Good morning, Bengaluru!
🌧️ Today’s weather: High: 23 ℃ | Low: 19 ℃ | Generally cloudy sky with moderate rain.
🧐 Did you know? Bengaluru has only ever elected six women MLAs.
🦠 Mysterious illness strikes
A mysterious illness has affected over 500 residents of Brigade Meadows Plumeria.
What’s it about? Symptoms reported by 262 families include vomiting, fever, and stomach cramps, with young children and senior citizens being the worst affected. The illness has been tentatively diagnosed as gastroenteritis, but the exact cause remains undetermined.
- The apartment relies on its own borewell for water, raising concerns about contamination.
- Initial water sample tests have produced conflicting results.
Conflicting results: While a government lab declared water from five out of six tanks as safe, one tank supplying a specific block was found to contain E. coli, a potential source of illness. The water supply from the contaminated tank has been stopped, and the tank has been cleaned as investigations continue.
🗑️ Privatising waste collection
The Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML) plans to entrust the city’s waste management to two to four private companies for the next 30 years.
What’s it about? These companies will oversee the entire waste process, from collection and transportation (C&T) to processing and disposal (P&D), managing approximately 5,500 tonnes of waste daily.
- This initiative requires a significant private investment of ₹2,850 crore in infrastructure, with compensation tied to tipping fees based on the volume of waste managed.
- However, concerns are mounting about the potential for misuse and monopolisation under this system.
Monopoly concerns: Each company is permitted to bid for up to two of the four packages covering different city zones, possibly limiting competition and concentrating control among a few players. Critics argue that this approach deviates from earlier court directives, which recommended smaller packages for better management.
🟠 Orange alert
Cyclone Fengal has brought heavy to very heavy rainfall to districts in south interior Karnataka, prompting the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to issue an orange alert for Bengaluru and nearby regions until December 3.
What’s it about? Bengaluru experienced overcast skies and intermittent light showers for the past two days. Daytime temperatures have dropped significantly, with the city recording a high of 22.6°C on Saturday and a low of 19.5°C on Sunday.
- The IMD predicts central Bengaluru will see minimum temperatures of 17–18°C, while parts of North Karnataka may experience colder nights with lows of 10–12°C.
- Some areas are expected to receive over 100 mm of rainfall, as the cyclone, after lashing Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, moves inland.
Future course: As of Sunday morning, rainfall was reported in isolated pockets of Bengaluru and neighbouring districts, including Kolar, Chikkaballapur, and Bengaluru Rural. The slow movement of Cyclone Fengal is expected to continue affecting these regions, with the storm projected to weaken into a deep depression over north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry within hours.
🏢 GCC Challenge
Pune and Hyderabad are increasingly challenging Bengaluru’s dominance as a hub for Global Capability Centres (GCCs), driven by lower costs and enhanced infrastructure.
What’s it about? While Bengaluru remains the largest office market with over 230 million square feet of space, high rental costs and infrastructure upgrades in Pune and Hyderabad are making these cities more attractive to businesses.
- Pune is gaining traction due to its robust housing market and metro connectivity.
- The city also has the highest 12-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in office rents among tier-1 cities at 6.9%, surpassing Chennai (5.5%) and Bengaluru (5.3%).
Hyderabad alternative: Hyderabad, with its thriving tech ecosystem, lower attrition rates, and affordable real estate, has emerged as a leading destination for tech-driven GCCs. The city excels in emerging technologies like robotics and blockchain, positioning itself as a preferred choice for global firms like Cigna Healthcare, Bristol Myers Squibb, and the London Stock Exchange.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Does your house have a borewell?
- My house has a borewell.
- My house does not have a borewell.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
How can a monopolised waste collection market be dangerous?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In Other News…
- Bengaluru Metro’s Yellow Line remains non-operational due to delayed delivery of a rolling stock of 216 coaches by a Chinese company.
- An IIM-B study found Pune to be the best-performing city in the commercial property rental index surpassing Chennai and Bengaluru.
- Whitefield, Outer Ring Road, and South Bengaluru are driving the office rental boom in the city.
- Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad are leading the demand for skilled professionals in the Crypto sector as the market is stabilising.
- Patna Pirates humiliated Bengaluru Bulls 54-29 in Noida.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!