1. BBMP Will Develop 202 Km Footpath to Improve Last-Mile Connectivity
To make the city’s roads pedestrian-friendly and ease traffic, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is now taking up the construction of the ‘Light TenderSURE’ footpath along various stretches in the city that have been identified by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT).
‘Light’ TenderSURE is a simpler version of regular TenderSURE footpath. Here, footpaths will be uniformly widened and drains remodelled, but there will be no provisioning for underground cables (as in the case of regular TenderSURE work). This should essentially mean that works can be wrapped up faster.
DULT has identified 100 stretches (altogether 202 km) for the BBMP to take up this work, and the total cost is expected to be Rs 750 crore.
(Source: Bangalore Mirror)
2. NGOs Blame Lax Officials for Child Marriages
Members from various NGOs blamed the “laid-back” attitude of officials from the Department of Women and Child Development in holding regular review meetings, for child marriages in the state.
At the state-level consultation on ending child marriages in the state on 25 September, some members questioned deputy director of the Child Marriage Prevention Cell that officials are not holding regular meetings and sometimes the minutes of the meeting are also fabricated.
However, Rohini Hiremath, Deputy Director, said that there are reports of meetings not being held or very few meetings held, but minutes of the meetings cannot be created and no such false reports have been filed.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
3. Charged Rs 21 Extra for Water, Man Gets Rs 12,000 Relief
Alleging that he was cheated of Rs 21 after he purchased a Kinley mineral water bottle from a city mall, a Cottonpet resident dragged the outlet owner to consumer court for unfair trade practice and won a compensation of Rs 12,000, including a nominal litigation fee.
The case unfolded at the third additional Bangalore Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, following a complaint by Raghavendra KP against the vendor, GS Enterprises in Royal Meenakshi Mall on Bannerghatta Road, and manufacturer Coca-Cola. The complainant alleged that the storekeeper had on December 5, 2015, sold him a 1 litre water bottle for Rs 40, instead of its MRP of Rs 19.
(Source: Times of India)
4. Staff Shortage Puts Spanner in Lake Authority's Works
For the fourth time in a year, the government has not responded to the request of Karnataka Lake Conservation and Development Authority (KLCDA) to provide adequate and qualified staff.
A fresh request to increase staff strength comes in the wake of the ongoing hearing of the case pertaining to the development of the Bellandur lake before the NGT.
“We have requested the government many times, but there has been no reply. We do not have a single officer in revenue and enforcement wing. We need to enhance our strength before the NGT asks us to execute works. I will be forced to reply that we will not be able to do so, because of staff constraints,” Seema Garg, CEO, KLCDA, told DH.
(Source: Deccan Herald)
5. Row Over Location of Cantonment Metro Station Set to Intensify
The fight between Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL) and citizens over the location of Namma Metro’s Cantonment station is set to intensify in the coming days. This is because citizens are unhappy with the BMRCL’s clarification on the reasons for moving the station location away from the railway station to under a playground at Bamboo Bazaar.
On 24 September, PC Mohan, MP, wrote a strongly worded letter to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in support of the protesting citizens who have brushed away the BMRCL’s reasons for relocating the station as lies.
In a point-by-point rebuttal to all the reasons cited by the BMRCL in a press conference on Thursday, Mr. Mohan has urged the State government to reconsider its decision. He pointed out that the approvals given to the BMRCL were based on the earlier design where the metro station was integrated with the railway station.
(Source: The Hindu)
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