CITIZEN JOURNALISM | Citizen Matters, Bengaluru

Opinion: Bankrupt BBMP should be replaced by an efficient, powerful Metropolitan Council

September 11, 2020 V Balasubramanian

Solving Bengaluru’s problems of water, traffic, pollution, etc., requires a powerful, efficient body. A Bengaluru Metropolitan Council headed by the Chief Minister could be a solution.

Opinion: BBMP Bill offers nothing new, can’t solve Bengaluru’s problems

September 10, 2020 V Balasubramanian

State government is planning to soon enact the BBMP Bill for Bengaluru’s governance. But the city’s growing problems cannot be solved with the current governance structure or by merely increasing the number of wards, as envisioned in the Bill.

Over 100 college students are aiding Bengaluru’s pourakarmikas during COVID. Here’s how.

September 7, 2020 Smriti Easwar and Risha Vaidya

Bengaluru’s pourakarmikas are suffering from delayed wages and poor work conditions even through COVID. A group of college students are now distributing ration kits and sanitary pads to these workers by raising funds on social media.

How a young Bengalurean helped countless COVID patients with the right info on hospital beds

September 4, 2020 Santosh Doddaiah

Santosh Doddaiah, 25, founded Covidbeds.org when he realised that government’s data on COVID hospital beds was wrong. He and his team have been directing patients to the right hospitals, and are now offering counselling and ambulance services too.

It’s high time BMTC got people with disabilities on board. Here are five steps to ensure this.

September 4, 2020 Euan Morrison, Prajwal N and Prof. Ajay Bailey

A recent survey finds that even the bus stations included under the Accessible India campaign are unfriendly towards people with disabilities. Lower fares, better infrastructure and participatory planning can ensure the BMTC is equally accessible to all.

Bengaluru’s momo vendors: Making their place in a competitive business

August 30, 2020 Ravi Mathews

Momo vendors, who mostly hail from Northeast India, have long become part of Bengaluru’s landscape. How do they see the city? Is business here lucrative enough for them?

Bus travel in times of COVID: How BMTC can accommodate senior citizens

August 28, 2020 Prajwal N and Prof. Ajay Bailey

COVID has posed many barriers to senior citizens’ use of buses. A recent study indicates five measures BMTC can take to remove these barriers and ease commute for seniors again.

Stray cat problem: How a community ensured safety of both cats and residents

August 19, 2020 Sumana Paul and Kalpita Mane

Residential communities often consider stray cats a menace. But in a Whitefield community, a few cat lovers got together to trap and neuter strays, which ensured the safety of both the cats and the community.

Can RWAs ban pets, feeding of strays during COVID?

August 17, 2020 Keerthana Sharma

Stray animals and even pets have been mistreated due to fears that they will transmit COVID. But a recent government circular clarifies this is illegal.

Rainwater harvesting: Apartment’s water bill goes from over a lakh to zero in monsoons

August 14, 2020 Amal Padmanabhan

An apartment off Outer Ring Road in Bengaluru used to spend Rs 1-2 lakh on tanker water supply every month. But with rainwater harvesting, they no longer need to buy water for almost half the year.

Opinion: “Use technology, repurpose Volvos to boost bus services in Bengaluru”

August 12, 2020 Shraddha Goled

BMTC’s services and ridership have reduced drastically during COVID. How can these be brought back to pre-COVID levels while also ensuring passengers’ safety?

Opinion: How BMTC bus services can be cheap, clean and safe during COVID

August 11, 2020 Sanjay Vijayaraghavan

While BMTC needs to adopt short-term measures like plexiglass partitions and simpler fare structures, it should also evolve long-term measures for safe travel.

Arrangements made by BMTC in collaboration with various other agencies to ply migrant workers from Orissa to Chikkabanavara Railway Station during COVID-19 lockdown in Bengaluru. Pic: Twitter handle of BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar

Can BMTC get Bengalureans to use the bus during COVID?

August 7, 2020 Nagesh Aras

BMTC, which already wasn’t quite popular with Bengalureans, is running skeletal services now. Can sanitation measures, support of private operators, help?

Remember Bengaluru’s minimal traffic during lockdown? Here are nine pointers to sustain it

July 28, 2020 Ashish Verma

During COVID lockdown, we got a glimpse of a liveable Bengaluru where traffic and pollution levels were extremely low. This can be sustained post COVID too, if the city follows some core transport principles.

Shut in at home during COVID? Rooftop gardening can give you some respite

July 1, 2020 Sudha Narasimhachar

Most of us are now staying home all the time, but this could be frustrating. Rooftop gardening is a good option for being close to nature without having to go out. Here’s a Bengaluru couple who are doing exactly that.