in protest against the multicrore project coming up on Bellandur wetlands. “Mall beda, Neer beku! Go back Mantri!” shouted hundreds of residents — not just the adults but also the young children — assembled beside Srjapur Road, near the biggest lake of Bengaluru, Bellandur lake. They had come from HSR Layout, Koramangala and Bellandur. When government failed to take action and justice was slow in coming, citizens decided to protest, and this was the result. At 10.30 am on March 23rd, 2014, men and women from all ages wearing caps and holding umbrellas, marched…

In the narrow lanes of Shantinagar, off the Markam road, Bangalore Central Candidate for Aam Aadmi Party V Balakrishnan decided to start his first campaign, Jansabha. The location was the crowded junction of the five lanes that had constant movement of scooters and bikes. The event was scheduled on Friday, 14th March 2013. Young volunteers ran up and down fixing the banners and placing the red carpet on the floor, while senior citizens distributed the pamphlets. The party’s symbol “Zhadu” (broom) was placed at the two open corners of the stage. At the background, the speakers relentlessly aired the Aam…

He is among the new breed of fresh faces aspiring to win elections and bring in a change in Bengaluru. And he represents a party that brought about a sea change in the way the game of politics is played out in India. Meet V Balakrishnan, the representative of Aam Aadmi Party for Bengaluru Central Lok Sabha Constituency. V Balakrishnan, called Bala by his partymen and friends, is the ex-chief finance officer of Infosys. Born and brought up in Vellore, Tamil Nadu in a classic middle class family, Balakrishnan has three elder sisters and one elder brother. His father was…

It was a rare scene on the streets of J P Nagar, where the educated, young, middle and upper class citizens took to the streets batting for a politician. Yes - a politician officially this day onwards - as Nandan Nilekani was inducted to Congress officially on March 9. Dressed in white T-shirt and holding banners that said ‘We are together with Nandan,’ many of Nandan Nilekani’s colleagues, software engineers, youth, men and women from various walks of life walked from Lalbagh East gate to Hemachandra Sagar Memorial Hall near Ashok Pillar in Jayanagar 1st Block. This was a “walk…

The High Court of Karnataka has noted in the recent hearing of Chalet Hotels v/s HAL case that the investors who have put their money into Raheja Vivarea would have to sacrifice their interest if the court decides that the height of Raheja Vivarea cannot be allowed beyond 45 metres. This brings us to the question: What exactly went wrong in this case? And what is that you - the property buyer - have to keep in mind? There have been cases of wrong height certificates submitted which gave the builders permission for extra floors in high rises illegally. Pic:…

Even after receiving funds amounting to Rs.126.79 crore, Super Speciality Hospital of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) does not have necessary equipment for its smooth functioning. What little equipment purchased has been gathering dust in stores, unused and useless. This was what the Comptroller Auditor General of India (CAG) found out while auditing the books of BMRCI. Funds for the Super Speciality Hospital cum college were floated under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). The CAG audit was conducted between March-May 2013. While scrutinising Medical Education Department records, CAG inspected the establishment of BMCRI which was supposed to…

When a seven-km stretch of the road takes 45 minutes to cross, it calls for an action. When the area is near a prominent IT zone like Whitefield in Bengaluru, it is likely to affect the image of the city too. Bruhat Whitefield Residential Community Association (BWRCA) from Whitefield will submit a memorandum to the Kadugodi Traffic Police demanding to solve the traffic problems near Whitefield. The three major issues that the memorandum highlights are: Enforcing ‘no entry’ for heavy vehicles at Kadugodi Rail Over Bridge, during peak hours; Better traffic management at Hope farm circle Prohibiting parking of vehicles…

The audit report by Comptroller Auditor General of India for the year ending March 2013 reveals that Bangalore Development Authority, which lacks funds for the development works it is supposed to undertake, donated Rs.10.19 crore for various purposes, including Chief Minister’s relief fund and flood relief fund by a TV channel. An amount of Rs. 2 crore each was donated to Chief Ministers’ Relief fund and Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, while the Institute of Nephro Urology and Karnataka Chalana Chitra Academy for Rs 1 crore each. Similarly Rs 5 to 10 lakh was donated to many institutions under…

Namma Bengaluru is home to people from across the country. While a good number of people depend on public transport or company-arranged travel to commute around the city, there’s likely to be an equal number driving around in their own vehicles. Given the fact that Bangalore has a sizable migrant population, there are many vehicles from other states entering the city now and again. Getting your own vehicle from your home state is perfectly all right, provided all your documents are in place, you get the vehicle  re-registered in Karnataka and pay the prescribed tax. The Karnataka Motor Vehicles Act…