Bangalore Mélange

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

BDA hands over ring road project to NHAI

Times of India

One by one, the Karnataka government seems to be washing its hands of mega infrastructure projects planned for the city. First, it was a decision to hand over the proposed expressway project to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Now, the ambitious 116-km Peripheral Ring Road (PRR) planned by BDA is all set to be taken over by NHAI.

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Modern city banks on a good network

Times of India

Shubhendu Ghosh suggests a web portal through which local civic agencies and telecom service providers can coordinate their work. Bangalore has grown into a city which has not only developed a talented pool of IT human resources, but also provides state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure.

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Metro work: residents, traders stage protest

The Hindu

Businessmen and residents of CMH Road on Tuesday protested against the proposed move of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) to start work on the project on the road. All the shops and other commercial establishments remained closed till evening.

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Leaving their indelible imprint on Bangalore

The Hindu

Every community that arrives in a city arranges and rearranges it to make it its home, leaving its indelible imprints and investing the city with the richness of history, to be heard, seen and spoken. For Bangalore, the city that most people would not call particularly historical, the most visible and spoken aspect of its heritage lies in architecture that the British, and by extension, the Christian community brought along.

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An architect with a ‘green’ mission

The Hindu

He declares that given a chance, he would like to retrofit the “gigantic” Vidhana Soudha to make it “green” and cut energy costs.

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Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Good Life Traffic Solutions

Praja Bangalore

Good Life Traffic Solutions(GLTS) is a voluntary non profit organization that works with traffic police and other authorities to improve traffic conditions in Bangalore. On Sunday, residents of Marathahalli and Whitefield will see youths dressed in blue jeans and white T-shirts correcting the medians, removing stones and garbage and appreciating the efforts of the traffic cops and Home Guards.

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Impact And Alternatives of Road Widening In Bangalore

Praja Bangalore

ROAD WIDENING SCHEMES OF BENGALURU: IMPACTS AND ALTERNATIVES
Date: Thursday, 20th December 2007
Venue: Senate Hall, Central College, Bengaluru
Programme
Display of Road Widening Scheme Drawings: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Discussion on the Scheme: 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM

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Flashy ads to jazz up city skyline

Times of India

New Year will see Silicon City sport a new look with glitzy hoardings dotting the cityscape.
The move to augment revenue will also spare a thought to aesthetics. Seven locations have been finalised for installing ‘electronic display system’ (EDS) with light emitting diode (LED), which will also boost advertisement tax — one of BBMP’s big revenue sources.

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Christmas Concert at Palace Grounds

The Hindu

Live Jam is organising Gloria Deo, a “non-stop” three-and-a-half hour international Christmas concert at Palace Grounds on Thursday.

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State committed to implement reforms

The Hindu

An order was passed on September 26 for four reforms under JNNURM scheme

State must reduce stamp duty from the current 7 per cent to 5 per cent by 2011-12

Urban planning to be taken up by local elected bodies

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South on road to $20 bn industrial corridor

Economic Times

There may be a second industrial corridor in the making. Inspired by the proposed Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, the Tamil Nadu government has asked the commerce & industry ministry to consider a Bangalore-Chennai corridor. Government officials believe the corridor would entail an investment of around $20 billion.

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Bangalore, IT Capital Fit for Saving Not Razing: Andy Mukherjee

Bloomberg

C.N.R. Rao, one of India's most respected scientists, wants Bangalore razed by fire. In a recent issue of Outlook magazine, Rao laments that in becoming India's Silicon Valley, Bangalore has been turned into an ``awful city'' by the software industry, whose success has caused everything from pollution to a demise of scholarly and cultural life.

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Do You Recognise Envy-Crime?

Outlook

Why do security people advice techies not to let their company ID cards dangle down their necks in public? What the blazes is this envy-crime? In the process of writing the cover story on Why Bangalore hates the IT culture last week, I went looking for a variety of statistics.

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Karnataka pulled up for harassing Wadiyar

Khaleej Times

The Supreme Court has pulled up the Government of Karnataka for ‘harassing’ the scion of erstwhile princely family of Mysore Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar by refusing him permission to rent out a portion of Bangalore palace for commercial use.

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BMIC expressway short of land

Deccan Herald

Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise Limited spokesman said the work was complete "except at a few patches where land was not made available and approval for construction of bridges was required"...

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Saturday, December 15, 2007

Bangalore Bhath : On the biriyani trail

Live Mint

Given Bangalore’s eclectic palate, it is only natural that one finds a richer smorgasbord here than in, quite possibly, any other Indian city. But if there is one kind of biryani that is the Bangalore original, it is the one served at Richies, located midway on MM Road, and hard to miss because of the crowds that throng its takeaway counter.

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Upcoming roads to increase connectivity

Times of India

In Bangalore, developments are slowly taking place far from the city centre - knowledge industry, international airport, proposed IT corridors, integrated townships etc. Quite understandably, one issue that has dogged developments and has proved an impediment is connectivity to these places.

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Bangalore real estate mkt bubble bursts

CNBC-TV18

The bubble in Bangalore's real estate market has begun to burst. Prices of homes have dropped by nearly 20% in six months, reports CNBC-TV18’s Faye D'Souza. Buying a home in Bangalore just got a lot easier on your bank account.

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Friday, December 14, 2007

Entrepreneurial push

The Economist

Is Bangalore another Silicon Valley in the making? HYPE knows no borders. So it was probably inevitable that Bangalore would be branded another Silicon Valley, soon to be populated by armies of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Reality is more sobering, but something is afoot.

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Students now grade professors at Bangalore Univ

CNN IBN

In a bid to improve the quality of education, Bangalore University has decided to grade not just the students but the teachers as well.

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Farmers oppose land acquisition at Bidadi

The Hindu

A Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court comprising Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph and Justice Ashok B. Hinchigeri admitted a public interest litigation (PIL) petition by Sri Ranganatha Raitha Hitarakshana Samiti against the proposed move by the State Government to acquire agricultural lands in and around Bidadi in Ramanagara district for the Knowledge City.

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US downturn could help Indian outsourcers: Wipro CEO

AFP

A US economic downturn could give a boost to India's flagship outsourcing industry even though it is being hit by a rupee trading at near decade highs, says the head of leading Indian computer services provider Wipro.

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Gravity's pull

The Economist

Is India's computer-services industry heading for a fall? First come the familiar problems. One is India's clogged and insufficient infrastructure: workers in Bangalore can spend four hours a day in traffic. Then there are the tax breaks that subsidise the industry, some of which expire in 2009. There is also a growing talent shortage.

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Resounding start to DH Music Fest

Deccan Herald

The Deccan Herald Music Festival made a resounding start on Wednesday with as many as eight acts performing eclectic music at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall.

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Foreign athletes for B'lore Marathon

Deccan Herald

More than 20,000 runners, including 26 foreign athletes, are expected to participate in the 25,000 US Dollar BSNL-Bangalore International Marathon to be held here on December 16, Karnataka Athletics Association President G Parameshwara said on Thursday.

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Sound of Xmas

Deccan Herald

The Bangalore School of Music is celebrating the spirit of Christmas and the joy of sharing one’s talent at Dece-Bells on Decemeber 14 at Ambedkar Bhavan at 6.45 pm. Over a hundred artistes of all ages, children and young musicians will come together to raise their voices and bows under the baton of well known conductors.

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Pilfering proves profitable for malls

Deccan Herald

The recently concluded Deepavali shopping spree by Bangaloreans no doubt helped the shopping malls and multi-brand stores in the city make huge profits, in the form of sales, but it also saw them making a few extra bucks due to pilferage by their customers.

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Mulling over the malls

Deccan Herald

Whether we are ready or not, the mall culture has already occupied a place in our cities.

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A City without trees?

Deccan Herald

Is Bangalore headed towards a treeless landscape ? In a city which was once known for its tall fern trees, people are increasingly installing artificial Christmas trees during the yuletide season. But what is depressing is the news that the City is likely to lose most of its trees in the road-widening exercise.

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Plan to buy a house? Head for Bangalore

Rediff

It seems the Bangalore real estate bubble has burst.

The city, which saw some unrealistic rise in property prices in the past few years, has witnessed a sharp drop this year. A survey conducted by a real estate firm corroborates this.

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Blog editor's note: The editor has noted a slew of articles appearing in mass media outlets prodding people to buy property in Bangalore as prices have fallen from its peak. Someone is panicking some where. The editor feels that the property prices are still going to go further south.

Festival to showcase best of world cinema from Jan. 3

Times of India

Over 100 films from India and abroad will be screened at the week-long 2nd Bengalooru International Film Festival, organized by the Suchitra Cinema and Cultural Academy in association with the state government, from January 3.

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Stakeholders must have a sense of ownership

Times of India

Real estate developer Irfan Razack (Prestige Group) says we must act now to prevent a nightmare.

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DH Music Festival to kick off from today

Deccan Herald

As many as 29 acts will perform at the Festival representing different genres of western music.

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Strand Book Festival

The Hindu

The Strand Book Festival will be on from December 14 to 30 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium The exhibition will be open between 10 a.m., and 8.30 p.m.

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Realty sector goes through the correction phase

New Indian Express

Ban on registration of revenue plots, spiralling property prices and an ever-increasing guidance value have drastically cut down the number of property transactions in Bangalore.

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BBMP alters GIS mapping plan

Deccan Herald

Inclusion of new areas to form the BBMP has hit the ongoing GIS mapping of erstwhile BMP areas.

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Guv sets sight on investment, infrastructure

Times of India

It appears that governor Rameshwar Thakur will not rest till Bangalore’s infrastructure problems are solved.
He made his priorities clear at a seminar on administrative reforms for accelerated growth organized by the FKCCI here on Monday. “Our focus will be to improve infrastructure and attract investment. We’ll put in place plans to manage, improve and modernize infrastructure in the state,’’ he added.

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PVR cinemas and Forum announce national tie-up

New Indian Express

Forum, the leading brand in shopping malls, on Monday announced a national tie-up with PVR cinemas, to work together across the country.

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With footpaths shrinking, pedestrians face threat to lives

The Hindu

Pedestrians have no safe haven anymore in the city; with roads widening and footpaths and sidewalks ever shrinking in width, their safety is being challenged day in and day out. As if that was not enough the incidents of motorcyclists using footpaths to tide over the traffic snarls are increasing the risk levels that the pedestrians face.

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Good time to buy a house in Bangalore

Times of India

If you are planning to buy a house, perhaps now is the time to do so. After three years of unprecedented growth between 2003 and 2006, property prices across much of Bangalore are now falling. And falling sharply in many areas.

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Karnataka polls to be held in April

Rediff

It is almost official. Karnataka will go to poll in April and not in February as was being sought by several political parties. The Election Commission has ruled out the possibility of holding elections in February in which 4.4 crore people from the state are expected to caste their vote.

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BANGALORE PALACE: SC TO HEAR CASE TODAY

Star of Mysore

The Supreme Court will today hear the long pending case of the Bangalore Palace.

The scion of the Mysore royal family, Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, has submitted before the Supreme Court that the sole purpose of some of the political parties which were ruling Karnataka till recently, was to humiliate him and his relatives.

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B'lore disciplines lovers, denies them leafy cover

CNN-IBN

Bangalore's oldest botanical garden, Lalbagh, is getting a trimming. The old bushes and trees are being pruned to ensure that young couples can't steal a kiss behind them, all thanks to complaints from regular joggers.

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Monday, December 10, 2007

Yennjoy like Yennything

Deccan Herald

Because Bangalore believed in the SAM mantra:. Swalpa Adjust Madi. For a problem free ,hassle free existence. You gave a little, took a little, the other party did the same and all lived happily together adjusting away every time life threw a googly

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Cyber city turns culture capital

Deccan Herlad

Begun on modest scale, Bengalooru Habba, every cold and chilly December's ten days, has turned the City into boisterous hubbub of cultural activity with sumptuous smorgasbord of enlivening and edutaining ensemble events...

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Town still breathes fresh air

Deccan Herald

It is far from the madding crowd. Wide roads, vast parks, lakes make a living in Yelahanka New Town a pleasant experience. It is still referred to as a paradise of the retired people.

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Reliance Retail Limited Launches 'RelianceTimeOut' in Bangalore

India PR Wire

Reliance Retail Limited (RRL) announced the launch of a new specialty store "Reliance TimeOut" on Cunningham Road in Bangalore today. This store houses Books, Music, Stationery, Toys and Gifts. In Books, Reliance TimeOut has over 30,000 titles, sourced from National & International publishers.

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India: Bengalooru Bangalored!

Kamala Bhatt, Global Voices

On a personl note and as a resident of Bangalore I was not a happy camper after I read the article. Like many others I kept thinking what about the role of the Government in Karnataka and Bengalooru?

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India's hot property market is likely to cool soon: Kamath

Economic Times

India's heated property market is likely to cool in 2008, top banker KV. Kamath has said on Tuesday in a forecast that could give pause to domestic and foreign investors, who have poured billions of dollars (euros) into the country's real estate.

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Raiders Lost The Arc

Outlook

Old Bangaloreans rage against the new IT bratpack, blaming them for all that's gone wrong with the city.

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Weather, cricket and Krishna's comeback plans hogs limelight

IANS

India's IT hub is in the grip of a cold wave, cricket frenzy and talk of return to active politics of Maharashtra Governor S.M. Krishna to help the Congress take on fellow Vokkaliga caste strongman and arch political rival H.D. Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S).

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5 p.c. of middle-class have rainwater harvesting units

The Hindu

About 80 per cent of middle-class people in Bangalore do not know that the sources of piped water to the city are the Cauvery and the Arkavathy. The percentage goes up to 88 among low income groups.

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Double treat for music lovers

The Hindu

It was a fitting finale for the Airtel Bengalooru Habba where Carnatic music was in a perfect blend with Hindustani. The saxophone-flute jugalbandi by the maestros in the respective discipline — Kadri Gopalnath and Ronu Majumdar — mesmerised the audience at Palace Grounds on Sunday evening.

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Soon, you can eat in style at railway station

The Hindu

Eating out at a railway station may not be as bad an experience as it is now. If the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has its way, people may start preferring the food joints at railway stations. Food plazas, on the lines of the one operating in Bangalore City Railway Station, are planned at Cantonment, Yeshwanthpur and Kengeri.

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Saturday, December 8, 2007

Jazzy DH fest

Deccan Herald

Jazz guitarist and composer Amit Heri is a home grown jazz artiste, who has made a name for himself and earned critical acclaim at jazz festivals across the world, will perform on December 15 at the Deccan Herald Music Festival at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.

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Life on the slow lane

Deccan Herald

The big-buck boom of the Hosur Road IT cluster has not quite translated into better living in the Bommanahalli neighbourhood.

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Whose city is it anyway?

Live Mint

Last week I attended a Mint debate on “Cities as Vehicles of Innovation and Creativity” in Bangalore. Accenture’s Harsh Manglik said he feels the same energy and creativity in Bangalore as in Silicon Valley.

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PM to open new Intl airport

Business Standard

The new Bangalore International Airport, coming up near Devanahalli, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on March 28.

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Friday, December 7, 2007

Som Mittal | Recipes for life

Live Mint

Friends call Som and Vidhu Mittal ‘Bangalore’s ultimate foodie couple’. For the soon-to-be president of Nasscom, the art of ‘how to eat everything and make friends with everybody’ extends to all aspects of life.

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BBMP going all out to woo advertisers

Deccan Herald

A garbage collection model on the lines of that followed in Delhi will be introduced in the City shortly by creating garbage collection points. Apart from the utility purpose they can be used for advertising too...

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Metro work on CMH Road stalled

Deccan Herald

Residents and merchants of CMH Road, on Thursday, staged a protest and made workers, who started Metro work after performing Bhoomi pooja, to leave the place.

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Price of progress

Deccan Herald

Super-plush shopping malls and high-end fitness stations dot the road. Meters away, pigs feast on leaking drains. Elegant homes stand tall next to vacant sites, where garbage piles up and migrant laborers relieve themselves. HSR (Hosur Sarjapur Road) Layout, developed by the Bangalore Development Authority in 1988, is a classic case of the extremes.

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It is left to the bands to rouse the audience to excitement

The Hindu

On a wintry Thursday evening when all roads leading to the venue were traffic-struck, Palace Grounds seemed to be one of the least preferred places in the city, unfortunately for the three bands that tried to rouse the sparse audience to some excitement.

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Glorious Christmas on the cards

The Hindu

In the run-up to Christmas, Glorious (a gospel youth music team of 85 members) presents “…and the Gift goes on,” a concert which weaves the story of creation, man’s fall and the coming of the Promised One, at the Ambedkar Bhavan, Miller’s Road, Bangalore for two days from Saturday at 6.30 p.m.

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Thursday, December 6, 2007

Dell reportedly shutting R&D in India

Market Watch

Dell Inc.'s research and development division in India is closing its core hardware design operations, the Times of India reported, quoting unnamed employees. The staff of the hardware division in Bangalore were told that the work being done in India will move to Dell's facilities in Austin, Texas and Taiwan as the company is facing rising costs in the city, the report said.

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Navayuga Engg bags Rs 710cr NHAI project

Business Standard

The contract envisages designing, construction, financing and maintenance of an access-controlled highway project between the Bangalore and Nelamangala section on NH-4 on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis in Karnataka.

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Rock Heady

New Indian Express

EXCITED youngsters, perfect sound systems and three rock bands filling up the evening! This was a glimpse of the rock show organised at the Palace Grounds, as a part of citywide Airtel Bengalooru Habba.

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Poll-mode Cong seeks new State chief

New Indian Express

Sources indicated that two names are being considered to lead the Congress in the crucial elections - Maharashtra Governor S M Krishna and Member of Parliament and actor Ambarish.

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Mother of all music festivals (Deccan Herald Music Festival)

Deccan Herald

The musical strains of choral, jazz, R&B, acappella among other musical styles will reverberate the Chowdiah Memorial Hall at the Deccan Herald Musical Festival, the biggest show in the annual musical calendar of Bangalore.

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Smart card-based vehicle documents in six months in Bangalore

SecureID News

Paper-form vehicle registration certificates (RCs) and drivers licenses in Bangalore, India will soon become a thing of the past when the Transport Department introduce smart card-based registrations and licenses within the next six months.

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Death on the road

Times of India

BMTC buses in the city are no different from the killer Blueline buses of Delhi. In the last 10 months, they’ve killed 97 persons and injured 288. Since 2004, these buses have killed 366 persons and injured 1478 persons.

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Bangalore in the grip of a harsh winter

The Hindu

Bangaloreans looked distinctly bulkier on Wednesday as everyone seemed to have pulled out their woollies.

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Eco-friendly scooters launched in Bangalore

The Hindu

The world is waking up to the problem of carbon footprints and burning of fossil fuels, and people are looking for greener alternatives. Bangalore already has an electric car locally manufactured and now there is Yeoman Bike, an electric scooter for young people.

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Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Lukewarm response to ticket sales

New Indian Express

Even as the interest in Test matches seem to be much lesser than one day matches, some Bangaloreans are all geared up to watch India taking on Pakistan Test match starting on December 8.

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Auto lanes may be allotted to BMTC

New Indian Express

The Bangalore City Traffic Police are planning to change autorickshaw lanes on some of the roads into dedicated lanes for the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses.

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The Alliance Française de Bangalore calendar Dec-Jan 2008

The Alliance Française de bangalore is not only the right place to study French but it offers you diverse and exiting cultural events each month.

CALENDRIER DEC-JAN 2008

Train chugs again after 11 years in Karnataka

DNA

For reasons other than red tape, it has taken Indian Railways a whopping 11 years to resume passenger service between India's IT hub Bangalore and the port city of Mangalore in southern Karnataka.

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Habba rhythm echoes in St George’s Square

Times of India

Bengalooru Habba is here. But thanks to the ongoing Metro Rail work, The Artists’ Walkway has moved from M G Road to St George’s Square in Cubbon Park.

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Needed: multi-pronged strategy to tackle traffic

Times of India

Bangalore’s nightmarish traffic moves at about 12 kmph during rush hour. It used to be about 18 kmph two years ago. About 30,000 vehicles are added every month. Bangalore is built for 10 lakh, not 30 lakh, vehicles. In the context of these statistics, we need to look at the traffic problem in a holistic manner.
Here are some solutions which will help tackle the problem

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India, Pak. teams arrive in Bangalore

The Hindu

The Indian and Pakistani cricket teams arrived here Wednesday for the third and final Test starting at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.

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Cultural melange comes to the fore at Habba

Times of India

Bengalooru Habba had all the ingredients from the East and the West to whip up a delicious culture curry on Monday.
Hogging the limelight were classical dance and music performances across the various auditoria, while rib-tickling comedy was in store at Rajkumar Kalakshetra with Laxmi Chandrashekar’s Higidre Haage — a Kannada play, and Love Letters by Mumbai-based Rage Productions, at Chowdiah Memorial Hall.

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All that hubbub about the Bengalooru Habba…

The Hindu

What represents the culture of a city?

That is a hard one, more so if we are talking about Bangalore: a place on the verge of “officially” going back to its cultural roots by calling itself Bengalooru even as it is desperately trying to project itself as an IT-BT hub of global standards.

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Habba adds dash of colour to B'lore

Deccan Herald

The spirit of Bangalore came alive when the ever-busy Bangaloreans took some time off to relax and get entertained.

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Palike all set for better roadshow

Deccan Herald

The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is set to bridle the recalcitrant road cutters and has set up a separate department called Duct Services, which will have to permit underground cable laying.

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Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Moulds for underpasses to come from Malaysia

The Hindu

As the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) readies itself to execute its ambitious underpasses on Ramana Maharshi Road (Bellary Road) to be built in a record time, moulds to prepare the pre-cast materials will arrive in Bangalore from Malaysia on Tuesday to facilitate their construction. The work on these underpasses is expected to commence from December 15.

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Cauvery water to new BBMP areas

The Hindu

Project to supply additional 500 MLD is under progress

Governor advocates rainwater harvesting

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Is S.M. Krishna being brought back to State to lead Congress?

The Hindu

Is S.M. Krishna being brought back to the State to lead the Congress campaign in the upcoming elections to the Assembly?

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City's rhythm divine

Deccan Herald

Walk or drive through the City's thoroughfares. It wouldn't take long to nail the biggest culprit: shrill and defective vehicular horns. Honk-happy drivers just let themselves go as their horns sing, hoot, screech, scream, pierce, ululate and wail, till the City's rhythm divine is rendered raucous.

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Monday, December 3, 2007

How Bangalore’s Jazzing up

Indian Express

The backdrop of the jazz festivals in Bangalore, until recently, was a rundown, decrepit palace that had fallen into neglect much like the once vibrant jazz scene in the city.

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India's culture for growth

Courier Mail

THIS week your roving correspondent has experienced the Aldi of the aviation industry - first flying to the capital of India, Delhi, with Ethiopian Airlines (a cash-only transaction) and then domestically to Bangalore with Spicejet, a discount carrier in India.

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‘Bengalooru Habba’ to be an official annual festival

The Hindu

The State Government has decided to observe “Bengalooru Habba” as an annual festival, on public- private participation basis for showcasing traditional arts, encouraging the performing artistes and promoting the tourist interests of the State.

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Making cities vehicles of creativity and innovation

Live Mint

The growth of the Indian economy is perhaps best reflected in the way its major cities have expanded. Despite this, are Indian cities vehicles of creativity and innovation?

That was the question that confronted four Bangloreans—retired senior bureaucrat and former Karnataka planning board deputy chairman A. Ravindra, Infosys Technologies Ltd co-chairman Nandan Nilekani, Britannia Industries Ltd chief executive officer Vinita Bali and Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka Rajeev Chandrasekhar. They debated on this issue at the second Mint “Clarity Through Debate’ in Bangalore on Friday.

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Sunday, December 2, 2007

The Bangalore Identifiers

Live Mint

I am a Bangalorean. I have lived in this city since I was born, spending my entire childhood and youth here. I have cycled around the city’s nooks and corners with schoolmates, often going doubles and triples, puffing as we laboured up the hills and laughing as we sped down the slopes.

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Saturday, December 1, 2007

Big turnout likely for Bangalore Marathon

The Hindu

The Bangalore International Marathon, recognised by the Athletics Federation of India and sponsored by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd., is set for a December 16 flag-off.

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Free wheeling

Live Mint

At 5.30am on select Sunday mornings, solitary cyclists make their way through the half-light to Bangalore’s Mekhri Circle or the Central Silk Board flyover or a suburban mall. By 6am, the hellos are out of the way and muscles are getting warmed up for the long grind ahead.

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A musical Bangalore Habba

Deccan Herald

The City will reverberate with the strains of a wide variety of musical styles over 10 days during the Bangalore Habba 2007

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Airport: New options for link road

Deccan Herald

Taking forward last-leg initiatives to combat worries over road connectivity to the upcoming airport in Devanahalli, the State Government is exploring new options, including possibilities of a nearly signal-free Outer Ring Road.

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Third phase of BIAL expansion under study

The Hindu

Even before the first commercial flight is to land at the Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli, the BIAL authorities have started planning for the third phase of airport expansion at an estimated cost of Rs. 1,000 crore, which includes laying of the second runway owing to the rapid increase in the number of air passengers.

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Doubts over 'quick fix' underpasses

New Indian Express

Experts in city have debunked government’s ‘instant coffee or instant noodle’ type of underpasses that can be erected in just three days flat. This is not the first time that such high technology carrots have been dangled to take Bangaloreans for a royal ride.

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BMTC plans Volvo service to Devanahalli airport

Times of India

More good news on connectivity to the new airport. The Bangalore Metropolitan Road Transport Corporation (BMTC) has announced details on the Volvo services to the much-awaited Bangalore International Airport at Devanahalli.

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