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Here’s a quick run through of the city news before we get into our stories.

• Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement), DK Ravi was found hanging inside his apartment. City Police Commissioner MN Reddi said that the case appeared to be a suicide on the first look.
• Media reports say that DK Ravi’s death was a suicide due to personal reasons. An IAS officer who was a batchmate of the deceased officer, is said to have revealed to police the reasons that could be the cause of suicide. Aam Aadmi Party and Lok Satta party protested near Town Hall over the last few days, asking for CBI probe on D K Ravi’s death.
• High Court has asked the state government to stop implementing Akrama Sakrama, though the applications could be accepted.
• State government has sent a show cause notice to BBMP Mayor, councillors and commissioners on the irregularities and scams that took place in last five years.

This week’s highlight: A plan to save the broken city of Bengaluru

BBMP’s budget for 2015-16 has an outlay of Rs 6,728 crore. And what’s the revenue it received last year? It is just Rs 2,894 crore till March. Can BBMP serve the city with such a poor record?

Read: BBMP’s 6,728 crore budget – yet another unrealistic plan for the city.

However, there is a plan in the offing, that might improve the situation in the future. The State government has decided to divide the city into three pieces, for better administration. You may no longer need to travel from K R Puram to Hudson Circle, to see what your councillors and mayor are doing. Read: It’s official, 3 smaller Bengalurus to emerge from one big broken city.

On the road

Though the goal of the TenderSURE project is to ease traffic and create pedestrian friendly roads, there seems to be a collective sigh of dismay against the Rs 208 crore project. But why? Read: What is the TenderSURE project all about?

DK Ravi’s demise: What are the takeaways?

While news reports now state that IAS officer DK Ravi’s death was a suicide, the entire incident has aroused public sentiment across the nation. Several officers have gone on record to state that whatever the reason for his death may be, there are key takeaways for the government as well as the public from his death. Read on.

• IAS officials demand CBI probe into D K Ravi’s death
• Lessons for the anti-corruption brigade from DK Ravi’s death
• DK Ravi’s untimely death: Why we ought to know the reason

Announcement: Read Citizen Matters’ guidebooks on the go

Citizen Matters‘ popular print guidebooks for Bangaloreans are now available in e-book form on Newshunt, Rockstand and Kindle. Have you got your copy yet? Click here for more info.

Voice of the people

Arathi Manay feels that while there are citizens across Bangalore coming together to save the city’s lakes, the government is not extending enough support. Read: Wake up! The lakes are waiting!

A newly renovated house in Malleswaram makes way for a snack stall, a clothes boutique and a raddiwala. Suchitra Deep questions insensitive commercial use of residential properties. Read: Molehill or mountain.

Vasanth Ramu wonders if the Metro will actually help decongest the city once it is fully functional, or will people need to resort to working from home to avoid the commute. Read: It’s time to go for BRTS and monorails.

In light of the recent incident where a cop beat up his daughter in public view, Divya Sreedharan asks what it will take for society to stand up against abuse. Read: Being a bystander or being the change.

The heroes among us

Kathyayini Chamaraj, PG Bhat and Whitefield Rising are the winners of the Namma Bengaluru Awards. Read: Bengaluru celebrates its heroes.

Nitya Ramakrishnan talks about Whitefield Rising’s journey so far and the path ahead. Read: An award for no consent.

B.PAC’s newly-launched A Billion Eyes program calls for organisations to focus on creating safe workplaces for the women of Bengaluru. Read: A Billion Eyes looking out for the city’s women.

Events this week

• Congolese rapper Tibigo will be performing at Alliance Française on March 20th as part of the ongoing Francophonie Week.
• Bangalore Little Theatre has lined up a series of fun activities for children including folk dancing, storytelling and singing to celebrate World Theatre Day  on March 22nd.
• The Rémi Panossian Jazz Trio will be performing at the Alliance Française auditorium on March 25th.
• Trace the history of how birds have manifested themselves in Indian art by attending The Illustrated Bird, a talk by ornithologist Bikram Grewal on March 26th at Bangalore International Centre.
• PNLIT is organising a clean-up drive at Puttenahalli Lake on March 28th to mark the occasion of World Water Day.  If you wish to participate, please register beforehand.

Check out our Events section to stay up to date on the all that’s coming up in Bangalore.  

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