The other day when it was their area police inspector Rajesh’s wedding anniversary, the residents of Teacher’s Colony planted a sapling in his house. It does not just end there.
The group of over 175 members have bought 60 more saplings and are offering their services to plant a sapling on your auspicious day.
“Please give us your birthdate or anniversary, suggest a place in Teacher’s Colony, and we will plant the sapling,” says Mohan Govindiah, secretary, Namma Teacher’s Colony Residents Welfare Association. He can be reached at 77608-52892.
Right to left: Police inspector Rajesh with his wife and son
70 Mahagani saplings ready to be planted in your house or surroundings
An active bunch of residents headed by Sunder in HSR Layout Sector 2 have prevented two garbage dumping incidents on the banks of Somasundrapalya Lake.
The slippers and other garbage was dumped on the footpath in day time
The kitchen waste by an eatery was prevented from being dumped near the lake at night
When residents saw a small van pull up near the stretch close to the lake and dump slippers in the open land next to Isha Lakefront apartment, they immediately rushed to the vehicle drivers and forced them to take it all back.
Similarly, some people from an roadside eatery came to throw the kitchen waste in the open land, and were prevented in just the same manner.
Another way of catching the culprits is to install CCTV cameras along the stretch and even if the culprits are not caught in the act, they can be convicted later by the BBMP and the cops for causing nuisance. It’s humanly impossible to stay on guard all the time. If the cameras are able to catch the offender’s name and vehicle numbers, much more can be done in a streamlined manner.
Fed up with apathy from politicians, bureaucrats and other government officials, a group of residents have begun fixing the potholes on the Kasavanahalli Main Road. And while doing so, they have also tweeted to Prime Minister N Modi, BJP National President Amit Shah, BBMP Mayor, and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwar who is also the Bangalore Development Minister. There have been over 88 retweets of this and general outrage by the residents.
Tweeted Sudarshan: “Self Help is the only option. BBMP and BWSSB don’t act unless directed by Court or its a Natural Calamity.” Added Abhijeet Kumar Sinha: “The authorities (BBMP Mayor, BBMP Commissioner, Deputy CM, Mahadevapura MLA Arvind Limbavali, CM) have mastered the art of ‘Apathy’. The budget allocated for road repairs goes into the pockets of individuals. Bangalore is proud to have roads like that of the poorest countries of Africa.”
Ankita Goyal echoed their sentiments and said this categorically: When thick skinned authorities refuse to work, citizens have to do it themselves.”
One of the residents behind this self-help gesture Gopinath K said: “With our multiple follow-ups, they just dumped the concrete and stone powder, not sure how many more follow ups are required to lay the proper roads.”
The residents have had enough and are continuing to highlight the plight of their civic infrastructure. They have chalked up ‘Bellandur Ulisi’, a series of ‘Save Bellandur’ events from October 21 leading up to the grand climax on October 27. They are conducting a painting competition for kids to come up with solutions to their problems on October 21 from 10am to 1pm. On the same day, from 3pm onwards, they plan a bike rally around their neighbourhood. And on october 27, they plan to form a human chain along this map to highlight the many issues they are facing today.
In a terse message to the authorities, their first in the series is a painting contest for kids under 15 years with the theme of ‘Mobility, pedestrian safety and cleanliness’. By saying, ‘Who will save Bellandur? Spiderman, Superman or BBMPman?’ their flier is asking the kids to use their imagination (and the imagination of their parents) and paint between 10am to 1pm.
On October 21 itself, between 3pm and 6pm, they also play to hold a bike rally along three routes as follows:
ROUTE 1: DODDAKANNELI-KADUBEESANAHALLI-CARMELARAM
ROUTE 2: HOSUR-KASAVANAHALLI-SARJAPUR ROAD-HA
RALUR ROAD
ROUTE 3: IBLUR-BELLANDUR-KARIAMMAAGRAHARA-
YEMLUR
October 27 – FINAL DAY
From 10am, they intend to form a human chain along this map. later, they plan to hold a press conference and give a media briefing. “We want to get actions on demands before we move out by the end of the day,” says their press statement.
RESIDENTS CAN PITCH IN WITH MONETARY HELP!
To manage the expenses for Oct 27, the residents are seeking generous voluntary contributions. “We estimate about minimum Rs 200 per contribution would help the cause,” they say.
You can transfer the money to:
ACCOUNT NAME: KASAVANAHALLI DEVELOPMENT FORUM
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 1713014889
IFSC CODE: KKBK0008107
Bank: Kotak Mahindra Bank
Branch: SARJAPURA MAIN ROAD BRANCH
After the money transfer, they are requesting you to send your name, transaction reference number and amount transferred details to kasavanahallidevforum@gmail.com or whatsapp to 9886022760.
BAD TO WORSE STATE OF AFFAIRS
Not only are some residents taking pictures, they are questioning everybody for the civic chaos. Tweets Gopinath K: “#bwssb #bbmb #BDA horrible roads, worst than remote villages, how many days will you show us this torture? Please don’t harass tax payers with these horrible roads. Please pave roads where commuters can commute.”
Even worse indictment is from the @savebellandur handle: “Every small shower, it gets worse in #Bellandur. @bjparvind, ur vision of International Stadium is ready. Residents swim, long jump & dirtbike to move around.”
Such is the apathy by the authorities that the residents have started a Telegram broadcast channel to relay all the news in their neighbourhood in addition to tweeting about their problems to the authorities and the media. In one such tweet from @savebellandur, they say: “Hon reps @bjparvind @PCMohanMP pls do anything! Haralur, Kasavanahalli, Kadubeesanahalli, Doddakanneli, Yemlur & #110Villages in same state. Why should we suffer 4 #BBMP’s #Incompetence? Let them deposit tax money to #Bellandur escrow accoubtm we will self manage.”
Thirumalesha Krishnappa, the principal of SVR PU College in Samasandrapalya, Sector 2, HSR Layout, is capturing the faces of eve teasers outside his school and regularly tweeting to the city police, Deputy CM and CM. Here is one such instance captured on October 9 at 4pm.
“Eve teasing is a great threat to the student community in Somasundrapalya and HSR Layout schools and colleges,” he tweets. “We request Hoysala to do rounds around 4 pm near all the schools in these areas.”
Speaking to Residents Watch, Krishnappa said, “The cops promised that they would patrol the area. In any case, whenever I see any suspicious activity, I take photos with the vehicle number and upload them on Twitter. These are traders in the area who are indulging in eve teasing. It happens once or twice a week.”
After the recent Annual General Body meeting, a new set of people have taken charge of the 4th Sector Residents Welfare Association. We wish the team the very best luck in their endeavours.
Left to right: Amarnath Shetty (Jt. Sec), Anil (Sec), Jaya Kumar KM (VP), Syed Shabbir (President), Suresh Bhaskaran, Sneha Rai, Bharati Sunder, Asha (Treasurer), Kamlesh Mahajan, Manzoor Ameen, Ravindranath, and KN Murli
Core Committee members
President: Shabbir Syed
Vice President: Jaya Kumar KM
Secretary: Anil
Jt. Secretary: Amarnath Shetty
Treasurer: Asha
Committee Members
Sanjeev Bhandary
Suresh Bhaskaran
KN Murli
Ravindranath
Manzoor Ameen
Sneha Rai
Bharathi Sandur
Kamlesh Mahajan
Chandrashekar
Vijayalaxmi Anand
Want to become a member?
If you stay in Sector 4 but not a member of the association, you can contact Joint Secretary Amarnath Shetty (98440-72857) or Secretary Anil (98453-55273) or treasurer Asha (98440-98422).
Yesterday, BBMP raided seven houses in Sector 3 and Sector 1 and fined them Rs 500 each. Usually, this kind of system works and people are made aware of the violations. The law says that you should segregate garbage into wet, dry and sanitary waste. But the violators mix up everything. To make matters worse, they use plastic bags instead of keeping buckets specifically to store garbage.
The wet waste is sent to the Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) in the neighbouring Kudlu area for composting and generating manure out of it. Unlike complaints from other wards that the segregated garbage gets mixed up in the van, it’s not the case in HSR Layout. Only the segregated wet waste goes to the KCDC.
Regular raids like these will keep the residents on their toes. The problem is complicated in HSR Layout, because of the floating population. The people who haven’t segregated in other wards come to HSR and don’t segregate. The landlords fail to educate them, perhaps because they themselves don’t segregate as they may not be staying here.
Therefore, it is up to the citizen volunteers and the BBMP to educate them, and one form of education that works is to regularly fine the violators. Here is BBMP health inspector Vinodh GM doing his job on the morning of Tuesday, October 9.
MLA Satish Reddy who governs the Bommanahalli constituency, which includes HSR Layout, has hit the news headlines today for his undignified act during the Mayoral elections in the BBMP Council.
In the video, the MLAs and corporators are seen pushing and shoving each other despite being told by the speaker of the BBMP Council to stay put in their seat. Reminds us of the chair-throwing scene in the parliament many moons ago, Thankfully, it didn’t get to that level here.
In the video, we can also see HSR Layout resident and MLC VS Ugrappa answering to a letter submitted by BBMP council’s leader of opposition Padmanabha Reddy. The opposition leader objected to the votes of four Congress members, for which Ugrappa stood up to say that he is in the voter list, and has voted in the last three mayoral elections.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
Cycle day was celebrated with great gusto this morning and ended at 930am. Today was it’s 4th anniversary. It now enters the fifth year of its functioning in HSR Layout. For more details about it’s long history, please read yesterday’s story.
It was a mix of cycling, music, yoga, tug of war and many other games today where the children and the adults enjoyed just as much. The organisers thank BikeStudio HSR for supporting the event in addition to DULT (Directorate of Urban Land Transport), Bangalore Traffic Police, and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike for their continued support.
Not to mention the NGO Esaf Society for helping them conduct surveys and the NH Narayana Hospital people for providing ambulance support. Mark and Crooners deserve a special mention for the musical performances and Neelam Pandya for conducting the yoga sessions.
