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Resident launches door delivery of plastic and chemical-free groceries in HSR

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hsr layout organic food
Vandana Pandey, a new resident of HSR Layout, quit her cushy job as a software engineer a year ago, went on a cycling trip across Rajasthan and Gujarat for several months, and moved in to HSR Layout to start an online grocery store with a difference. Her ‘Suunya’ outlet delivers groceries which are plastic and chemical-free.
 
 
Resident launches door delivery of plastic and chemical-free groceries in HSR 1
 
 
Born in a farming family where she lived a zero-waste lifestyle in her small village in UP, she finally found a job that stays connected with nature. Soon, she plans to set up a warehouse where customers can visit and fill up their cloth bags and steel containers with nature-friendly goods.
 
You can place your order through Whatsapp and your paper and plastic-free goods will be delivered to your doorstep. “It’s a self-funded initiative on a small scale, started inside one room in my friend’s house,” she says. “Our focus is not so much on recycling but using resources wisely, because recycled products will eventually lead to a landfill,” says Vandana.
 
In the first phase, she is providing non-perishable food Items, and will soon venture into home and personal care, fresh fruits, and vegetables, with perishable items to be the last on her list.
 
Vandana is working with small and medium scale farmers of Karnataka who practice natural farming and don’t add synthetic chemicals, pesticides or fertilisers. “I believe food miles is part of sustainable living, and I want to promote local produce as much possible,” she says.
 
Why not call it an organic store? “When our air and soil is not organic and polluted, how can the produce be organic? There will be traces of chemicals,” she says. “All we can ensure is there are no external chemicals and pesticides.”
 
 
Resident launches door delivery of plastic and chemical-free groceries in HSR 2
 
 
If you are not sure of any so-called food is organic, Vandana has a simple tip. “Your body is smarter than your smartphone. Just connect with it, and it will tell you without any reports and certifications.”
 
Vandana wants each resident to ‘rethink, refill, reconnect’, and would like Suunya to aid the conversation on the waste we are creating. “Let us all together change the shopping environment and make conscious consumption, the new normal,” she signs off.
 
THE DELIVERY MODES
1. The minimum amount for home delivery: Rs 1000
2. Delivery Charges:
Picking up from my place in your own container: 5% discount
< 2km: Rs 50
2-5km: Rs 100
>5 to 12 KM: Only if there are 10+ order from the community with delivery at cost.
 
You can place your order through Whatsapp or call Vandana at 93802-90981.
 

 

Cycle track delayed due to non-payment of bills!

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Cycle track delayed due to non-payment of bills! 3
 
The 9.7-kilometre dedicated cycle track in HSR Layout that was supposed to have taken off more than two years ago is delayed yet again. If it was last year’s record rains and this year’s drain works, it’s now the turn of non-payment of dues.
 
BBMP contractor Panduranga told Residents Watch that the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) is yet to clear three bills. “We have completed all the drain works along the cycle tracks but DULT is yet to pay for those works,” he said. “We have now stopped all the work because we have no money left to do anything further unless they pay our dues.”
 
BBMP sources at the headquarters informed us that the contractor has spent three-times the amount and is awaiting payments. “The delay is due to the excessive paper work that this project involves… the file is being passed around like in any government office,” said one BBMP official.
 
If DULT releases the payments immediately, the cycle track should be ready in two months, according to the BBMP contractor.
 
WHERE IS THE TRACK COMING ALONG?
The cycle track will come up on a 9.7 kilometre stretch of the following roads: 14th Main, 17th Cross, 19th Main and 27th Main. According to the plan, all the signboards on these roads will change. With the cycle track on one side, there will be pelican signals (pedestrian light controlled crossing on poles installed on the footpath) for easy movement.
 
 
Cycle track delayed due to non-payment of bills! 4
Source: BBMP consultant
 
 
Cycle track delayed due to non-payment of bills! 5
 
 
The cycle tracks themselves will be green pigmented concrete surfaces, which are long-lasting. There will be one-feet high medians to separate the main road from the track, with bollards at every entrance point, so only cycles can go pass them.

 

Man flashes in front of housewife and scoots away in Sector 1

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hsr layout crime
A housewife who came out on the road to talk to a friend on phone due to poor signal reception was flashed by a stranger on a two wheeler this afternoon. Not just that, he also stroked himself when he saw that no one was around to catch him in the act. Thankfully, the offender’s face was captured on a CCTV shown below.
 
 
Man flashes in front of housewife and scoots away in Sector 1 6
 
 
 
Man flashes in front of housewife and scoots away in Sector 1 7
 
 
This incident happened on 12th Cross in Sector 1. When the husband rushed out to nab the culprit, he had made good his escape. Thankfully, his neighbour had installed CCTVs, so he took his help to nail the rogue. While the vehicle number wasn’t identifiable, his face was more visible from the side as shown above. “One building didn’t have the CCTV, so the act was not captured on video,” the husband of the shocked housewife told Residents Watch.
 
Here is what he has shared with this news channel, so the residents can be on the alert for this man who is going around the area “looking for women who are alone at home during the afternoons”.
 
Recalling the horrifying experience, the husband shared the story as follows: “In front of our house, around 2:30pm, one guy who looks like a delivery boy misbehaved with my wife. She was on call with her friend near the gate because of poor signal inside the house. This stranger came on a bike and stopped in front of her on the road, took a look everywhere nearby to make sure nobody was watching. And he shagged his tool in front of her. She called me about this horror while I was inside the home. By the time, I came out, he had escaped.”
 
THE PSYCHOLOGY BEHIND EXHIBITIONISM
Power, control, and a pathological desire to elicit fear all play into why a man might engage in exhibitionism, says this article by NBC News. It goes on to say that “exhibitionism is not about sex. It’s about purposely provoking shock and fear in a female.”

 

RED ALERT: Part of Agara Lake jogging track caves in

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RED ALERT: Part of Agara Lake jogging track caves in 8
 
A section of the jogging track at Agara Lake has caved in this morning after the rains. According to the park caretakers, this is because there is a BWSSB sewage line under the track, a leakage of which has collapsed the mud. A small pit has become a 20 feet pit,” says Kavitha Reddy of the Agara Lake Protection & Management Society. “We have tried to block off the area… the entire track is in a difficult situation. Thankfully, the sewage has not entered the lake.”
 
The caretakers are not sure how the leakage of the BWSSB sewage pipeline that runs on one side of the jogging track was laid. However, this incident clearly shows that there has been some leakage that has softened the mud, leading to its collapse.
 
 
RED ALERT: Part of Agara Lake jogging track caves in 9
 
 
We urge the BWSSB to take immediate action and fix this problem before it leads to any mishaps.

 

Sewage enters people’s homes in Sector 3

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hsr layout sewage
The rains last night has led to the overflow of sewage on to the roads in Sector 3, leading to the flooding of homes. One victim of this is software engineer Arunkumar R who resides on 18th Main, 24th Cross. “We woke up at 4am and found the sewage overflowing on the road,” he told Residents Watch. “My neighbours are also facing the same problem of sewage entering their homes.”
 
 
Sewage enters people's homes in Sector 3 10
 
 
 
Sewage enters people's homes in Sector 3 11
 
 
Arunkumar is working from home today as he is planning to get a plumber to fix this issue of sewage entering his hall and bathroom this morning. “The house stinks and when this happened one week ago, the BWSSB cleared the sanitary lines, but it’s blocked again,” he said.
 
He is taking a tip from his neighbour on 21st Cross who faced the same issue the last time around. “Last week, he installed a one-way valve through a plumber when knee-high water had entered his house, and there was no flooding in his house this time,” he said.
 
A resident for the last ten years, it’s the first time that Arunkumar has faced this problem. This clearly shows that the increasing commercialisation, illegal building constructions and enhanced population density has choked the sanitary lines that cannot handle such a huge volume.
 
The sewage is still overflowing on to the roads. “The lid is still open because of the water pressure as it must be blocked somewhere in the upper region,” said Arunkumar.
 
We have received complaints of drainage overflowing on to the roads in other parts of Sector 3 as well. “The area from 22nd Main to 26th Main is in a big mess,” said Dharmender. Added Srikanth: “There is a drain leakage on 25th cross, near 17th C main entrance.” Resident Raghu reports that the drain is overflowing from 221/A and running down on the 22nd A Cross, and gathering at the road junction below. “The whole road is stinking n big health hazard,” he said.
 
A BWSSB official in charge of this area said that the rains are to be blamed for this. “The sanitary line could not withstand the pressure and the manhole lid automatically opened,” he said. “We will clear the blockage immediately.”

 

BEWARE: A cycle theft captured on CCTVs in HSR

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hsr layout cycle theft
Here is a CCTV footage shared by Youtuber Arun Kumar on September 17, 2018. Split into three parts from three different cameras and viewpoints in some part of HSR Layout, Arun claims that the captured visuals show how the thief in the blue shirt (which you will see in part 3) stole the cycle and makes his getaway in an auto without a number plate.
 
In Part 2, his face is clearly visible too. Within 20 minutes, he is able to steal the cycles. He uses a unique cutting tool to steal the costly cycles parked inside an office compound between 4am and 4.30am in the wee hours of Friday, six months ago.
 
BEWARE: A cycle theft captured on CCTVs in HSR 17
 
 
 
BEWARE: A cycle theft captured on CCTVs in HSR 18
 
 
 
BEWARE: A cycle theft captured on CCTVs in HSR 19
 
 
 
BEWARE: A cycle theft captured on CCTVs in HSR 20
 
 

 

A fuel counter in Sector 2 for women only

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hsr layout petrol bunk
Introduced just a month ago, this is an exclusive counter for women and by women at the Indian Oil Corporation petrol bunk on 19th Main in Sector 2.
 
Men are not allowed at this counter as this is exclusive to women only. I feel special today because there’s a women’s only counter, said two wheeler rider Tara B.
 
A fuel counter in Sector 2 for women only 21
 

 

ALERT: Thieves of shoes and clothes caught on camera in Sector 2!

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hsr layout footwear thieves
Murali Dhruva Tejomaya, a student and HSR resident has uploaded a video that captures thieves of clothes in Sector 2. “It is high time we start taking our home security to the next level,” he says. “This video clip and this shows two guys robbing clothes from my house and a few other houses on 25th B Cross on 24th Main.”
 
 
ALERT: Thieves of shoes and clothes caught on camera in Sector 2! 22
 
 
 
At 4am on September 9th, shoes were stolen from 23rd Cross, 28th Main in Sector 2. Watching this video, resident Suresh Kumar was shocked to see that “they are too casual on their job”. Ranganath Shetty was so concerned that he has tagged MLA Sathish Reddy on Facebook and said, “Need your kind attention, sir. This has been happening for the last many days. No one is taking responsibility in solving this problem, which is creating a lot of tension. Please help.”
 
 
ALERT: Thieves of shoes and clothes caught on camera in Sector 2! 23
 
 

 

House damaged in Agara during excavation work by central govt

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hsr layout house damage
Two bedrooms have developed cracks and the the foundation has come unhinged during excavation work on an empty plot behind a petrol bunk in Agara. The house owner is demanding the engineers to fix his house damaged by their unthinking act and has lodged a police complaint at the HSR police station. While this incident occurred about ten days ago, yesterday the petrol bunk’s underground storage tank was affected too. They were told to empty the tank in case of any mishap.
 
 
House damaged in Agara during excavation work by central govt 24
 
 
 
House damaged in Agara during excavation work by central govt 25
 
 
Surprisingly, the offending party happens to be the Ministry of Earth Science, a government of India initiative that is supposedly building their head quarters out here. Speaking to Residents Watch, the house owner and victim of this development, Kumaresh N (38) said, “We had to evacuate from the house ten days ago because of this and have lodged a police complaint but not an FIR, but the HSR inspector has promised all help.”
 
Kumaresh runs a travel and tours business for the last three decades and built this house about 15 years ago. “It’s a sheet house but has a strong cement foundation with one feet thick walls.”

 

Community policing has stopped in HSR Layout!

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hsr layout community policing
The community policing initiative at HSR police station is no longer being done. The contract with Janaagraha, an NGO, that was enabling this initiative with the the cops has expired. However, the community policing will restart once the community liaison officers (CLO), the rank of Assistant Sub Inspector, are identified at the police station.
 
 
Community policing has stopped in HSR Layout! 26
Fifteen children who lived in HSR Layout were enrolled into schools due to the efforts of HSR Layout Community Policing Team in June 2017. PIc: Janaagraha
 
Janaagraha began this initiative five years ago and was operational in around 20 police stations. The HSR wing was close to two years old before it was stopped in January 2018. Today, Janagraha’s initiative is still operational but only in two stations. “Now, the police are going to carry on with community policing by themselves in a couple of months,” informed Deepak Nayak, manager, community policing, Janaagraha. “We are there as their knowledge partners only.”
 
HSR field associate Kiran for Janaagraha was moved out in December 2017 itself. “The CLO nomination process is going on,” said Nayak. “After that, Dr SP Ganesh (retired DG & IGP, Karnataka) is going to train the CLOs who will run community policing in their respective stations.”
 
The entire exercise will be spearheaded by Nanjundaswamy, the Additional Commissioner of Police, who will also be the nodal officer for community policing in Bengaluru.
 
LOOKING FOR MORE DETAILS?
If you want to know what community policing is all about and how citizens can help and what they can do, read this previous story on community policing done by Residents Watch.

 

Before-After: From garbage dumping spots to seating spaces

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hsr layout blackspot removals
Anil Benni and his team of BBMP workers are doing a world of good in HSR Layout. Here are some of the places that were renovated from blackspots to colourful seating spaces (and some with trees), and ‘no garbage’ zones.
 
 
Before-After: From garbage dumping spots to seating spaces 27
25th Cross, 18th A Main
 
 
Before-After: From garbage dumping spots to seating spaces 28
25th Cross, 18th A Main
 
 
Before-After: From garbage dumping spots to seating spaces 29
Below BDA complex flyover agara lake entrance
 
 
Before-After: From garbage dumping spots to seating spaces 30
Below BDA complex flyover agara lake entrance
 
 
 
Before-After: From garbage dumping spots to seating spaces 31
Behind Ellukunte Government School
 
 
Before-After: From garbage dumping spots to seating spaces 32
Behind Ellukunte Government School
 
 
Before-After: From garbage dumping spots to seating spaces 33
 
 
 
Before-After: From garbage dumping spots to seating spaces 34
Iblur, which comes under the HSR ward of the BBMP
 
 
Before-After: From garbage dumping spots to seating spaces 35
Iblur, which comes under the HSR ward of the BBMP