Residents stop mobile towers from being installed in Sector 4

January 12, 2021October 29, 2018 by RW News Network

Sector 4 residents stopped the installation of a mobile tower atop a ground plus two floor house by Airtel yesterday. It’s unusual for the telecom service provider to opt for such a low-lying house that could not only be harmful to the residents.

Residents stop mobile towers from being installed in Sector 4 2 — Airtel planned to erect a tower on top of this house in Sector 4

Residents stop mobile towers from being installed in Sector 4 3 — House No 228 is right in the heart of a residential area

According to the residents, the person responsible behind the installation attempt was the owner of house number 228. “Although Debnath is the house owner, the No Objection Certiticate (NOC) was signed by his friend living next door,” said resident Kavitha Reddy. “Residents around have stopped the work and the BBMP Joint Commissioner (Bommanahalli) confirmed that he was not even aware that such a permission was given.”

Now the residents have asked the Sector 4 Residents Welfare Association to up this issue with the BBMP and issue a warning to the owner of the house. “Just for the sake of money, people like Debnath and his neighbour are putting the entire locality in danger,” said Reddy. “Telecom towers are banned in residential areas and these people are violating the law and playing with the health of citizens.”

DO MOBILE TOWERS CAUSE CANCER?

According to the American Cancer Society, the radiofrequency waves emitted by mobile towers do not cause DNA damage that can lead to cancer. In London, you will be hard pressed to find a mobile tower, because they are all installed outside the city. What you will see instead of boosters inside the city. In a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by film actress Juhi Chawla in 2015, her lawyer cited this and asked India to follow suit. However, India’s telecom regulatory authority maintains that its standards are 10-times stricter than the global standards. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has made a public statement that the radiation from cell phones. mobile towers and Wi-Fi as “possibly carcinogenic”. In April 2017, the Supreme Court gave a landmark ruling in favour of a cancer patient who alleged that he got it because of a mobile tower next to his office. The country’s highest court ordered the deactivation of the tower.

CHECK THE MOBILE TOWER RADIATION NEAR YOUR HOUSE

A year ago, the ministry of communications set up a mobile tower radiation monitoring website. You can check out if your mobile tower is emitting harmful radiation that is above the standards specified by India. Just CLICK HERE and you are good to go.

HSR skywalk inaugurated for the second time today!

January 12, 2021October 27, 2018 by RW News Network

Bangalore Literature Festival begins tomorrow; HSR residents are part of it

January 12, 2021October 26, 2018 by RW News Network

A literature festival no matter where it’s held in the city is a matter of pride for the residents and readers. When every TV soap, film or business strategy relies on writing, it’s but natural to showcase the power of writing to the world and encourage the habit of reading. It is with this objective that we are highlighting this event eventhough it’s being held in the centre of Bangalore.

Bangalore Literature Festival begins tomorrow; HSR residents are part of it 7

Held once a year, the 7th edition of Bangalore Literature Festival is two day event at Lalit Ashok hotel on Kumarakrupa Road near Bangalore Golf Course from October 27 to October 28. The HSR extension residents who are part of this festival include author Bhaskar Chattopadhyay (who stays in Suncity Apt in Iblur) who will hold the fort on crime and detection. And then, there’s bestselling romance author Preeti Shenoy, a resident of Bellandur, and romance author Nandita Bose from Harlur Road. Three members of the Litt Fest team are residents of this area including Subodh Shankar (Bellandur), Shrabonti Bagchi (Harlur Road), and Festival Director Shinie Anthony (Mantri Sarovar in Sector 1).

Bangalore Literature Festival begins tomorrow; HSR residents are part of it 8

“It’s a community funded festival by individual contributors from the citizens of Bangalore,” says Subodh Shankar who is also the co-founder of Atta Galatta, the exhibition space in Koramangala. “It belongs to the people of Bangalore. In its seventh year, we have close to 200 authors, around 150 sessions of programming in five stages parallelly. Two are dedicated exclusively for children. There are grand musical concerts to close the festivities for each day.”

Bangalore Literature Festival begins tomorrow; HSR residents are part of it 9

Some of the most recognised names on the literary circuit will be there including Vijay Seshadri, the first person to win a Pulitzer for poetry. And then, there are Aatish Taseer, Ashwin Sanghi, Appupen, Chitra Subramanian, Barkha Dutt, Kiran Manral, N Ponnappa, Nandan Nilekani, Naina Lal Kidwai, Saba Naqvi, Rhea Saran, Samit Basu, Sarika, Shashi Tharoor, Shoba Narayan, Shoma Chaudhury (Tehelka), Srinivasan Jain, Vinta Nanda, Tushita Patel, Vivek Shanbagh, Girish Karnad, VK Karthika, and Ramachandra Guha, among many more.

Bangalore Literature Festival begins tomorrow; HSR residents are part of it 10 — Festival Director Shinie Anthony is an HSR resident

From panels on #metoo to fake news to the upcoming general elections, there are several topics being discussed under one roof. Importantly, one stage is dedicated to children below 10 years and another for those above that age limit. The timings are between 10am and 7pm and it’s free for all.

Leave whatever else you are doing in the next two days and head over here. It only happens once in a year. CLICK HERE for the full schedule.

Resident uploads video about how his car was broken into on 19th Main!

January 12, 2021October 17, 2018 by RW News Network

Twitterati erupts over Bescom’s frequent power cuts in HSR!

January 12, 2021October 17, 2018 by RW News Network

HSR Layout residents are heaping ignominy over the Bangalore Electric Supply Company (BESCOM) for switching off power at will. Even when it does not rain, even during the winter, there are frequent power cuts, sometimes lasting for over six hours. And this has not gone down well with the residents.

Bescom officials contend that these could be for a range of reasons. From feeder relay issues to new power lines being laid for commercial entities to technical issues. Their justification is one of comparison. “Koramangala is worse, HSR is so much better,” said one official.

Twitterati erupts over Bescom's frequent power cuts in HSR! 15

However, the residents could not keep their complaints to themselves and have taken to Twitter to vent their angst. Four hours ago, TheRJ tweeted to Bescom that there was no power in CPWD Quarters on 27th Main in Sector 1. At the same time, Naresh Parasaram tweeted, “Medical emergency. Patient is on oxygen respirator. Requesting power immediately in 1st sector.”

Munsi Mustaque was more livid: “First, be a stable power supply organization and then talk about being the best. BESCOM really sucks in providing power supply in HSR layout. My remote village has much better power supply than in Bangalore by BESCOM. At least, be like BEST or TATA power supply in Mumbai.” In another tweet, he says, “Dear BESCOM, why are there so many frequent power cuts in Sector 4 area? Day or night, there are power cuts all the time. Why are you not able to provide stable power supply?In the last one month, we have seen power cuts every day. Why such a horrible service?”

Aditya Khandelwal has tweeted that there is no electricity in Garden Layout, Sector 2 for over two hours, and he has tweeted to the Chief Minister himself. The tweets continue. Will Bescom better its act or continue to come up with excuses remains to be seen.

Street vendors clog HSR footpaths. Some possible solutions

January 12, 2021October 17, 2018 by RW News Network

The residents of Sector 6 and Sector 7 are complaining that food carts and paan shops are popping up like mushrooms on 5th Main in Sector 6 and Sector 7. For lack of a proper food street, this is the problem that HSR is suffering for a long time.

Street vendors clog HSR footpaths. Some possible solutions 17

Street vendors clog HSR footpaths. Some possible solutions 18

Street vendors clog HSR footpaths. Some possible solutions 19

Street vendors clog HSR footpaths. Some possible solutions 20

To precisely resolve this issue, many places were suggested by the resident welfare associations. Finally, 18th Cross in Sector 3 was identified and licences issued. However, it is largely unregulated as newer, unlicenced vendors come on board and cause nuisance in the area, like disposing off waste into the stormwater drains, selling cigarettes and so on.

Brigadier RS Murthy (retd), the former president of Sector 2 Residents Welfare Association had suggested a long time ago that the long stretch of road behind the BESCOM office in Sector 2 could be made a food street, but the authorities did not do anything about it. We also feel that this road is perfect as the entire length of the road just has the Bescom compound on one side. Another option that residents give is the Singapore model of closing certain stretches of the street at night just for vendors. Some streets that could be considered would be 19th Main Service Road, 18th Cross, and 9th main (between Sobha Supermarket and 17th Cross junction).

Street vendors clog HSR footpaths. Some possible solutions 21 — This road behind Bescom building in Sector 2 is perfect for a food street

Street vendors clog HSR footpaths. Some possible solutions 22 — This road behind Bescom building in Sector 2 is perfect for a food street

The prevailing situation

“The vendors are becoming a nuisance for residents and the general public,” says Pradeep Krishnamurthy, Sector 6 resident. “On 5th Main, the taxis and autos park their vehicles, clogging the busy road. They throw the leftover food waste in the storm water drains, including banana leaves and paper cups. It’s a nuisance for people walking on the street, especially for women and children. The footpath is encroached by these carts and people are forced to walk on the road itself.”

The cart owners are not the issue, but contribute to the issue as they are responsible for the swelling crowd that overtakes a portion of the footpath and road. The situation on 5th Main is worse because of heavy vehicle traffic movement during peak hours. “It’s horrible to see women walking in the evening trying to dodge these places by criss crossing the road and avoid the crowd.”

Erecting barricades to prevent trucks is no remedy because constructions require trucks to enter at night. Any out of the box solution to this? “We can identify certain roads where we can close the road for traffic in the evening and convert it in to food street everyday, say after 6pm. I had seen this in Singapore. During the day it’s a busy road and after 7pm the road is closed for traffic and used for food carts. We will have to choose a road that doesn’t have any houses. The only one I can think off is 9th main, between Sobha supermarket and 17th Cross junction. The good part about the one in Singapore is that the vendors would take out all the trash and their carts after they close. It felt as though nothing happened the evening before. Here, our vendors will start parking their carts on the footpaths. This will be very chaotic very soon.”

Another option is to use the space beside White Houzz next to BDA Complex. What do you think, dear readers. Your out of the box solutions are also welcome. We will compile all the solutions you suggest and send it to the relevant for possible action. It might take a while to resolve this long-pending issue, but we will stay the course until it’s done and keep doing follow-up stories. We will also urge the Federation of HSR Residents Welfare Association to drive this initiative.

Resident uploads video about how his car was broken into on 19th Main!

January 12, 2021October 17, 2018 by RW News Network

Renjith M Das had parked his car on 19th Main in front of Rashtrakutas restaurant in Sector 4. He had left a fitness bag (with nothing inside), but three thieves thought there was a laptop inside it, and plan this robbery in five minutes during daytime while people are moving around. The video is now with the HSR police, but no news on their whereabouts yet.

Though the incident happened more than a year ago, and the video had gone viral then, Renjith shared this video today again to warn people about not keeping expensive things inside cars. With HSR having a considerable floating population, these video reminders are the need of the hour. Just CLICK HERE to watch the video that has already recorded over 45,380 views so far and counting.

Resident uploads video about how his car was broken into on 19th Main! 24

Resident uploads video about how his car was broken into on 19th Main! 25

Stray dogs attack MP Kupendra Reddy; 7 dogs impounded

January 12, 2021October 12, 2018 by RW News Network

Member of Parliament Kupendra Reddy was allegedly attacked by stray dogs in Sector 1, prompting the BBMP to impound seven dogs in the Koramangala animal shelter. Fearing that the dogs could be relocated or killed, animal activists rushed to the shelter and have filed a case against the BBMP in the Koramangala police station, and are demanding their release.

Stray dogs attack MP Kupendra Reddy; 7 dogs impounded 26 — Representation purpose only

The incident happened yesterday morning (October 11) when the senior politician was on his morning walk. The four stray dogs that Sundara Rama Reddy (84 years) keeps in his house ran out when the gate was left ajar by the servant. One of them allegedly attacked Kupendra Reddy, prompting him to immediately lodge a complaint with the BBMP who rushed to the place and impounded seven dogs. “They are all sterilised dogs,” said Ravikumar of the Animal Husbandry Department, BBMP (Bommanahalli). “We will keep them under observation at the Koramangala dog pound and see if anyone has rabies. If someone has that disease, the dog dies on his own.”

The BBMP officials say that they are following the Supreme Court ruling and will release the dogs back to where they picked them up from. But the residents don’t want them back because of this attack incident. The animal activists fear that the dogs could be killed or relocated because of political pressure, and are demanding their release. However, the BBMP is quite categorical. They will keep the dogs under observation and let the rabies-infected dog die on his own, while the rest will be left back on 14th main, 21st Cross, Sector 1.

The problem is more compounded as an FIR has been lodged by the BBMP against the stray dog caretaker. “He’s feeding 20-30 street dogs who form packs and attack people, according to the residents,” said one official. “The residents are scared and want them to be relocated but we can’t help it as we are bound by the Supreme Court order.”

Night walkers, beware! Pollution is high at the time!

January 12, 2021October 9, 2018 by RW News Network

In the last 24 hours, the PM2.5 levels have been below the safety level of 60. However, these minute suspended particulate matter that can deep into your lungs without your knowledge were highest at 11pm last night at 53. That’s pretty close to the safety mark.

The moral of the story? Don’t step out at night for walks. The mornings are best as you can see from this chart of the last 24 hours in Bangalore’s pollution levels.

The pollution levels get murkier when we found the measurements at the Silk Board junction, the closest monitor from HSR Layout. In the last 24 hours, the average PM2.5 level is much higher than Bangalore’s at 39.63, which is almost double of the city’s pollution level. Adding to this is that the PM10 levels (not so much of a pollutant as PM2.5) is 80.57, which is close to the 100 safety mark.

Night walkers, beware! Pollution is high at the time! 27 — Silk Board pollution levels in the last 24 hours.

Night walkers, beware! Pollution is high at the time! 28 — Bangalore pollution levels in the last 24 hours

Residents start conversational Kannada classes for non-Kannadigas!

January 12, 2021October 9, 2018 by RW News Network

The residents of Teachers Colony have decided to impart conversational Kannada classes for non-Kannadigas at a nominal rate of Rs 100 while senior citizens don’t have to pay anything.

Though this is meant for residents staying in and around Teacher’s Colony, they have been kind enough to extend this facility to all the residents of HSR Layout and HSR Layout extension.

Residents start conversational Kannada classes for non-Kannadigas! 29

The classes will be conducted every Sunday, beginning October 14, 2018. They will be held over two months. The Kannada sessions will be held at Carmel Garden Public School from 11am to 1230pm. “The necessary books will be provided by us,” says Divya Yogeesh. “A teacher from BTM Layout will be the regular faculty in addition to the Kannada-speaking residents who volunteer from time to time.”

In addition to weekly contact classes, the education will happen through a WhatsApp group specifically set up only for students. “Every day, we will teach them how to draft one sentence,” says Divya. “In addition, all the doubts will be clarified by the tutors in the WhatsApp group.”

The interested candidates can register their names by paying Rs 100 as the registration fee with either Geetha (90087-97000) or Divya (94803-50295). And those who want to volunteer as a Kannada teacher are also welcome to be part of this noble initiative.

Residents collect 70kg garbage while ‘plogging’ in Agara Lake this morning!

January 12, 2021October 8, 2018 by RW News Network

Residents collect 70kg garbage while 'plogging' in Agara Lake this morning! 30

Residents collect 70kg garbage while 'plogging' in Agara Lake this morning! 31

Every Monday, since June 2018, a group of residents accompanied by the staff of Agara Lake and morning walkers/joggers, pick up trash at the premises of the water body.

Call it ‘plogging’ or a cleanliness drive, but this is something they began three months ago and doing it continuously and with a fervour seen only among civic activists. Plogging is a fitness trend that is all about people walking and running even while picking up plastic strewn along the roads, footpaths and park/lake premises.

Why Monday? Because the trash is maximum after the 12000-14000 people that visit the lake on weekends (6-8000/day). This morning, the amount of garbage collected by five residents, three staff workers and two citizens filled up four large bags weighing about 60-70 kilos.

“Even after the bins are made available, people still litter all over the place,” says resident Kavitha Reddy of the Agara Lake Protection & Management Society. “Plastic bottles, ice-cream cups, plastic spoons, cone Ice-cream papers, paper cups from corn, chocolate, toffees, guthka wrappers, bhel puri paper, plastic covers…”

HSR resident gets cheated of Rs 27,738 when he revealed his OTP

January 12, 2021October 7, 2018 by RW News Network