Good morning, Bengaluru!
⛈️ Today’s weather: High chances of rain with scattered thunderstorms throughout the day.
🧐 Did you know? German botanist Gustav Hermann Krumbeigel planned and designed the garden and fountains of Central College as well as the terrace garden of Bangalore Palace.
👮 Team to identify illegally staying foreigners
The city police have formed a team in every police station to identify and act on foreign nationals who are illegally overstaying in Bengaluru.
Story so far: The city police have found 570 foreigners overstaying in the city between March and August this year after their visas have expired. Data provided by Home Minister Araga Jnanendra revealed that 5,936 foreign nationals are still residing in the city and 3,517 are studying in multiple institutions.
- The Home Minister instructed the city police to carry out a survey of foreigners living in their respective jurisdictions in March.
- With the help of the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), the survey identified illegally overstaying foreigners.
Detention centres: Police officials have stated that there is a shortage of detention centres in the city and they cannot accommodate all the overstaying foreigners. Due to this, detention centre staff are returning these persons to the police who are then arresting the individuals under the Foreigners Act.
🚯 Metro’s TBM encounters a pile of garbage
Namma Metro’s tunnel boring machine (TBM) got stuck after encountering a pile of garbage buried 33 feet below the earth’s surface.
Story so far: The TBM, as a part of Namma Metro’s project, was tunnelling the way from Dairy Circle onwards Lakkasandra when the pile of garbage was discovered. Installed to tunnel through a 14 km network, the machine was being utilised for phase II of the metro project.
- MD of BMRCL, Anjum Parwez claimed that a pile of garbage posing a challenge to tunnel work is unheard of.
- 35 meters of garbage was discovered in the way of the machine.
Quarry land: Upon looking into the matter, officials found that the area was used for quarrying decades ago. The land was later converted into a dumping site. The garbage included plastic buckets, tyres, bags and bones which did not allow the machine to move forward as it was stuck.
🛺 Aggregator autos to be impounded
Transport minister B Sriramulu has directed officials to seize autorickshaws of app-based aggregators on Saturday.
Story so far: After deeming three-wheelers issued by ride-hailing companies Uber, Ola and Rapido ‘illegal’, the state government has released notices asking the companies to stop auto services and submit a report within three days. The transport minister has now called for seizing aggregator autos.
- The companies have been given time till Tuesday to respond to the notices after which action will be taken against them.
- Currently, a case filed by the aggregators is still pending in the high court.
Minimum fare: The minimum fare for an autorickshaw is ₹30 for the first 1.9 km. However, the aggregator autos were charging as much as ₹100 which breached the upper limit. Following this, the transport department deemed aggregator autos ‘illegal.’
🛄 PM Modi to inaugurate Terminal 2 of Airport
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate the newly constructed terminal 2 (T2) of Kempegowda International Airport on November 10.
Story so far: In October 2018, L&T’s Building and Factories business was awarded ₹3,000 crores for the construction of T2 by Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL). The contract includes engineering, design, construction, procurement, testing and operations of the terminal.
- Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) was selected to design the terminal and they decided to reflect the garden city ethos of Bengaluru.
- SOM has designed the terminal with trees, small gardens and ponds with local species of plants.
Garden terminal: Passageways at the terminals will make passengers feel closer to nature. Hanging planted bells will be displayed at the entrance, check-in and security area. The garden terminal will also feature an indoor garden with waterfalls and rammed-earth walls. The three-storeyed forest belt will be connected to the shopping area.
📊 Today’s Poll
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Would you rather travel to the past or the future?
- I would travel to the past.
- I would travel to the future.
❓ Today’s Question
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What food item could you eat every day and why?
Reply to this email with your answers.
🗞️ In other news…
- The Bengaluru Metro Transport Corporation received 100 more electric buses on Friday from Switch Mobility in a bid to reduce carbon emissions in the city.
- After a surprise visit to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital and KC General Hospital, Karnataka HC Justice B Veerappa flagged the hospitals for poor maintenance and lack of cleanliness and hygiene.
- Environmentalists believe that the air quality in the city is poor and it is heading towards becoming the lung disease capital.
- Data from the state government revealed that severe and common mental health disorders are on the rise in Bengaluru with increasing cases of disorders such as schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
- Cycle Day will be resumed in the city after a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
That’s it for today. Have a great day!