Good morning, Bengaluru!
☀️ Today’s weather: Sunny with light winds.
🧐 Did you know? The Hakki Pikkis are a semi-nomadic tribe, traditionally of bird catchers and hunters. They live in parts of west and south India, including Bengaluru, Kolar, and Shivamogga. The Siddi tribe resides in Bengaluru too. Their dance resembles tribal dances from Africa.
🏃 Hyperlocal athletics ecosystem
A former VTU graduate founded Bridges of Sports, a venture to train athletes from marginalised communities.
Story so far: Visvesvaraya Technological University graduate Nitish Chiniwar wanted to pursue a career in motorsports in the United Kingdom (UK), but couldn’t. You see, after he had completed his master’s degree in motorsports, the UK’s stiff immigration laws got in the way – and it became the origin story of Bridges of Sports, Chiniwar’s non-profit organisation that helps nurture athletes from rural India’s marginalised communities.
- The organisation has established an ecosystem in the Uttara Kannada district dedicated to training and promoting sprinters from the Siddis and other tribal communities.
- Incubated six years ago, the foundation has connected with over 10,000 students. It’s backed by 15 corporates, foundations, high-net-worth individuals (HNWI), and retailers.
Why it matters? Bridges of Sports athletes have secured over 300 medals across district, state and national levels in athletic meets. Nayana Kokare is one such athlete who will represent India at the 20th Asian Under-20 Athletics Championships in South Korea in June. The hyperlocal setting has especially helped the Siddi community.
🧑💻 Kaveri 2.0 from today
Kaveri’s software update, to be rolled out today, hopes to make property registrations breezy.
Story so far: It’s not much of a surprise that Bengaluru witnesses one of the highest numbers of property registrations. All that’s about to get much easier from today, with the state government launching Kaveri 2.0 software at the Department of Stamps and Registration. With the pre-registration having transitioned online, citizens need only visit the sub-registrar office to submit documents, photos, and thumb impressions.
- The new property registration system will be rolled out starting from the sub-registrar offices in Banashankari, Basavanagudi, and Chamarajpet.
- On June 14, the last day of Kaveri 2.0’s rollout, the department will launch it in Banaswadi, Indiranagar, and Mahadevapura.
Why it matters? The software is an updated version of Kaveri 1.0. It will hopefully wipe out server-related issues and make property registrations a walk in the park. It’ll also put an end to the tedious task of feeding data into the system. It’s not, however, certain yet if builder charges for registration will drop.
🫄 What’s wrong with BBMP’s maternity homes?
Unavailable doctors and corruption are some of the problems that plague maternity homes.
Story so far: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has 21 operational maternity homes that offer free services to women close to their homes. However, a recent study reveals that they are considerably underutilised because of irregularities in doctors’ availability, corruption, and lack of facilities.
- At Cox Town maternity home, patients never know when to expect a check-up as doctors are mostly unavailable, and there’s no transparency. The endless waiting and uncertainty stop many pregnant people from considering maternity homes.
- A lack of scanning devices drives up people’s expenses. Added to that is the entrenched corruption. Patients have to cough up extra money for essentially free services so they are treated better.
Action plans: To bring up delivery numbers in these homes, the BBMP has preparations underway to hire more paramedics. Five maternity homes are already equipped for C-sections, with eight more about to join the club.
🏫 Mirroring social currents
The Bangalore Club stands as a reflection of changing sociopolitical currents.
Story so far: The doors of Bangalore Club have been open since 1868, but not to all. It was a boys club for a long time, owing to its primarily military base and gendered segregation practices at the time. But as the times changed, so too did the club membership. In 1907, women began to be elected into the Annex, which had a ballroom and library. In 1939, the club opened membership for women.
- The first Indian to use the club’s facilities was the then Maharaja of Mysore. The first Indian to gain membership was Colonel Desaraj Urs, Commander of the Mysore State Forces.
- Edward Norton, the mountaineer who took part in the 1924 Mt Everest expedition, was one of its presidents.
Present day: Some things about the club haven’t changed. Visitors cannot use their phones or laptops – the modern-day version of a rule disallowing typewriters. The club currently has 8,100 permanent members. The Men’s Bar, too, remained exclusive for quite some time until it opened for all in 2017.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Are you a part of the Namma Bengaluru subreddit?
- Yes, I’ve joined the Namma Bengaluru subreddit.
- No, I haven’t seen the Namma Bengaluru subreddit.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
What’s your most frequented movie theatre?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- The Karnataka High Court ruled that parents without custody should have sufficient visitation rights.
- Concerns arise over untreated sewage as Challakere Lake reports fish deaths.
- BESCOM warns users to either clear their bills or face disconnection.
- Reputed hospitals in Bengaluru avoid laser technology in angioplasties.
- The BBMP is being criticised for stalling sluice gate installation.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!