Good morning, Bengaluru!
⛅ Today’s weather: Partly cloudy with slight humidity.
🧐 Did you know? The Neralu Tree Festival is an urban crowd-funded festival celebrated in Bengaluru. The Garden City of India has long acknowledged the importance of trees to both human existence and civilisation. Neralu, which in Kannada means “shade,” was founded in 2017 by a group of Bengaluru residents with the aim of preserving the city’s flora.
👮♀️ Crackdown on wildlife trafficking
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) claims that three individuals from Bangkok, Thailand, were detained at the airport after receiving a tip that they were smuggling animals.
What’s it about? The detainees were arriving from Bangkok at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport on January 22. Officials from the Karnataka Forest Department (KFD) assisted in the retrieval of 18 non-indigenous creatures (four monkeys and 14 reptiles) from their luggage.
- The rare and endangered species apprehended include the Yellow and Green Anaconda, Yellow Headed Amazon Parrot, Nile Monitor, Red Foot Tortoise, Iguanas, Ball Pythons, Alligator Gar, Yaki Monkey, Veiled Chameleon, Racoon Dog, and White Headed Piones.
- The Bannerghatta Biological Park took the recovered animals into custody.
Farmhouse raid: After questioning the suspects, the DRI team raided a farmhouse within Bengaluru’s borders and discovered 139 animals from 48 different species, including 34 smuggled species from the CITES list.
- The DRI also found financial transactions to source non-indigenous species through smuggling and transactions on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.
🎉 Bengaluru sees carnivalesque action
For the second consecutive Sunday, 80 Feet Road in Koramangala, which is usually a highway for speeding automobiles and two-wheelers, was dominated by pedestrians.
What’s it about? The event owes its courtesy to Happy Streets, a project by The Times of India supported by the Bangalore Traffic Police and the BBMP and sponsored by Bhima Jewellers. Long-time inhabitants from all across the city took advantage of the pleasant, enjoyable morning.
- Before moving on to other areas of the city, the weekly event will come to an end next week on the 80 Feet Road in Koramangala.
Music, dance, and games: A music festival that included 12 student performances back-to-back from the international music conservatory, including one by a 4-year-old, followed. Senior artists thought it was an excellent venue to see talent, while younger artists saw it as a fantastic opportunity to experience public performances. Several gift baskets for quizzes were won, to the cheers of the audience.
- While some kids sprayed paint on the canvas, others took turns jumping on the trampoline. Some entertained their delighted parents by playing football, skating, or cycling.
- Four sets of young people engaged in a vigorous game of volleyball while others engaged in certain skill-based activities. Many tried their hand at snake pit, cricket, golf, and basketball.
🚉 K-RIDE floats tender for Kanaka Line
In order to connect the two suburban rail lines Sampige (KSR Bengaluru – Yelahanka – Devanahalli) and Kanaka (Heelalige-Rajanukunte), a 2-km common corridor (double-decker structure) would be built at Yelahanka.
What’s it about? The Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited, popularly known as K-RIDE, has issued a civil work tender for the Kanaka Line, asking for bids for the design and construction of an elevated viaduct (length: 8.9km) and an at-grade formation (length: 37.9km) excluding station buildings. The work also comprises the building of service roads, side drains, and road expansion.
Stations: The following stations will lie on the Kanaka Line: Rajanukunte, Muddanahalli Yelahanka (interchange), Jakkur, RK Hegde Nagar, Thanisandra, Hennur, Horamavu, Channasandra Benniganahalli (interchange), Kaggadasapura, Doddanekkundi, Marathahalli, Belandur Road, Carmelaram, Ambed.
- According to the tender documents, the Marathahalli and Yelahanka stations will be elevated, while the rest of the stations will be at-grade.
Common alignment: Between Benniganahalli and Channasandra, a span of 650 metres, the Namma Metro and Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project (BSRP) lines will share a common alignment. Both the BSRP and the BMRCL are aligned at Level 1, respectively.
- The contractor is tasked with liaising between K-RIDE and BMRCL at these places, as well as coordinating with the relevant BMRCL authorities and other agencies during the design and construction of the works.
Cost savings: Benniganahalli section alone was predicted to save the government at least ₹300 crores in land acquisition expenses since Metro pillars and land could be utilised to construct the suburban rail track, according to an earlier K-RIDE plan.
⚽️ Sporting Club Bengaluru’s achievement
Sporting Club Bengaluru (SCB) has caught fans’ eyes owing to their debut season’s championship run. The club aims to reach the zenith of Indian Football by forming a completely data-driven club.
What’s it about? When it made its Super Division debut in the Bangalore District Football Association (BDFA) last year, Sporting Club Bengaluru was still very much in its infancy. But their achievement in the debut season, when they won the championship with 46 points from 18 games, caught the attention of Bengaluru football fans. As a result, they secured a spot in the I-League Second Division starting with the next season.
Primary aim: According to the CEO of Sporting Club Bengaluru, Kishore SR, the primary goal is to highlight local talent while driving the club through analytics. He says that they have a five-year road map in place. With their first season goal fulfilled, the club wants to use the European strategy to work towards its objectives.
- The fact that SCB signed India international Robin Singh at the start of the season indicates the competitiveness of the 20-team BDFA Super Division.
- The dynamic striker is making a return to Bengaluru after a seven-year-long absence.
Promoting local talent: The promotion of local talent is a hot topic in SCB circles, and the team coaches have played a significant role in it. Up to 16 players on the roster are local finds. Five SCB players were included in the Karnataka state squad for the Santosh Trophy, the senior men’s national tournament.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Are you a light sleeper or a heavy sleeper?
- I am a light sleeper.
- I am a heavy sleeper.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Have you ever been held captive by a book and couldn’t move until you reached its end? Which book was it?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Waste piles of Bengaluru endanger periphery areas.
- Bail denied by Karnataka HC to photocopy shop owner in fake stamp paper case.
- 1700 additional CISF units to be deployed at Bengaluru Airport.
- G20 Energy Transition Working Group meeting to be hosted in Bengaluru.
🛋️ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll:
- I prefer to eat out for lunch: 36.4%
- I prefer to eat out for dinner: 63.6% 🏆
That’s it for today. Have a great day!