Good morning, Bengaluru!
🌦️ Today’s weather: Thundershowers and some breeze.
🧐 Did you know? The Bengaluru Bannerghatta National Park got India’s first fenced elephant sanctuary in a forested space, where elephants could move around freely.
🛕 Temple-style dishes
Brahmana Prasadam, a popular eatery in Bengaluru, serves divine offerings-influenced dishes.
What’s it about? Suman Bharadwaj, owner-founder of Brahmana Prasadam, a popular eatery in Bengaluru, serves Karnataka’s temple-style dish, puliyogare, in a delightfully frenzied setting. The owner offers it as naivedyam to their family deities before serving it to the public.
- His business has grown from a small cart to a 40-seater restaurant, earning the stamp of approval from ISKCON devotees for their authentic cuisine and devotion to quality.
- Brahmana Prasadam has a chef from Sringeri. The food is devoid of artificial flavours, colours, baking soda, garlic, and onion.
Specials: During Ekadasi, when many from the Hindu community avoid rice, Brahmana Prasadam offers a special menu including avulakki, carrot sabakki payasa, Mathura rabdi, and occasionally, phalamrutha—a milk dessert with fruits and nuts. The prasadams are reasonably priced between ₹30 and ₹100.
- Bharadwaj defies the current trend of influencers labelling dishes as ‘Instagrammable’.
🏥 Hospital management courses
Healthcare professionals will attend courses developed by the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB).
What’s it about? Healthcare professionals from the Health and Family Welfare Department will participate in the Hospital Management Certificate Programme developed by IIMB. During the inauguration of the second batch, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao emphasised the importance of hospital management courses.
- The initiative aims to enhance management skills and promote efficient healthcare administration.
- IIMB Director Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan announced that select doctors in government service would receive free admission, urging the government to identify the most suitable candidates.
On the horizon: The Hospital Management Certificate Programme aims to improve public health administration and shape the future of the health sector, according to Dinesh Gundu Rao. The government’s goal is to provide accessible and affordable healthcare, emphasising that hospitals should be inclusive, responsive, and affordable, focusing on people rather than just processes and technology.
🚌 More e-buses for BMTC
The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) will add more buses to its fleet to enhance transport accessibility.
Bigger fleet: BMTC will expand its fleet with approximately 1,900 buses, including 921 low-floor electric buses, by the end of this year. These electric buses will be introduced gradually in batches of 100 per month, starting from the end of July.
- BMTC has already received one electric bus from TML Smart Mobility Solutions, a subsidiary of Tata Motors, and is awaiting formal registration before commencing public use.
- Once the registration process is complete and the first bus receives positive feedback, the remaining 920 buses will follow suit in successive batches.
Other measures: While the addition of more buses to BMTC’s fleet is positive news for commuters, they need to prioritise maintaining bus stops, utilising technology, and ensuring better access to public transport.
- Electric and low-floor buses will be a bonus for Bengaluru, given its high pollution levels. The latter makes public transport more accessible for senior citizens.
🐘 Elephant task force
To tackle human-elephant conflicts, the state government has formed a district-level elephant task force in Bannerghatta and Ramanagara.
New roles: The government has established a district-level elephant task force to address the recurring human-elephant conflicts in Bannerghatta and Ramanagara districts. This decision comes after two farmers tragically lost their lives due to elephant attacks, prompting Minister Eshwar B Khandre to announce the formation of the task force.
- Each district’s task force has 32 officials, including a range forest officer, two deputy RFOs, five forest guards, and 24 outsourced employees.
- The Ramanagara task force will operate from the district headquarters, while the force in Bengaluru will be stationed at Bannerghatta National Park.
Action plan: These officials, under the guidance of the chief conservator of forests in charge of the Bengaluru circle, will not just patrol the conflict-prone areas around the clock, but also raise awareness among residents residing near forest boundaries.
- In case of elephant sightings, the task force, with the assistance of the locals, will ensure the safe return of the elephants to their natural habitat.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Would you rather live in a world without music or books?
- I could do without books.
- I could do without music.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Why do you think people have a problem with the Shakti scheme?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- Despite fears after Shakti’s rollout, KSRTC pays 35,000 staffers on time.
- Bengaluru Short Play Festival 2023 was held on Sunday at KH Kalasoudha.
- Only those who have registered will be eligible for Gruha Jyoti benefits.
- Bengaluru set a new record by reporting the driest June in the last six years.
- Here’s a piece about Bengaluru’s model of urban development.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!