Good morning, Bengaluru!
☁️ Today’s weather: High: 28 ℃ | Low: 20 ℃ | Mostly cloudy with some light rain possible.
🧐 Did you know? The Bangalore Cantonment railway station is the oldest in Karnataka. It’s over 160 years old.
🛰️ Map the galaxy
Bengaluru-based Pixxel Space plans to mine asteroids for materials to build space settlements.
What’s it about? The company plans to map the Moon and asteroids to look for materials and fuel sources that could be used to build settlements in outer space. The company is gearing up its Earth observation satellites.
- The cameras in the satellites can be used to look at objects in outer space. Satellites can be used to look for ice on asteroids. These can be used as fuel by splitting it into hydrogen and oxygen.
- Pixxel Space plans to launch six hyperspectral satellites later this year as part of its plans to map Earth.
Future plans: The company plans to launch another 18 satellites next year. CEO Awais Ahmed wants to place satellites in orbits around the Moon and perhaps send spacecrafts to Mars and asteroid belts to map the solar system.
👩💻 Upcoming tech summit
Bengaluru will host Asia’s largest tech summit this November.
What’s it about? The 27th edition of the Bengaluru Tech Summit (BTS) 2024 will be held from November 19-21 at the Bangalore Palace. The state’s Minister for Information Technology, Priyank Kharge, announced the event’s schedule.
- The summit will feature over 85 sessions with 460 speakers curated by a committee of experts from the IT industry, academia, and research.
- The event will have special programmes like the CEO Conclave, Startup Conclave, and fireside chats with renowned personalities.
Showcasing Bengaluru: The city is known as India’s IT capital and the summit is a way for the government to showcase Bengaluru as a hub for global technological innovation and collaboration.
📱 BBMP’s apps remain defunct
Over a dozen apps and online portals launched by the BBMP are defunct.
What’s it about? The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has launched 58 online portals and mobile apps for several civic functions and citizen services. However, the BBMP’s IT cell isn’t aware of the status of many of them since many departments have outsourced their management to third-party companies.
- The IT cell is now conducting a survey to take stock. The applications weren’t routed through the cell, so they didn’t know their status. About 10-15 of them aren’t working.
- The Solid Waste Management (SWM) Wing, which has over 10 applications, had the highest number of applications commissioned, and their statuses were unknown. Citizens have said they’re still plagued with issues.
Performance: Except for the Sahaaya 2.0 app which allows people to file complaints, other citizen-centric apps haven’t made an impression. There hasn’t been the same level of response.
👮 Regulating traffic fines
The Bengaluru police have launched initiatives for residents facing fines for traffic violations.
What’s it about? The Joint Commissioner of Police, MN Anuchet, stated that there were issues arising from fines through traffic cameras when motorists made way for ambulances. Commuters were unhappy with the fines. Those will now be cancelled once they’re verified by the state police.
- The cameras can identify approaching ambulances with GPS devices from 100 metres away and automatically turn the signals green at the junctions.
- There are plans to expand this AI-driven camera system to additional junctions since trials have been successful.
Grievance meeting: At a recent grievance meeting, residents also complained about illegal parking on main roads and traffic congestion. They also spoke about the impact of BMTC buses on the traffic near the Nagavara Junction.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you ever been to a live play/musical in the city?
- I have been to a live play/musical in the city.
- I haven’t been to a live play/musical in the city.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s your favourite way to unwind after a stressful day?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In Other News…
- The BBMP was fined ₹5,000 by the Karnataka High Court for failing to submit an action report on a PIL on the Vrishabhavathi river rejuvenation.
- Bengaluru’s shelter homes are in bad shape with inadequate facilities.
- A three-day literature festival will take place in Bengaluru next month to celebrate South Indian languages.
- 150 km of roads across Bengaluru will be white-topped by the BBMP.
- The city traffic police have recorded an unprecedented rise in speeding cases.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!