April | 2019 | | Citizen Matters, Bengaluru

Alahalli lake restored, after eight long years

April 30, 2019 Anand R Yadwad

Around a decade back, Alahalli lake was filled with sewage and garbage. Birds and fish did not thrive here anymore. Here’s the story of how citizens got this lake restored, with eight years of persistent efforts

Bengaluru Buzz: Minimise tree felling for Metro, says HC | Security upped after Lanka blasts | HC stay on elevated corridor

April 29, 2019 News Desk

Last week, the High Court passed orders on two major concerns of Bengalureans – the elevated corridor project, and indiscriminate tree felling for Metro rail. Read more on this, and other happenings in the city over the past week

Namma Bengaluru Awards: Stone inscriptions enthusiast is Citizen Individual of the Year

April 29, 2019 News Desk

Udaya Kumar P L, an accidental historian who unearths and preserves inscriptions, has won the 2019 Namma Bengaluru Award for ‘Citizen Individual of the Year’. Ashok Kamath, who runs Akshara Foundation, is ‘Namma Bengalurean of the Year’

Towards water security: How to dig a recharge well

April 27, 2019 News Desk

Frustrated with water shortage, apartment communities in Bellandur are digging recharge wells in their own premises, to improve groundwater levels and be water-secure. Here is a detailed guide on how you too can build a recharge well around your home or layout

How to renew your driving license in Bengaluru

April 25, 2019 Ambar Nag

Driving license can be renewed online now, but the process is still complicated. This is more so for citizens whose license was issued in a different city earlier, and need to renew it from a Bengaluru RTO now. A Bengaluru resident gives a step-by-step guide to complete this process easily

Street art points to Bengaluru’s missing green cover

April 24, 2019 Gaurav Choudhary

A Bengaluru resident puts up an art installation in HSR Layout to bring attention to the city’s rapidly depleting green cover

Source water locally, ban borewells, to prevent scarcity

April 23, 2019 Sandeep Anirudhan

The reason for Bengaluru’s water scarcity is our disconnect with the source of water. To reverse this, each ward should be made to generate water locally, and Cauvery water be taxed heavily, opines the author

High on elections, Karnataka fares well on cash, drug and liquor seizure

April 22, 2019 News Desk

Data provided by the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka shows that Rs 34.5 crore in cash was seized in the state, along with liquor worth Rs 37.5 crores. Drugs worth Rs 12 lakh was also recovered.

Bengaluru Buzz: Low voter turnout | HC upholds minimum wage hike in 34 industries | Properties to be acquired in ORR for Metro

April 22, 2019 News Desk

Voter turnout in Bengaluru lower than in 2014 elections, High Court upholds state government’s decision to increase minimum wages in 34 industries, properties being acquired for Metro ORR line – read more on what happened in Bengaluru over the past week

Why thousands of Bengalureans could not vote this Lok Sabha election

April 19, 2019 PG Bhat

Many Bengaluru voters were deleted randomly from the electoral rolls, without any verification, in a ‘drive’ just before this election. Conversely, thousands of applications for enrolment were not processed at all. Abrupt, abnormal modifications of voter rolls are costing citizens their right to vote

I am a voter and I feel like Lord Shiva

April 17, 2019 Manasi Paresh Kumar

This election, we are faced with the question of whether we are choosing our MP or the future Prime Minister. As parties get away with fielding inexperienced candidates in this scenario, we ourselves have to force them to field better candidates, opines a voter

Bangalore Central Congress candidate Rizwan Arshad: “Representatives should think out of the box”

April 16, 2019 Manasi Paresh Kumar

MLC Rizwan Arshad is the Congress candidate for Bangalore Central constituency. In this interview with Citizen Matters, Rizwan talks about his accomplishments, Congress’s poll promises on GST and police reforms, his allegation against MP P C Mohan, and so on

Bangalore Rural MP candidates: Choose from two-time MP, ex-MLC, and more

April 16, 2019 Deepa Vaishnavi V M

D K Suresh, the two-time Congress MP from Bangalore Rural constituency, is contesting from here again. His main opponent is BJP’s Ashwathnarayana, a party spokesperson and former MLC.

D K Suresh, Bangalore Rural: Focused on water supply and farmers’ causes

April 15, 2019 Revathi Siva Kumar

D K Suresh, a two-time MP from Bangalore Rural, is contesting on a Congress ticket from the constituency again. Suresh’s performance in parliament this term was above average. However, his assets have also spiked over the last five years

Bengaluru Buzz: HC notice to BBMP on white-topping | Recharge wells in Bellandur | Redrawing wards proposed

April 13, 2019 News Desk

Bellandur residents dig recharge wells to capture monsoon rain, PIL hearing on white-topping South End Road, Bengaluru retains its position as the biggest office market in Asia-Pacific – here’s news from the city this week

Here’s how we can work together, Potential MP Avare…

April 12, 2019 Sameer Shisodia

A Bellandur resident writes an open letter to his potential MP on how he should work with his constituents. The MP has to vote in parliament based on citizens’ opinions, involve them in decision-making, and give them governance data, says the author

Bangalore Central MP candidates: Choose from MLC, two-term MP, outspoken actor, and more

April 11, 2019 Revathi Siva Kumar

P C Mohan, the BJP candidate who had won the last two elections from Bangalore Central, is contesting again this time. Yet, MLC Rizwan Arshad, the Congress candidate, is hopeful. Actor Prakash Raj, who has been in the news for his political views, is also contesting from here

Bangalore South candidate Vatal Nagaraj: “Duddilla, Jaathiyilla, that’s why I lost earlier”

April 11, 2019 Manasi Paresh Kumar

Vatal Nagaraj, known for his hardline pro-Kannada stand, is contesting from Bangalore South parliamentary constituency. In this interview with Citizen Matters, Nagaraj speaks on why he wants to be an MP, and how politics has changed over the decades

Bangalore North Congress candidate Krishna Byre Gowda: “We pushed for suburban rail and metro, not just elevated corridor”

April 11, 2019 Manasi Paresh Kumar

Krishna Byre Gowda, Karnataka’s Rural Development Minister, is the Congress candidate from Bangalore North constituency. In this interview with Citizen Matters, Gowda talks about Congress’s poll promises such as NYAY, his plans to deal with water scarcity, and more

Governance

Bangalore North MP candidates: Choose among BJP and Congress heavyweights, and more

April 10, 2019 Deepa Vaishnavi V M

BJP candidate Sadananda Gowda is a union minister and three-time MP. His rival, Krishna Byre Gowda of the Congress, is a two-time state minister. Other than these high-profile candidates, 29 more are contesting from Bangalore North