Stir over Sakrama

GVK - 5-DEC-2007

Agreed. Violators have rights. Right to protest government action, to appeal against penalty for their violations. Several residents associations in Bangalore have moved the court, seeking a stay on the Karnataka Sakrama scheme; which gives house-owners time till Dec.15 to 1) admit violation of municipal laws in their buildings; and 2) seek regularization on payment of penalty.

Widespread stir, public interest litigation, and a wait-and-watch attitude adopted by most house-owners raise a question mark on enforceablity of the scheme in its current form. Out of 2.1 lakh application forms sold in the state no more than 4,100 are reported have been have been filled and submitted to the authorities rill date. Deadline for filing applications expire on December 14.

Such large-scale non-compliance may well force the authorities to 1) extend deadline; and 2) re-work the scheme to make it more widely acceptable.

We need metro fast..

blrsri - 5-DEC-2007

Some statistics about pollutants: Suspended Particulate matter(SPM) WHO world standard : 25/microgram/m3 SPM(Indian Standards): 200 microgram/m3 Yesterday in Bangalore: 236 microgram/m3 We are breathing about 10 times more pollutants than prescribed as safe! This is all the more reason to get the metro and other solutions in place and fast!

Akrama Sakrama

bangalorean - 4-DEC-2007

AKRAMA SAKRAMA, IT IS FULL DRAMA

PUTTING BANGALOREANS IN FULL TRAUMA,

MAKING EVERY ONE TELL AYYO RAMA AYYO RAMA

Sakrama - setting things right?

silkboard - 3-DEC-2007

Saturday afternoon, I spotted this notice in front of a commercial building in Banashankari. One look at the building, and I could guess what it could be. The building has a basement - must have been approved for parking usage - that houses retail stores. [PS: obfuscated the address etc from photo]

After looking at this BBMP notice, this is what I was thinking. How many commercial buildings of this size (not too large, not too small) would have violations? From what I see, perhaps a good 30-40%. If you include the newly added peripheral areas (the new B in BBMP), I bet the percentage would be higher.

Pre-paid auto service at Bangalore City station

s_yajaman - 3-DEC-2007

I have been travelling to Madras and back by train quite often over the past few months and have had the opportunity to sample the pre-paid auto service about 5 times. The sample size might be a bit too small to make any conclusive statements, but here goes... All my arrivals into the city have been around 5:00 a.m. by either the Bangalore Mail or the Kaveri express. Invariably there are taxi drivers and auto drivers who greet you at the exit. Invariably I refuse.

Planetarium and the Vishweshwariah museum - a study in contrast

s_yajaman - 3-DEC-2007

Last Thursday my boys and I visited the Nehru planetarium. It was a school holiday for them. We wanted to see the 12:45 p.m. show on the solar system. I have already covered the trip itself in another blog. To summarize - we made it in about 40 minutes no thanks to some hare-brained traffic light logic along JC Road.

A lot of talk - little to show for

s_yajaman - 30-NOV-2007

Over the past few months I have read a number of announcements by the traffic police on how they are going to improve things, I really have not seen much progress

BIAL connectivity updates Novenmber 2007

silkboard - 29-NOV-2007

Newspapers have been reporting a lot of action on BIAL connectivity front. Some tidbits:

“The design of the trumpet interchange has been finalised in coordination with the NHAI to accommodate the expansion to eight lanes. The interchange work will not be delayed. Most of it will be ready for the airport opening date of March 30 and completed by July 2008,’’ said Albert Brunner, CEO, Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL).

The infrastructure task force (basically a body of concerned industrailists of the city) is supposed to have met today (Thursday), we should have more updates in newspapers tomorrow. But it seems:

In the long term, the task force is thinking of an express train service, a Peripheral Ring Road and an Express Highway Ring Road, sources said.

Last week, Livemint reported that:

Prez Rule-II

tsubba - 29-NOV-2007

House Dissolved

President Pratibha Patil has dissolved the State Legislative Assembly.

Advisors
The three advisors to Governor Rameshwar Thakur are likely to assume charge on November 29.

The Key To All Progress Lies With Our Babus

City.Zen - 28-NOV-2007

Governments form and fall, ministers come and go, but the people who will remain forever are the babus and their one-track mentality. Remember Yes, Minister and Ji Mantriji? They are the ones who wield all the influence over the ministers, educate and guide or misguide the Mantris. Babus clearly hold the keys of the kingdom. If we are to bring about a sea change in their attitudes, outlook, and competency, may be we could think of interacting with our prestigious IIMs who can design a special course for our Babus.