citizen matters, 1 jan 2011

Vol-2 Issue-24 1-14 Jan 2011 CITIZEN MATTERS 1

www.citizenmatters .in

CitizenMatters

bengaluru south ¹neóÉ£ï ªÉÄålgïì Vol-2 Issue-24 1-14 Jan 2011FREE

btm, ns palya, jp nagar, sarakki, dollars colony, jayanagar

wish you A greAt 2011!

bangalore 2000 to bengaluru 2010

breathlessride into 2011

0

New Year

Greetings!

HP DreamScreen Touchat `19,999*

No. 3/119, 9th Main,3rd Block, JayanagarPh:42068504/05

South City residents vs BDA 6 What’s at Gopalan Mall 7TDR on the ground 7Comfy travel to e-city 9New movies in the new year 17

2000

2007

20112003

BANGAloRe 2010 ReWiND 12

What happened? And what didn’t? Civic status & Crime scene at JP Nagar, BTM, Jayanagar 13

2 CITIZEN MATTERS 1-14 Jan 2011 Vol-2 Issue-24


Sometime back, we noted that the government had renamed Karnataka’s Urban Development Department as The Great Bengaluru Land Scam Department. Since then, developments have spiralled further and deeper into the mysterious inner workings of our system, and behold: another name change is being announced at the fag end of the year.

BBMP is being renamed U-TURN-MP on January 1st!

Surprised? You should not be, actually. Here’s the evidence:

After repeatedly insisting that a link road was a must through forestland in the prestigious University of Agricultural Sciences’ GKVK campus in north Bangalore and cutting over 680 trees in 2009, BBMP is now, at the end of 2010, saying the road is not necessary so they

won’t proceed.

BBMP got going to build an underground parking lot at the Indira Gandhi Musical Fountain Park, very

close to Raj Bhavan. Tenders were floated. However, opposition emerged, and BBMP now says it will recall the tender and has passed the buck to the state government.

The clincher though is roadwidening. For over three years, BBMP has pushed hard to widen roads at any cost, despite it’s TDR compensation scheme being a dead duck. And wherever strong opposition has emerged, BBMP has U-turns saying roadwidening is ‘put on hold’.

In 2011, without major reforms in the way Bengaluru is governed, we may see more U-turns, with citizen fury only rising.

Kshana chittamKshana Pittam

BBMP is being re-named U-TURN-MP on January 1st!

EDITORIAL

ErrataIn the issue dated 18 Dec, the article ‘Some schools lead rich-poor mixing’, Page 10:The picture’s caption should be ‘Children at the Sri Ramakrishna Primary School in Ulsoor, which has been practicing integration’.‘Advaith Foundation is not ‘parents’ trust’, it is to be read as the ‘school’s parent trust’.

Cover credits: Rollercoaster illustration: Riya Bhattacharya. Bangalore Aerial view from MG Road Utility Building by Amol Gaitonde. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Collage: Meera K.

CITIzeN MATTeRSeDITORSSubramaniam VincentMeera K

JOURNALISM TeAMNavya P KPadmalatha Ravi

CIRCULATIONRaghavendra96111 06477

ADVT SALeSRamachandran P 97409183009901685368©Oorvani Media Pvt Ltd. No part of this publication can be reproduced without the permission of the publisher.

[email protected] Ph: 41737584Vol-2 Issue-241-14 Jan 2011KAReNG/2009/28904

Published, Printed and owned by

Meera K

Printed at Lavanya Mudrana, 19,

15th cross, Vidyapeeta Circle, Banashankari I Stage, Bangalore 560060

Place of Publication

Oorvani Media165, 1st cross, 1st block,

Koramangala, Bangalore 560034

editor Subramaniam Vincent

Bangalore’s own interactive newsmagazine

FEEDback SMS 97409-18300 | email [email protected]

Better health for your domestic help Great work Urgita

Vishwanath Srikantaiah

Kaivara - for believers and trekkers A very valuable piece of information and well compiled in writing and pictorial representation.If I ever have a chance to visit this place will surely use your article as a guide :).Thanks once again and keep the good work going.

Aravind Chakravarthi

BBMP wants CDP to be revisedThe 216 roads earmarked for widening were jointly identified by BBMP and BDA five years ago. But executing them has not been easy and hence the need to change the CDP based RMP 2015.Pay fees and get Khata for revenue sites

BBMP council plan to amend the Karnataka Land Revenue Act will enable revenue site owners to obtain

‘khata’ by paying ‘improvement’ and conversion fees to BBMP. Garbage Cess may be levied

BBMP has proposed to collect garbage cess from residents and commercial entities to clear garbage. While citizens have to pay between Rs 10 and Rs 50 a month, the rates for commercial and industrial establishments are between Rs 100 and Rs 600 a month respectively.

BMTC gets safety innovation award

BMTC received this award from the Institute of Engineers (Delhi) for its innovative management systems. The new systems have apparently brought down the accident rate in the city. This involved intensive training of drivers, transparency in the recruitment process, incentives for safe drivers and training on stress relief management.

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Get a thorough dental check up done…A good check up will involve Having a cleaning done every 6 months. Any cavities which need to be filled should be attended to as soon as they are diagnosed to prevent unnecessary future nerve involvements. People who have undue sensitivity of teeth should consult their dentist on possible Bruxism (clenching of teeth with or without their knowledge) or use of a sensitivity toothpaste to offset the problem. Bruxism is commonly manifested as dull headaches upon waking up every morning, for no apparent reason, which tend to reduce over the day and gradually increase again at night. There may be a

tightness of jaws, a dull ache in the temple area.You may manifest some or all of these symptoms. Have a full mouth series of x-rays taken – OPG – to be able to catch decay which may have started between teeth or to monitor bone loss in cases of gum infections. Inform your dentist if you are taking any medications for other health related conditions especially Diabetes, Cardiac conditions or High blood pressure (these are the most common) as these will alter the course of treatment slightly and it will be beneficial to have this knowledge made known to the dentist. Let your dentist know if you are noticing spacing

of your teeth when there were no spaces earlier.It could indicate a periodontal problem and bone loss.Happy New Year!

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JAyAnAgAR Jp nAgAR & BTM

aPPeal from residents of 5th blocK, Jayanagar

Residents of 10th Main, 36th cross are requesting the managers of retail outlets of Corner House, Heritage Fresh, Namadhari Seeds, GYM- Sizzling & Yoga, to ensure they close business transaction by 10 pm, organise for disciplined parking of customers vehicles and take care of garbage disposal.

Residents say shops being open late is causing inconvenience to them, especially to senior citizens, students and ailing patients by customers honking, hanging around making loud noises and playing music . Many customers are parking their vehicles in front of the residents gates making it difficult to move their personal vehicles especially during emergencies, while going to offices and during evenings. The residents want the shops to instruct their customers to park correctly and provide barricades in front of their gates.

Further, garbage in front of the shops is not cleared in time creating health hazards. They have said, “We hope, you will appreciate our request/concern and take suitable action for a good neighbourhood.”

shared by N MukuNd

even as the relinquishment issue in L&T south city is still in court, residents have filed another case against BDA; questioning the legality of BDA calling for tenders

to build a shopping complex on the disputed land. BDA however claims rights on the land.

Residents of the apartment complex L&T South City in Puttenahalli got

a stay on BDA auctioning the Civic Amenity (CA) site in their complex. The stay order came in November 11. The residents had filed a writ petition in the High Court after the

BDA put up a notice on the 2-acre CA site on October 15 inviting tenders to build a shopping complex. There are already pending cases where residents had challenged the relinquishment of 12 acres of the land to BDA.

Advocate K Prathapan, who represents residents in the declaration suit, says, “Since the case is that the entire 34 acres belong to the residents, BDA should not have called tenders in this manner.”

There are questions raised on the need for a shopping complex in South City. Residents say that a shopping complex would only benefit the third party who gets the tender. “There are enough shopping complexes nearby and access to the

apartment is a problem already. A post office or playground would benefit the public. BDA should have made the decision after finding out about the needs of residents in the neighbourhood,” says R Rajagopalan, Vice President of SUGRUHA (South City Group Housing Apartment Owners’ Association).

Though BDA issued the tender notice on September 17, the residents came to know about it only when the notice was put upon the site on October 15.

Town Planning, Joint Director Narayan Gowda says that the complex was approved as per the 1995-CDP, and according to that version of CDP, the builder does not have to develop the CA site. “The site has to only be relinquished to BDA, after which BDA will have full ownership. Hence residents need not be consulted on the auctioning procedures. Also, markets are considered a civic amenity, so a shopping complex can be allowed,” he says. ⊕

NAvyA P k

bda floats tenderresidents file stay

Board put up by BDA in the CA site publicising the tender notification. Pic: NPK.

Shops on 10th main. Pic: Raghavendra.


LOcAL MATTERs

Gopalan mall has been open to public from November 26th, though the formal inauguration is scheduled for January 25th. Details of the launch are yet to be finalised, says Rajkumar, Project Officer. The 5-storey mall contains 1,85,000 square feet of retail space, and common area is 73,000 square feet. There will be 54 stores altogether, of which 28 are already open. These include Westside, Taco Bell, Pantaloons, Reliance Footprint, Madhura Garments, Peter england, Cafe Coffee Day etc. Food court is

not yet open - six Shiv Sagar stalls are planned.

Parking at two levels will accommodate 395 cars and 1600 two-wheelers. Three cinema screens by Gopalan Cinemas are already open, showing Ragadam (Telugu), tees mar khan (Hindi) and super (Kannada ).

The building contains ramps for the physically challenged. Plans about environment-friendliness are not yet finalised. ⊕

NAvyA P k

One of the major concerns that neighbouring apartment residents have about the mall is the major congestion that they expect to happen.

“I am happy that I can now walk to see a movie, without taking my car out,” says Mythreyi Sridhar, of Casa Ansal, just two doors away from the mall. At the same time, she is also worried about people parking haphazardly in front of her apartment, to avoid paid parking at the mall. Residents in the Mini-Forest area too fear that mall visitors may use the Mini-Forest as a free parking area, a problem that already exists with the IT companies on the 1st Main Road.

However, this is one of the malls that is really well-connnected by public transport, being situated on an arterial road.

deePA MohAN

haPPy, yet worried about new mall

“First they said our apartment was illegal. When we showed our property documents, BBMP engineers said that we had to give up our land for road widening anyway,” says a resident of Rashi Pride apartments on Nyanappanahalli main road, BTM 6th stage. The resident, who does not wish to be named, says that BBMP officers had threatened to demolish the apartment if they did not accept TDR. Work has started in the stretch, but residents plan to file an injunction suit against the widening.

A field engineer with BBMP in south Bangalore, on

condition of anonymity, says that residents will ultimately have to give away the land. Under this engineer’s jurisdiction alone, four other roads are being widened now - Arekere road, BGS School road, AeCS layout road and Thayappa Garden road.

But higher level officials say that all road widening, except four (Mysore Road, Dickenson Road, Hosur Lashkar Road and Kasturba Road), has been stopped for now. “Other works will start only after BBMP Council decides on land acquisition policy,” says K T Nagaraj, Superintendent

engineer (Major Roads). He claims to be unaware of Nyanappanahalli road widening. Suresh Kumar, Minister for Law and Urban Development, and Jayanagar MLA Vijayakumar say that road widening will continue only after alternatives to TDR are chalked out.

But the BBMP field engineer says that there has been no specific instruction to stop road widening and that engineers continue with the usual process all over the city. ⊕

NAvyA P k

Apartment marked for road widening on Nyanappanahalli main road in BTM 6th stage. The ten feet marked for widening, accommodates the transformers, sewage systems etc. There is no extra space. Pic: Sreenandan A V.

bbmP field engineers Push tdr, toP brass sings oPPosite tune

Pic: Ramachandran P.


VOIcEs

Citizen Matters and Just Femme organised a panel discussion on 'Making Bengaluru women-friendly' at the pete Maatu film festival on

December 18th.

At the discussion, panelists engaged the audience with passion and assertion. Cutting across view points, almost all panelists laced their words with their own experiences and that made the entire interaction real and on the ground, as opposed an academic dialogue.

However one issue that did emerge and did not get enough attention was the gap between the author panelist C K Meena and fellow panelists Deepika Nagabushan and Siri Srinivas. Deepika and Siri are youngsters in their twenties. Meena, with good response from the audience, asked young Bengaluru women to stop complaining, 'get with it' and 'poke male abusers with an umbrella when they misbehaved'. She also pointed out that 'there were men and men' and that society at large was not full of saints.

Deepika and Siri on the other hand, were challenging the status quo itself. They felt they had a right to not

have to be worried about such behaviour itself. They felt that it was simply not acceptable to be fondled, touched, groped and more, independent of whether a girl was particularly vulnerable to it or otherwise. They challenged that on the face of it. Siri for example pointed out that the only reason she felt safe in Bengaluru was that she had wired her outdoor life and timing to ensure safety, which in effect meant loss of some freedom.

Cities in particular are expected to afford women more freedom, said filmmaker-journalist Prakash Belawadi at the same event.

That this difference in views between the likes of Meena and Deepika-Siri showed up in a public discussion at 'modern' Bengaluru, tells us one thing: There is a split in current-day womens' perceptions on the matter, even in cities. Some women are not seeing this as a problem to resolved, perhaps because they have internalised their experiences so deeply. They expect to be pawed, hit back if they can, and try to live with it.

But is that really an acceptable status quo? ⊕PAdMAlAthA rAvi, subrAMANiAM viNceNt

so, exPect to be Pawed and move on?

Deepika Nagabushan

C K Meena

A few weeks back, a small first step was taken by the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust towards a garbage-free Puttenahalli. A spot on Puttenahalli Road used for dumping waste was cleaned up, assisted by the cobbler Chakravarthy (who has a shop behind the dump and is also responsible for some of the garbage) and others. Sidewalk stones removed by BBMP and abandoned nearby

were placed appropriately and mud was used to fill the crater. The exercise cost nothing but some dedicated time and a bit of muscle. Chakravarthy and his wife have taken the responsibility of ensuring that nothing is dumped henceforth. The next step is to take this further, to try and clean up a longer stretch of Puttenahalli Road, and other roads of the area. ⊕Pic & Text: Arathi Manay Yajaman

Puttenahalli Road update

Before Cleanup After Cleanup


fOR yOuR InfO

A couple of weeks back, bored on a Sunday morning, I set off on small exploration trip. From JP Nagar 6th phase Nandini Hotel stop, I took a 215C to Jambusavari Dinne (JP Nagar 8th phase) -the ride took about 15 minutes for the 5 km stretch.

As the bus stopped at Jambusavari Dinne, a bus on route No. 378 passed by with the LeD board showing “electronic City” with reasonable crowd. I enquired with someone standing nearby and learnt that bus had a good frequency. In about two minutes, I noticed another 378 came on the opposite side, bound for Kengeri and was full. Within the next 2-3 minutes another bus came towards electronic city and I boarded it.

The bus after Jambusavari Dinne reached Bannerghatta Road (Gottigere) and took a right turn, crossed NICe road to Koli farm stop and took a left turn-from there it was a village kind of road having space only for a single bus to move the road was well tarred and the vehicles moving on the road included a few 2 wheelers and some rare cars. The only bus service frequenting the route was 378 which were crossing us regularly.

After about 20 minutes of drive on the road passing plots with cement compound walls, barren farm lands and a small number of buildings, crossing through Vaddarapalya, Bettadasapura, Thiglur etc. I spotted some high rise

buildings. The bus had reached Neeladri Nagar of electronic city

Slowly the bus crossed the WIPRO office (G-2 last stop), SBI and terminated at electronic City gate.

I liked the route mainly because on weekdays the regular routes via BTM and Silk board chokes up with traffic and its a hurdle crossing every signal. This route is a completely signal free route and even on weekdays I feel the distance

can be commuted in about 30-35 minutes (Crossing Jayadeva-Silk board stretch itself takes 40 minutes at peak hour)

A fantastic exploration by BMTC and a well patronised route too. At present Volvo cannot be expected as roads are too narrow for commuting-but is a relaxing experience travelling without traffic on a 10-15 kilometre stretch of Bangalore. ⊕

SiddhaRth is a resident of JP Nagar.

hassle free rideJP nagar to e-city

e-CommentsMy wife travels regularly in this bus from Jumbosavri Dinne to EC. But the main problem with 378 bus is the timings. The Bus doesn't come on time, or two buses will come together...I had complained a couple of times with BMTC ,they assured that they will increase the frequency, but nothing happened till now. Maybe it will, after few months. - Chandar

The route followed by the busKengeri-JSS institutions-Chennasandra-Uttarahalli-Vasanthapura-Konanakunte cross-Jambu Savari dinne- Gottigere- Koli farm- CK palya cross- Vaddarpalya- Bettadasapura- Neeladri-Wipro-E.City


The quiet bean town became the centre of world’s attention practically overnight and since then the city’s infrastructure is only been playing catch up. Hasty road-widenings with arbitrary plans of

TDRs, relocation of slums without a though tto

the urban poor’s basic needs,

l a r g e -

scale corruption by local civic bodies in land allocation and building rights are all in the recent memory. In 2000, it was still BMP managing 100 wards and Prema Cariappa was the Mayor. Ward Committees existed briefly, but were not very effective. How have things shaped up since then?

In 2002, Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) was formed. New bus shelters and toilets were built.

They removed the garbage bins from street corners and introduced door-to-door garbage collection. The scheme didn’t work very well. Garbage bins disappeared forever but piles of garbage are still seen at street corners.

Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) council was dissolved on November 23, 2006 to make way for the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP). Though the BBMP was actually formed in January 2007 once the government issued a notification merging the 100 wards under BMP with seven city municipal councils (CMCs), one town municipal council (TMC) and 111

villages around the city to form a single administrative body. The aim was that the BBMP would be the solution to the infrastructure,

civic and administrative woes of the expanding city. Year 2006, also

brought out the garbage contract renewal controversy. efforts of water

privatisation by the government received major flak from activists and residents

alike and the project was dropped. 2007 saw introduction of the Akrama Sakrama plan for

property tax payments.

In 2008, the city got its first ‘Magic Box’ underpass at Cauvery junction, which turned out to be anything but magical. The underpass was built using new cost-effective technology in 35 days instead of the earlier

With the city burgeoning and almost bursting, With the maximum groWth in the years post 2000, it is a good time to take stock hoW We got here.

cM spEcIAL

the 2000 to 2010 story:

a rollercoaster into 2011

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

• Kannada Actor Rajkumar kidnapped by Veerappan and held captive for 108 days. Fans went on rampage bringing the city to a halt.

• NASSCOM opens its office in Bangalore• Bill Gates comes visiting•BATF formed

• Electric car Reva launched in the city• Radio City, Bangalore’s first private FM radio channel comes on air

• Air Deccan launched, ushering in the era of affordable flying• India’s longest flyover completed at Hebbal (5.35km)

• State government clears Metro project for the city• IIT Delhi, Professor M C Puri, killed in the IISC shoot out• Pratibha Murthy, BPO employee raped and murdered by cab driver Shivakumar


claim of 48 hours. The magic box introduced a new set of woes. The first hitch was the absence of pedestrian crossings and the second was traffic jams. Traffic from Sadashivanagar got clogged at the mouth of the underpass, especially during peak hours, resulting in chaotic situations.

In 2009 Bengaluru saw beautification as BBMP launched its project to paint the city walls. Not e v e r y o n e loved the project but it did provide t e m p o r a r y e m p l o y m e n t to more than 60 banner artists. About seven lakh square feet of wall along main roads and bridges, mostly in the west zone of the city has been painted with paintings from mythology, temples, palaces, history and nature.

We consider BBMP elections, road-widening and land allocation controversies, increased active participation from the RWAs in the city’s governance

and the Metro rail test run as the highlights of 2010.

One significant development over these years is more

enthusiastic participation in public discourse

by Residents Associations and

civil society groups. From

protesting a g a i n s t

Ak ra m a S a k r a m a

to fielding c a n d i d a t e s

in BBMP elections, from protesting road widening to rejuvenating lakes, they have kept many issues alive in public eye and been active participants in improving the city.

What’s your take? ⊕

illustrations: SNeha PRaSad is a graphic artist.

Compiled by ReShmi ChakRaboRty is a freelance features writer.

cM spEcIAL

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

• Bangalore becomes Bengaluru (but presidential nod is still awaited)• Mohd. Haneef was (wrongly) accused of terror links in Australia

• Pink Chaddi campaign against Srirama Sene • Actor Vishnuvardhan, singer C Ashwath pass away• ABIDe formed

• JDS’ H D Kumaraswamy becomes Karnataka’s youngest CM at 46. • Dr Rajkumar dies of Cardiac arrest, sparking widespread violence as fans torched buses and destroyed offices. • First stretch of NICE corridor to Mysore opens• BMP becomes BBMP

• Bangalore gets its new International airport at Devanahalli.• B S Yeddyurappa becomes the first BJP Chief Minister of Karnataka• Seven low intensity blasts kills one woman and injure nine• City’s first magic box built near Cauvery junction• ISRO’s Chandrayaan-I, India’s first lunar probe launched

• Elevated highway connecting Silk board to electronic City opens up.• Nine killed and 70 injured in the Carlton Tower fire.• BBMP elections held after a gap of 9 years• Twin blasts at

Chinnaswamy stadium injuring 18 people


LOOkIng BAck2010: the year that was

news in your neighbourhoodMetro work, road-widening, underpass construction and new Corporators were the most prominent happenings of Jayanagar, JP Nagar and BTM Layout this year. In June, the Karnataka High Court disposed a writ petition relating to the construction of the station at South end, Jayanagar, Bangalore, giving the project a shot in the arm. Residents of south Bangalore came together to form the Ring Road Property Owner’s Association (RRPOA) to fight against road-widening. They were protesting BBMP’s road-widening plans from Central Silk Board to Mysore Road (14.5 kms). This was one of the first instances of a citizen’s collective against road-widening.In September, L&T South City, a premium apartment conclave came under litigation as apartment owners filed cases against the developer and land owners for not disclosing of relinquishment deed before the sale. The owner of the land had relinquished 12 acres of land in 1996 to the BDA. In December, they filed another case against BDA and got a stay against tender notices that BDA floated to build a shopping complex in the disputed land. In October, Puttenahalli Lake finally filled up due to

the efforts of some residents of JP Nagar. The task took months, good rains and a key inlet being opened up helped the matter. The Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT) is working on bringing back the greenery around the lake too.The much-delayed underpass at Puttenahalli has been completed is open for trial-runs. The underpass built at a cost of Rs 23 crore was to be complete in ten months when construction began in May 2008 but was delayed severely.Metro Phase II has been approved and the Jayanagar line will go till Sarakki Lake station. Another metro line from Nagavara to Gottigere was also approved.The NICe dispute at Gottigere was finally resolved. The SC gave its nod for the work over the Gottigere Lake to be completed. This year also saw BBMP elections finally happen. Manjunath Reddy (Cong) from Madiwala, G N R Babu (Cong) from BTM Layout, N Chandrashekar Raju (BJP) from JP Nagar, S K Nataraj (BJP) from Sarakki and L Ramesh (BJP) from Puttenahalli are the corporators of your area. How often have you seen interacted with them, since the elections? ⊕

PAdMAlAthA rAvi

JAN

ABIDe’s Plan Bengaluru 2020 released.

9.5 km long elevated highway on Hosur Road opens.

FeBNine people die and 70 injured as fire breaks out in Carlton Towers.BBMP’s midnight tender awarding becomes controversial, projects worth Rs 3,428 crore were processed two days before the model code of conduct took effect for the BBMP elections.

MAR

Self-styled god man Swami Nithyananda’s sex-scandal expose on video

APR

BJP wins 103 of 198 seats in the BBMP elections. 15 injured in two explosions near Chinnaswamy stadium. BWSSB hikes tariff.

MAY

A bullet grazes a devotee of the Art of Living ashram leading to speculation about assassination attempts. It was later found the bullet was actually fired by a nearby farmer to scare stray dogs.

BWSSB deadline for buildings to implement Rainwater Harvesting.

JUL

British PM David Cameron kickstarts India tour in Bangalore. Visits Infosys and HAL

AUG

25 people die in five days at the Beggars’ Rehabilitation Centre near Sumanahalli on Magadi Road due to gastroenteritis

SeP

Actor and TV serial director Vaishali Kasaravalli passes away.

OCTCab driver Shiva Kumar sentenced life-term for the rape and murder of 28-year-old BPO employee Pratibha Srikanthamurthy.

NOV

14-year-old Allan Bazarra falls off the terrace in his apartment building while playing and dies.

DeC

French President Nicolas Sarkozy visits Bangalore.

Metro rail completes its first test run. Proposed plan for road through GKVK dropped after protests.

Bangalorean model Nicole Faria wins Miss earth pageant.

JUNHigh Court clears way for War memorial to be built at Indira Gandhi musical fountain park. Government Veterinary College wall on Bellary Road collapses killing 17-year-old Sanjana, Lokayukta later holds Yeshwanthpur corporator Munirathna Naidu, who had allegedly built the poor quality wall. But BBMP later claimed they had no records to show he had built it.


LOcAL MATTERs

As we go into Citizen Matters’ special list of developments for the year that was for Bengaluru, how about the year that was not?

But before that, some context: Bengaluru is touted as global powerhouse in the West for its IT-prowess! US President Obama often raises the spectre of Bangaloreans stealing American jobs. A top American columnist even warned US children to pay attention to their studies or else Bangalore’s students would take their jobs of the future. Such is the fear Bangalore evokes in the West.

Still, look at the inside picture. Some important events never happened in 2010, that should have.

* Bengaluru did not get a mayor with expanded executive powers. Our worshipful mayor remains a mere convenor of the council. He cannot really do much else for the city.

* Bengaluru did not get a mayor with a 5-year term. The mayor has a one-year term, when underpasses themselves take 1 1/2 to two years! Our mayor cannot

even oversee the finishing of a road project before he is gone.

* All planning power for the Bangalore region did not move into into a Metropolitan Committee (as mandated by the Consitution) consisting of elected representatives from the city and urban area panchayats, instead of BDA. The committee itself has not been formed!

* Citizens have not been elected or nominated into ward committees, even though city elections happened in March 2010.

To bring these measures into force, a reform legislation has been lying at the state cabinet for over a year. Instead, what we got was this: cabinet ministers are deciding whether an underground parking lot should be built in a city park instead, with the elected city council not being anywhere in the picture. The mayor is silent.

So there you have it. Top, feared, city around the world, and a ‘chicken’ of a city government back home. ⊕

2010: the year that was not fROM ThE EDIT DEsk

In JP Nagar police station, nearly 1000 cases were filed in 2010. Highest number of cases filed – around 150 – is about loss of credit cards, followed by loss of two-wheelers (120 cases). Third in line is domestic violence cases, with nearly 50 of them reported this year. Inspector Umesh of JP Nagar police station says that cyber crimes – mostly withdrawing money from stolen credit cards – are high. “eighty per cent of the two-wheeler theft cases have been solved. Four murders were reported this year, all of which were solved,” says Umesh. In Mico layout police station 834 cases were filed this year. The new Mico Layout police station in BTM IInd stage was inaugurated by Home Minister VS Acharya on February 10.

A gang of 10 which had committed 554 offences in four years in the state was arrested by JP Nagar police in October. The gang is accused of robbing 132 women of their jewellery in the city alone. In comparison, the notorious Dandu Palya gang, known for killing and looting valuables from women and the elderly, was involved in 109 cases.

South Bangalore saw quite a few murder cases this year. On July 8th, engineer-turned-actor Indudhar, 49, who ran up debts, killed his wife Hemalatha, 38, and hanged

himself in his house in Jayanagar 4th block. On August 11th, Priyanka Gupta, a 29-year-old teacher at Delhi Public School - South, was found with her throat slit at her house in Kothanur Dinne in JP Nagar VIII Phase. Her husband Sathish Kumar Gupta later confessed to plotting and executing her murder over differences with the wife.

Malarvizhi, a 24-year-old newly wed software engineer was found raped and murdered in an apartment in BTM Layout II Stage on October 12. Two weeks later, the victim’s former friend Naveen, a software engineer in Hyderabad, was arrested and charged with the murder. A 29-year old Dell employee, Payal Surekha was found murdered at her flat on December 19th. Her husband’s former employee James Kumar Roy, 28, was arrested.

There were also accident cases. On October 24th, a four-year-old girl at Sai Ram Soudha apartment in JP Nagar died when her head got stuck in the lift doors while she was playing. On November 2, seven-year-old Subbu, a 2nd standard student in a Jayanagar government school, died when he fell into a water-filled pit at a construction site in Tilaknagar’s Arasu Colony. ⊕

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murders draw attention but

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PERFoRMANcENritya Vaibhava – 5Festival of Dance organised by Ananya. Chandrika Srinivas, Dr Janki Rangarajan and Navia Natarajan will perform.2 Jan at bharatiya Vidya bhavan, 6 pmStory TellingThe secrets that lies within the legend - Myths & Story telling “The Never ending story.” Free admission.Sat 1 Jan ‘11, New acropolis, #203, 2nd floor, hm Studios& suits (behind Nandini) 67 St. marks Rd, 6pmTHEATRETo Sea on a SieveA physical theatre piece inspired by edward Lear’s poem ‘The Jumblies”. Devised and performed by Anitha Santhanam.11 Jan at bacchus, St. marks Road, 8pmRanga Shankara Plays1 Sat Mukhyamantri KAN2 Sun Mysooru Mallige KAN4 Tue Tadroopi KAN5 Wed, 6 Thu Fake Palindromes eNG 7 Fri Harlesden High Street eNG 8 Sat Treadmill HIN (also at 3.30 pm)9 Sun Harlesden High Street eNG (also at 3.30pm)11 Tue Lazy People eNG12 Wed Ratnan Prapancha KAN13 Thu Kitthale Mane Kaaveri KAN, 14 Fri to 16 Sun: Neenaanaadrenaaneenena? KAN (also at 3:30 pm on Sun)Ranga Shankara 36/2, 8th Cross JP Nagar, ii Phase Ph: 26493982QUIZThe ACM Bangalore Annual Quiz and Challenge of Code felicitation8 Jan honeywell technology Solutions Lab, bannerghatta Road 9amEXHIBITIoNDignity Passionate Collection exhibition and Food Fiesta Collections Stall, Food stalls, Ikebana show and promotional stalls for senior friendly products, with cultural programmes.

29-30 Jan, dignity foundation, 9902244335 or 080 42198395World Samskrit Book Fair and Exhibition. Seminars and cultural programs. www.samskritbookfair.org7-10 Jan at National high School grounds, basavanagudiFrozen in Time. Photographs of Dance28 Jan – 6 feb, goethe-institut/max mueller bhavanwoRKSHoPDrawing, Photography and water colour painting workshops Starting 9 Jan, Contact krishna Prasad 9886394195Kathalaya’s special course in theatre and script writing Conducted by by Swar Thounaojam. Fee: Rs 5000, Age: Above 16 years8 - 13 Jan, kathalaya, bannerghatta Road. Ph: 26689856/ 9986244808, 10am Start your restaurant or Café Learn the secrets from Master Chef, and Restaurant Consultant Madhu Menon. Fee: Rs 5000. Call 9886503318 / 8123470560 or mail [email protected] - 9 Jan, Launchpad office, New beL Road, 10amDrawing course100 day program for beginners. Ph: 9901293823/ 41492446. email: [email protected] 11 Jan, the Pencil Jam Studio, frazer townTalk on the Book “Let’s Celebrate! Follow the Hindu Moon” by Soumya Sitaraman friday, 7 Jan, 6.30 pm, bangalore international Centre, teri Complex, domlur. Ph: 9886599675NEw YEAR cELEBRATIoNS Comedy Dhamaka Comedy Superstars - Krishna and Sudesh Lehri, Kapil Sharma, and Bharti Singh, along with MC Surveen Chawla, and The Prince Dance Group, live in Bangalore. Mobile: +91

9916344378,+91 98869911204 pm 9 Jan, good Shepherd auditorium, Residency roadFILMSKundun Cinemasophy club presents a Martin Scorsese film dealing with the life of the 14th Dalai Lama and Tibet. Free admission 6 pm 8 Jan at New acropolis, #203, 2nd floor, hm Studios& suits (behind Nandini) 67 St. marks Rd“Travelling Film South Asia (TFSA) Films 1.Afghan Girls Can Kick and The Battle for Pakistan : 10 Jan, 6 pm2.Mayomi: 11 Jan, 6.30 pm3.Out of Thin Air: 12 Jan, 6.30 pm4.Saamam: 13 Jan, 6.30 pm5.The Salt Stories: 14 Jan, 6 pm Ph: 988659967510 Jan - 14 Jan, bangalore international Centre, teRi Complex, domlur ii Stage, 6pm

Starting early before the crack of dawn, on Jan 8th, 2011, three-member teams will bike, paddle, and climb, over a terrain consisting of road, trail, water and boulders, to complete a course of about 130 kilometers.

BAR will be as much an experience and an exposure to the beautiful terrain that spreads out from Bangalore, as much as a race. Savor it with your team, with an eye on the clocks and strategy.

First edition, or BAR 101 is split into five phases. First and last phases of road biking, with a rough distance of

50km each. Second is trail biking, a distance of 20 km or so. Third involves kayaking across a distance of about 10km of flat water. Fourth is the more skill intensive, requires your team to crack about ten or so boulder problems. There may or may not be some additional survival skill testing/minor events.

Registration Rs.1500, for the team. Register at www.bangaloreadventurerace.com

Race will start at turahalli., Jan 8.

sat, Jan 8 adventure

sEE & DO

bangalore adventure race

8pm 12-23 January, JagRiti, Whitefield. Ph: 2847 5373


1. 2011 must be the year of sequels. Coming up from Hollywood are sequels to well loved films like Spider man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Cars, kung fu Panda, harry Potter, transformers, the twilight Saga, happy feet, Xmen, mission impossible. Not to be left behind is Bollywood with don 2, dhamaal 2, dhoom 3: fasten your Seatbelts, dostana 2, hera Pheri 4, Rock on 2. even Kannada cinema has a sequel to Jogi in Jogaiah.

2. No one killed jessica (Hindi) – This film starring Rani Mukherjee and Vidya Balan has already captured interest as it dramatises the murder of Jessica Lal that shocked the nation and galvanised them to demand for justice.

3. turning 30! (Hindi) –This film marks a departure from Prakash Jha’s

traditional cinema, best reflected in Gangaajal. Yet Prakash Jha wears the producer's hat in turning 30!, which is directed by Alankrita Shrivasatava. It brings together an interesting cast that includes Gul Panag, Purab Kohli, Sid Makkar, Tillotama Shome, and Jeneva Talwar.

4. dhobi ghat (Hindi) – This much awaited film from Aamir Khan productions has of course been directed by his wife Kiran Rao. It has already created a buzz at the Toronto Film Festival and is being watched with much interest.

5. Mumbai c h a k a c h a k (Hindi) – This film b r i n g s together an interesting star cast t h a t i n c l u d e s Rahul Bose, A y e s h a Dharker, Mandira Bedi, Suresh Menon, Cyrus Broacha, Vinay Pathak and Suniel Shetty. It also already inspired interest with its vision of a clean Mumbai.

6. Noukadubi (Hindi) – Rituparno Ghosh ventures into Hindi cinema again. This period film brings together some of the finest Bengali contemporary actors like Prosenjit Chatterjee, Raima Sen, Jishhu Sengupta, Riya Sen and Sharmila Tagore.

7. shikari (Kannada) – This film that is being made by award winning director Abhay Simha will bring the great Malayalam film actor Mammootty to Kannada cinema for the second time.

8. delhi belly (Hindi) – This is

another production from Aamir Khan Productions that has set the expectation of cinema with a difference.

9. hara (Tamil) – Rajinikanth’s next venture will always have the nation’s attention.

10. ra.one (Hindi) – Meanwhile the other King

K h a n

Shahrukh tries his hand at science fiction with Ra.One.

11. hudugru (Kannada) – Puneet Rajkumar’s next is always watched with some anticipation.

12. Mareyuva Munna (Kannada) – So too is the forthcoming release from golden boy Ganesh.

2011 - year of sequels

REWIND 2010

Major Box office hits 1. Dabangg (Hindi)2. Inception (English)3. The Social Network (English)4. Endhiran (Tamil)5. My Name is Khan (Hindi)Interesting films of the year1. Peepli Live (Hindi) - 2. Kanasemba Kudureyaneri (Kannada) 3. Autograph (Bengali) 4. Pranchiyettan and the Saint (Malayalam) 5. The Japanese Wife (Hindi) 6. Aptharakshaka (Kannada) 7. Do Dooni Chaar (Hindi)8. Phas Gaya Re Obama (Hindi) 9. Pancharangi (Kannada) 10. Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Gahoole (English)

cInEMA scOpE

Christina daniels is a communications professional based in bangalore. She authored the novel ginger Soda Lemon Pop, co-authored mind blogs 1.0.

What movies to lookout for in the neW year!


LAsT wORD

Metro At Nightthe metro is going to change the way people are going to commute. though, the very construction is creating problems to people now, it is definitely going to be a boon in the long run. huge machines, vehicles and material are being used to construct metro. this is one such place where one of the columns or pillars was raised. the photograph was shot in Vijayanagar at 8.30 pm. appreciate the colors, the structure and above all the effort by workers to build the much awaited Namma metro.

Praveen R Desai, 27 is a software engineer by profession. I work for an investment bank in Bangalore. His interest towards photography started during his travels abroad. Fascinated by automobiles, he used to take photographs of flashy high end cars and bikes. He then developed interest in wildlife photography, still life, architecture, macro photography and portraiture.

A Bangalore for the past 22 years, he says he has seen the ups and downs, the length and the breadth, the green and the bald of Bangalore City.

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