Low turnout reasons

Good morning, Bengaluru!

🌤️ Today’s weather: Mostly sunny.

🧐 Did you know? The Century Club was founded by Sir M Visvesvaraya in 1912, after he was asked to remove his iconic Mysore-style turban and don a European hat to enter a club. The Century Club came to be named after its original membership count.

🤔 What caused low voter turnout in Bengaluru?

Experts and activists point to urban apathy and out-of-sync voter lists to explain Bengaluru’s low voter percentage.

Story so far: Experts have narrowed down the cause of Bengaluru’s low voter turnout to voter roll errors like duplication, deletion, and mismatched entries. Voters reported wandering around endlessly to find their names in the electoral rolls.

While announcing election dates, the Election Commission of India underscored urban apathy in Karnataka. It can happen due to ignorance or disillusionment with elections.
Electoral roll analyst PG Bhat said that the erroneous deletion of many names caused the disenfranchisement of several voters.

Other view: Some don’t believe urban apathy is the primary cause. A civic activist pointed out that voter lists in megacities are simply out of sync, leading to incorrect baseline assumptions.

🌉 New Bellandur bridge

The much-awaited Bellandur Lake bridge is set to be completed within three months.

Story so far: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is taking no chances with the rain in Mahadevapura this time. With rainfall causing Bellandur Lake to flood, the BBMP plans to build a new 24-metre bridge within the next 75 days.

The current bridge at Bellandur doesn’t have adequate capacity to hold water, causing the water to flood the roads.
The new bridge’s concrete work is completed and will cure for 20 days.

Why it matters? The foundation stone for the bridge was laid in September 2022. People have complained about the project’s sluggish pace causing traffic congestion on the stretch.

🧑‍🎓 ICSE and ISC students do well

Bengaluru’s students fare well in Class 10 and Class 12 examinations.

Story so far: In Bengaluru, 99.6% of students passed their ICSE or Class 10 exams, and 98.58% passed ISC or Class 12 examinations. As is usually the trend, girls scored better than boys in both.

Annanya Karthik from Vidyaniketan School in Hebbal was among the nine national ICSE toppers with 99.8%.
Anandita David from Mallya Aditi International School and Sebanti Hui from Greenwood High were featured on the ISC’s state toppers’ list.

Why it matters? The students attributed their high marks to studying consistently, making notes, and solving practice questions.

🕳️ Half-built drain causes problems

A BBMP drain construction project, for two months, has become an inconvenience for residents.

Story so far: A half-built drain has left Belathur’s residents in a fix. They complained that stagnant water in the drain had become a breeding ground for mosquitoes and snakes. The drain work has been suspended for the last two months, causing the area to collect water when it rains.

The work was started to mitigate the area’s flooding problem. In 2021, the BBMP knocked down a few houses because they were encroaching on rajakaluve or water resources.
BBMP’s stormwater drain department reported that there’s another survey coming for the project, which was delayed due to the elections.

Tell me more? Initially, most residents in the area opposed the project because it involved knocking down people’s homes. While some yielded, there is still some local opposition to the drain construction project.

📊 Today’s Poll

(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)

Are you a part of any civil society group?

Yes, I am a part of a civil society group.
No, I’m not a part of any civil society group.

❓ Today’s Question

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Who is your go-to problem solver in life?

Reply to this email with your answers.

🗞️ In other news…

Why did Bengaluru refuse to ditch camp saffron?
The Thalaghattapura police have filed an FIR and are going after the flex menace.
Manipal Hospitals celebrated a unique Mother’s Day by commemorating the lives of mothers.
Here’s a piece about the need for panic buttons in taxis.
A Chennai-Bengaluru double-decker express train coach derails with no reported injuries.

🛋️ Local Lounge

Yesterday’s Poll:

I exercise at home: 77.8% 🏆
I go to the gym: 22.2%

That’s it for today. Have a great day!

Low turnout reasonsL