Good morning, Bengaluru!
🪔 On account of Ayudha Pooja, we are taking a day off today. We will not be publishing this newsletter tomorrow. See you on Wednesday!
☁️ Today’s weather: Partly cloudy with a chance of some rain.
🧐 Did you know? Electronics City became the first industrial township area in the state to be governed by its members. The declaration was made in 2013 under the 1964 Karnataka Municipalities Act 1964.
🏗️ Buffer zone construction
Legal complications surround the government’s move to reduce buffer zones and permit construction.
What’s it about? Legal experts and forest officials have raised concerns about the government’s decision to allow projects around forest land, thereby reducing the buffer zones. Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has assured residents who own plots in buffer zones that they will be allowed to construct buildings.
- In a meeting with resident welfare associations, Shivakumar said the forest department will issue no-objection certificates to build houses on these plots if there aren’t any trees in the buffer zones.
- However, buffer zones around forest areas are legally protected. Some of the laws are a century old. No activity is allowed in these areas, let alone the construction of buildings. If challenged in a court, it could be deemed illegal.
Legality: Since the British era, 100-110 metres around a forest area has been notified as a buffer zone. The 1931, 1951, and 1957 Mysore Forest Manual and revenue circulars repeat this.
🌊 Back to life
The Anekal Dodda Kere (Lake) is filled with water again after being neglected for 25 years.
What’s it about? The lake dates back 1,000 years during the Chola reign and is spread over 200 acres. For the past 25 years, it has been neglected with overgrowth and vegetation. Now, thanks to a government official, the lake is as good as new.
- Captain Santhosh Kumar, the assistant commissioner of GST, Karnataka, took notice and helped in removing encroachments and helped develop it with help from friends. The process began in 2021, and the lake was cleaned with his own money.
- He had support from other officials – Bengaluru Urban’s former deputy commissioner, J Manjunath, and IAS Officer L K Atheeq. Last November, teams from the revenue and minor irrigation departments inspected the lake.
Connectivity: In its downstream, the lake connects to Nanjundayana Kere, Sidihoskote, Kammasandra Agrahara Lake, and others. Activists also helped remove encroachments and blockages from 15 km of stormwater drains to ensure the free flow of water.
🛑 New signs
ELCITA will revamp signages by replacing old and broken ones to increase visibility.
What’s it about? The Electronics City Industrial Township Authority (ELCITA) will replace old and broken signs and add new ones with LED blinkers and solar lights to increase visibility at night.
- ELCITA has called for a tender where one of the conditions is to complete the project in 50 days. Spread over 930 acres, ELCITA is home to industries.
- Residents say this should also be done outside the ELCITA boundaries. Outside that boundary, panchayats have raised concerns about a shortage of funds.
Feedback: According to activists, the positioning of these signs is important. They should be in places where they’re needed most with a font that’s clearly visible from a moving vehicle.
👨💻 Ransomware attacks
A new report showed Bengaluru had the highest number of phishing attacks.
What’s it about? According to a Q1 2023 Quick Heal quarterly threat report, Bengaluru recorded 2.93 million ransomware attacks. Karnataka ranks fourth in India with 3.86 million. With new and improved tools and technologies, experts have advised people to be vigilant and stay safe online.
- New tools and techniques mean malware can bypass traditional security measures. Attackers are exploiting new and existing vulnerabilities. Attacks like adware have increased compared to last year.
- Open AI sites like ChatGPT and machine learning models have helped criminals gain the upper hand. It has helped the less-skilled to launch cyberattacks.
Chinese hackers: A report from CloudSEK has stated that Chinese hackers have been exploiting India’s digital payment ecosystem. They use illegal loan apps to lure their victims with false promises of loans and easy repayments. From July to September this year, cybercriminals made ₹37 lakh by posing as a bank through illegal payment gateways.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Have you travelled on the latest Metro Purple line?
- I have travelled on the latest Metro Purple line stretch.
- I haven’t travelled on the latest Metro Purple line stretch.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Which part of the city would benefit from a multi-level parking facility?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Due to the Dasara rush, the BMTC is operating buses outside Bengaluru.
- Hardware engineer Pavendhan V has helped raise awareness of the importance of pedestrian-friendly footpaths in the Rajajinagar Assembly constituency.
- The corner sites auction by the Bangalore Development Authority has received a lacklustre response.
- Kathe Koota provides a platform for new-age Kannada writers.
- Over 2,200 buses will be given to the BMTC to meet the increasing demand since the Shakti scheme’s launch.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!