Good morning, Bengaluru!
🌧️ Today’s weather: High: 33 ℃ | Low: 22 ℃ | Generally cloudy sky with a few spells of rain or thundershowers.
🧐 Did you know? Balepet, Cottonpet, and Chickpet were the first towns to be built within the boundary of the Bengalooru Fort.
🏢 Google in Whitefield
Google has secured 649,000 square feet of office space in Bengaluru’s Whitefield area, with a monthly rent exceeding ₹4 crore.
What’s it about? The lease comes with a three-year lock-in period at a monthly rental rate of ₹62 per square foot, amounting to a substantial ₹4,02,38,000 per month. This new office space acquisition follows Google’s recent layoffs of core employees in the US, with some positions being shifted to India.
- In 2022, Google Connect Services India Pvt. Ltd. renewed its lease for 600,000 square feet of office space in Hyderabad and agreed to lease 1.3 million square feet from Bagmane Developers in Bengaluru.
- Since 2020, Google’s office space portfolio in India has grown by 3.5 million square feet, bringing its total real estate footprint in the country to 9.3 million square feet across five cities.
Other ventures: Beyond expanding office space, Google is also venturing into manufacturing in India, with plans to produce smartphones at a Foxconn facility in Tamil Nadu and start drone manufacturing in the state.
🛣️ Pothole.ai
The BBMP will be deploying 15 vehicles equipped with AI-enabled cameras to automatically detect potholes on city roads.
What’s it about? These cameras, mounted on the vehicles, will automatically identify potholes, damaged streetlights, footpaths, and other civic issues. BBMP Commissioner Tushar Girinath explained that these vehicles would travel at a speed of 5 km per hour, collectively covering 300 km daily.
- The data collected will assist civic officials in promptly addressing and fixing road issues.
- This initiative aligns with Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s directive for the BBMP to prepare for the monsoon.
Five-point programme: DCM DK Shivakumar had earlier introduced a ‘5-point programme’ aimed at improving infrastructure in Bengaluru, focusing on drinking water, pothole repairs, widening the property tax net, property tax collection, and clearing encroachments on Rajakaluves.
🚨 1L+ traffic cases at single station
Until May 2024, the Sadashivanagar traffic police station has recorded a total of 1,02,123 traffic violations.
What’s it about? This substantial number of violations was captured using handheld Field Traffic Violation Report (FTVR) devices. These devices complement the city’s existing Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS), which includes CCTV cameras, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), and Red Light Violation Detection (RLVD) cameras.
- The FTVR devices enable traffic police to record various infractions such as speeding, footpath parking, and wrong-side driving, especially in areas lacking ITMS camera coverage.
- It also helps compensate for the shortage of personnel and fixed cameras, allowing for more comprehensive monitoring and enforcement of traffic rules.
Total stats: The total number of traffic violations recorded this year until April in the city stands at an astounding 30,61,524.
🤑 Free money rumour
Thousands of women on Monday rushed to Bengaluru’s GPO to open savings accounts after a rumour on WhatsApp claimed they would receive ₹8,000.
What’s it about? The rumour suggested that political parties were transferring this amount to new post-office accounts. The situation became so overwhelming that the GPO had to deploy additional staff, and police were called in to manage the crowds.
- Despite posters at the GPO’s entrance clarifying that no such cash incentive program existed, the misinformation persisted.
- The women had reportedly begun gathering as early as 3 am.
4x increase: According to HM Manjesh, the chief postmaster, the GPO typically opens 100 to 200 accounts daily, but this number surged to 700 to 800 accounts per day over the past week due to the rumour. Many believed that Monday was the last day to avail of this non-existent benefit, leading to the massive turnout.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you correct senior members of the family when they fall for WhatsApp misinformation?
- I correct senior members of the family when they fall for WhatsApp misinformation.
- I don’t correct senior members of the family when they fall for WhatsApp misinformation.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
How many times have you voted so far?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- 1,000 volunteers came together to paint 1,000 blackboards in the city’s government and aided schools.
- BWSSB has launched a door-to-door survey to assess the demand of Cauvery water in the city.
- Konark Reddy is coming back with his concert Bangalore 1974 after beating cancer.
- BPL has set up a new printed circuit board unit in the city.
- Bengaluru-Kalaburagi, the tri-weekly summer special express train operating from SMVT has been cancelled due to operational constraints.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I have travelled without a train ticket: 25.0%
- I have not travelled without a train ticket: 75.0% 🏆
That’s it for today. Have a great day!