Good morning, Bengaluru!
⛅ Today’s weather: Partly cloudy skies with sunny weather!
🧐 Did you know? Bengaluru is the only Indian city with the most worship houses for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians. There are a high number of temples, mosques and cathedrals present in all parts of the city!
📙 Spreading the word on constitution
This Republic Day, Vinay Kumar was seen distributing postcards and spreading awareness about the constitution.
Story so far: An aeronautics engineer by training and a patent consultant by profession, Vinay Kumar took up the initiative to spread awareness about the constitution.
- The decision to take up the initiative started after he began thinking about the constitution post the anti-CAA protests and the pandemic.
- Kumar firmly believes that the constitution has brought together a diverse country through fundamental values of freedom and justice, and hopes to spread the message of the constitution to bring people together.
Reclaiming the constitution: To Vinay, reclaiming the constitution involves understanding the current relevance of such an old text. He wants to practically apply the learnings from the independence movement and use it in a constructive way for the betterment of India’s future. This movement has a lot of support, and he recently distributed 1000 copies of his constitution booklet.
🚦 Discount on pending traffic fines
After the traffic police announced a 50% discount to pay remaining traffic fines, large numbers gathered at police headquarters to pay their dues.
Story so far: The state transport department announced this discount as a one-time measure after a meeting with the Karnataka legal services authority in January.
- In the span of three days, the Bengaluru traffic police have collected over ₹22.32 crore in traffic fines and cleared more than 7 lakh cases.
- The same high numbers were seen across cities in Karnataka, like Mangaluru and Mysuru.
Efficient automation: The police have created provisions for the public to pay fines online instead of visiting police stations physically, and use Paytm and other platforms to make payments easily. The police hope that this automated system will make the process easier and increase the number of fines collected.
🙏 Taking pride in our roots
Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai recently inaugurated the VK Kannada Habba at the Central College campus to promote the Kannada language and culture.
Story so far: To calm the growing concerns among residents that the Kannada language is under threat, CM inaugurated this habba to promote Kannada and help people stay in touch with their roots.
- Celebrities like Rishab Shetty were also a part of the programme, and various college students were present at the fest.
- The fest involved various activities like a procession of Kannada chariots and interesting sessions on health and wealth. The second day also involved a children’s corner with activies like pottery, and panel discussions for adults on various topics.
Free for all: There was also a booming culinary fair, with food from across Karnataka. The entry for the Kannada Habba was completely free, making it accessible to all.
😮💨 Is clean Bengaluru air a myth?
While air pollution may have never presented itself as a serious issue for Bengaluru, experts argue that Bengaluru’s air quality is unsatisfactory.
Story so far: Most times, Bengaluru air falls under the category of satisfactory or moderate. But experts say the number and position of monitoring stations in the city are not effective.
- While factors like Bengaluru’s altitude, weather and geography do help Bengaluru’s AQI, they do not explain how Bengaluru has satisfactory air quality.
- Despite geographical advantages, Bengaluru’s traffic emissions and pollutants are just as bad as any major city. The current AQI results are positive largely because of the areas where the monitoring stations are located.
Future plans: To combat this discrepancy, the Karnataka government has installed seven continuous monitoring stations across various regions in the city. The air quality is now measured around the clock and checked for pollutants.
📊 Today’s Poll
(Only subscribers can participate in the polls)
Do you prefer travelling by train or by flight?
- I prefer travelling by train.
- I prefer travelling by flight.
❓ Today’s Question
(Only subscribers can submit their answers)
Which animals do you think are the least pet friendly?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- NR Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys, has requested the Union Finance Minister to allow NRIs to stay for 182 days in the country instead of the current 120 days.
- The Bengaluru-Mumbai route may become shorter, and routes to many cities may become faster as per the budget allocation.
- Many major airlines like Air Asia are likely to shift their primary domestic operations to terminal 2 of Bengaluru airport.
- The electoral poll scene in Karnataka has gotten interesting with the re-entry of an ex-mining baron.
- A property in Bengaluru was bought by TVS Motor Company for ₹20.93 crore.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!