Good morning, Bengaluru!
đ¤ď¸ Todayâs weather: Warm weather. Sunshine. Some haze.
đ§ Did you know? The Bengaluru FC was formed in 2013 when the JSW group won direct entry rights for the 2013-14 I-League. On 22 September, in the 49th minute, Sean Rooney scored the teamâs first official goal.
đŁď¸ Walk through a road model
Bengalureans can now walk through a model of the cityâs roads to understand routes better.
Story so far: The BBMP, in collaboration with The Ugly Indian (TUI) and Brigade Borders, has constructed a scale model of Bengaluru roads near Hebbal Junction as part of its junction improvement plan. A tour of the model will help people better understand road routes in different zones of the city.
- The model includes Bengaluruâs entire road network, including the inner roads, ORRs, and flyovers. Supplementing it is an interpretation board that traces the cityâs history from Kempe Gowdaâs era to the present.
- The creators first designed a smaller map of Bengaluruâs roads which mapped the eight roads emanating from the Central Business District. Subsequently, the creators scaled the map to a bigger model.
Why it matters? Since several people donât understand the roads they traverse frequently, the road model will help citizens mind-map the city better. It is also likely that people frequent some zones more than others, and this model will fill in those knowledge gaps about other areas in the city. The BBMP believes this is a unique project, the likes of which cannot be found even in museums.
đ§ââď¸ Creating a modern legal landscape
Bengalureans help modernise the judiciary through transcription technology.
Story so far: Three Bengaluru-based professionals developed an AI-powered tool TERES (Technology Enabled Resolution), to help the Supreme Court convert arguments into text during live proceedings. The apex court made history last week by using TERES to upload the text of the Shiv Sena hearing by evening on the same day.
- The creators used AIâs Natural Language Processing abilities to convert speech to text. CJI DY Chandrachud was impressed by the idea when he witnessed the three Bengalureans presenting it at the Delhi Arbitration Weekend.
- CJI Chandrachud professes that if the current experiment with live transcription succeeds, especially in the constitution bench matters, the transcription service will become permanent.
Why this matters? Transcribing is a win-win situation for all parties involved in the judicial system. It will motivate attorneys to present their cases clearly, ensure a wise selection of words, and not talk over each other. Judges will refrain from prohibited practices like sarcasm for the fear of being taken literally.
- It will help lawyers refer to notes from previous hearings and law students to analyse proceedings better. By expediting and improving transcription, TERES improves the entire process accountability.
đŤ Government union on strike
Serving a blow to the ruling BJP government, employees will launch an indefinite strike.
Story so far: The Karnataka State Government Employees Association has announced that all employees will partake in an indefinite strike from March 1 if the government fails to issue an order greenlighting the 7th Pay Commission’s interim report. If it fails to comply with their demands, the strike will continue.
- On February 21, over 5,000 representatives of government employeesâ associations decided to boycott their work in schools, colleges, hospitals, and the gram panchayats.
- The association has put forth two demands before the government that ask for a 40% hike in salaries and the implementation of the old pension scheme.
Why though? Government employees argue that CM Basavaraj Bommai and his government have disregarded their well-being. Their attitude has disappointed the stateâs cohort of 9 lakh employees. For several months the employees have been urging the government to meet their demands in vain.
- When even the budget ignored their needs, the workers decided to launch a strike.
đ° Potential water shortages
The BWSSB cautions people against water overuse to prevent water shortages in the city.
Story so far: With summer around the corner, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) said that the city has an adequate water supply for the citizensâ needs. The main city areas are less likely to be affected. The cityâs peripheral areas that closely depend on borewells might suffer since many of them have dried up.
- The city receives 1,450 MLD of water from the Kaveri river. Approximately 500 MLD of water is drawn from 15,000 public borewells.
- Activists implicate the BWSSB in increasing the cityâs dependence on borewells by failing to lay pipelines. According to them, around 60% of Bengaluru depends on borewells to meet their water needs.
Why this matters? In any urban city in India, summers are a time for mango juice and potential water shortages. With the BWSSBâs limited water supply and drying up of borewells, citizens need to be wary of over-consuming water. Water conservationists suggest that the BWSSBâs water should be used only for drinking and cooking.
Fines: The BWSSB reports collecting almost âš1 crore per month in fines from households that have failed to implement Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) systems. Presently, 43,000 houses are yet to install them.
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đď¸ In other newsâŚ
- Toll fees for Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway will be charged from Monday.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Shivamogga airport today.
- The Karnataka Health Department mulls over increasing the salary of contractual workers by 15%.
- Animal lovers hit out at Mysuru-Kodagu MP Simha over âculling dogsâ.
- A high-altitude balloon by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics will study the ânear spaceâ environment.
Thatâs it for today. Have a great day!