Good morning, Bengaluru!
⛅ Today’s weather: Mostly cloudy with some sunny intervals.
🧐 Did you know? In 1937, the Government of Mysore organised the first air services from Bengaluru to Bombay as a joyride. It cost ₹2 lakh.
⛔ Traffic diversions until August
Repair work at the Bennaganahalli overbridge will cause route shifts for commuters.
What’s it about? The police have announced possible traffic congestion till August in the city’s Bennaganahalli – KR Puram stretch due to ongoing railway repair works at the Bennaganahalli overbridge. People commuting to KR Puram, Mahadevapura, and Marathahalli will be affected for the coming days.
- The police have asked Bengalureans to take a left at Kasturinagar towards Baiyappanahalli metro station and travel on the outer ring road service road to reach Tin Factory junction on Old Madras Road.
- The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) is set to conduct a trial run on the KR Puram – Baiyappanahalli stretch on August 22.
More traffic: Traffic congestions are likely to increase in the bottleneck area of Old Madras Road due to the recent developments.
🤾♀️ Building playgrounds for children
The founders of People4People have set up 566 playgrounds in government schools.
What’s it about? Dr Arjun Kalyanpur and Dr Sunita Maheshwari, founders of People4People are on a mission to establish new playgrounds for public schools in Karnataka and other Indian states. They have set up 566 playgrounds to date, most of them in Karnataka.
- People4People’s latest playground in Karnataka was in the Government Higher Primary School in Yelahanka, Bengaluru. The founders will introduce rainwater harvesting practices.
- They also support a free clinic at RxDx Healthcare, a healthcare chain that treats children with heart diseases.
Fuller lives: The idea was conceived in the early 2000s when Maheshwari and her husband moved to Whitefield after returning from the USA. Maheshwari saw the contrasting lives of her children who had a playground, and the children in government schools across the road who had no amenities to play.
📜 Bengaluru’s 114-year-old Mythic Society
The Mythic Society, founded in 1909, amassed several members within a year.
0 to 100: In the early 1900s, then collector of Bengaluru, F J Richards, floated the idea for the Mythic Society. When established in 1909, it had a list of 17 potential members. Membership rose to 174 by the time its first annual report came out a year later. The society’s purpose was to advance the knowledge of South India’s history, ethnology, and religions.
- The Mythic Society is best represented by the Daly Memorial Hall on Nrupathunga Road, constructed in 1917.
- The Mythic Society library is free for all and opens on all days of the week but on Monday.
Famed personalities: Renowned Dravidologist S Krishnaswami Iyengar, German botanist G H Krumbiegel, and H V Nanjundaiah, the then acting Dewan of Mysore were some of the early members of the club. The list of members and visitors further down is star-studded too, with Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, and Sir C V Raman.
🏙️ Amplifying Brand Bengaluru
At a brainstorming session with Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, residents highlight issues ailing homebuyers and residential areas.
Story so far: As part of the Brand Bengaluru campaign, DK Shivakumar convened with the resident welfare association and civic society representatives for a brainstorming session. He said that over 30,000 suggestions have been made by the public. Of the hundreds of issues that arose in the session, homebuyers’ problems stood out.
- The representatives urged Shivakumar to amend the Karnataka Apartment Ownership Act (KAOA) and rectify the issues of apartment societies, like khata troubles and transfer of land rights from builders to RWAs.
- Curbing commercialisation in residential areas was another issue. The citizens urged the administration to enact a mobility bill focusing on pedestrians and cyclists.
Digital infrastructure: The RWA representatives brought to light a startling irony. Despite being India’s IT capital, Bengaluru’s digital infrastructure remains unregulated. Internet cables are found on several poles, trees, and building balconies.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you think Bengaluru is bike friendly?
- Bengaluru is bike friendly.
- Bengaluru is not bike friendly.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
How would you rate public spaces and streets in your area on a scale of 0-10?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- The second Opposition meeting will begin in Bengaluru on Monday.
- Calls rise for stopping untreated sewage from entering the Kudlu Doddakere lake.
- Bengaluru’s Central Crime Branch seized the city’s biggest-ever ganja haul.
- Here’s a piece about Bengaluru’s history as a hub for opposition unity.
- A support group is tackling the epidemic of loneliness in Bengaluru.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!