Good morning, Bengaluru!
đ¤ď¸ Todayâs weather: Warm temperatures and hazy sunshine.
đ§ Did you know? The Attara Kacheri is one of the many symbols of Indiaâs syncretic history. In 1868, the Kingdom of Mysore shifted its secretariat headquarters to the building. Inspired by Aurangzebâs style of governance, the secretariat was called âeighteen departmentsâ in the Hindustani tongue.
đ˝ď¸ Also: Vignesh Shankar, the founder of this newsletter, has started an Instagram page where he posts short reels about some interesting stuff. His recent posts were about the Guinness World Records, the History of Emoji, Microchips and Geopolitics, and QWERTY keyboard layout. Check out his page here and follow him if you like what you see!
đ§âđ Women can work night shifts
Karnataka Assembly passes a bill to allow women to work the night shift.
Story so far: On Wednesday, the Karnataka Assembly passed The Factories (Karnataka Amendment) Bill. The amendment allows women to work night shifts in factories. It also permits employees to take three days off a week, provided they work 12 hours a day consecutively for four days.
- As per the Bill, women can work from 7 pm to 6 am if the employers install a host of safety measures like transport facilities. The Bill passes the onus on employers to prevent sexual harassment.
- As per the amendment, the government will set overtime hours, during which employees will earn at twice the rate of ordinary wages.
Security measures: The Bill mandates employers to establish an appropriate working environment for women. This implies that their night-duty transport vehicles be equipped with CCTV and GPS, factories should have proper lighting and CCTV coverage, and women should be employed in batches of no less than 10.
𤸠Akhada fitness
Traditional strength training has struck a chord with fitness enthusiasts.
Story so far: Rishab Malhotra, the founder of a fitness brand Tagda Raho, is reviving akhada or wrestling workouts by employing traditional equipment using âgadasâ and âmudgarsâ in fitness training. Malhotra conceived the idea while recovering from temporary paralysis of his left arm.
- Tagda Raho has devised a routine involving full-body movements merged into strength training programmes. Malhotra believes everybody can perform the exercise since it requires no prior training.
- City-based cricketer Robin Uthappa is another fan of such training. According to him, the gada training improves his strength, awareness, and overall balance.
Why it matters? Malhotraâs akhada or wrestling workouts may be traditional, but they are a fairly new addition to fitness repertoires. While swinging the gada around targets the whole body, it is exceptionally helpful in building a mind-muscle connection and treating back pain.
- Sheral Pareira, another enthusiast, clarifies that while the exercise may seem daunting, it can be performed by anyone and should not be perceived as a manly sport. The twists and turns involved in akhada training are good for gaining muscles and strength.
đ Grapes and watermelon galore
HOPCOMS will sell fresh grapes and watermelon all summer.
Story so far: The annual grapes and watermelon festival commenced on Wednesday at the Horticultural Producers Cooperative Marketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMS) office in Lalbagh. All varieties will be at a 10 per cent discount until the mela ends on March 21.
- Thirteen grape varieties and four types of watermelons are on sale. HOPCOMS aims to procure and sell 500 metric tonnes of grape varieties from Chikkaballapura and 800 metric tonnes of watermelons from its outlets in the city.
- The cooperative society has a network of farmers from Chikkaballapura, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Kolar and Koppal who supply them with the fruits.
Why it matters? HOPCOMS employees complain of oversight from the government. N Devaraj, HOPCOMSâ President, reveals that no government has addressed their demands for funds and gratuity upon retirement. The annual festival will allow farmers to earn better rates for their fruits and buyers to get fresh products at lower prices.
Benefits: Grapes are rich in natural sugar and minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and iron. Watermelons contain Vitamins A, C, B-1, B-2, and other minerals.
đ Voter awareness drive
The BBMP is going the extra mile to woo young first-time voters to register.
Story so far: The BBMP has initiated an awareness drive in the city to address the dismally low numbers of first-time voter registration. The Palike will target college students through a door-to-door enrollment campaign. Only 54,000 first-time voters registered at the polling booths this year, far below the Palikeâs expectation of enrolling 1 lakh new voters.
- The civic body is employing data from the Department of Collegiate Education to kickstart the campaign. The Palike is setting up electoral literacy clubs and appointing campus ambassadors to motivate the students to enrol.
- The BBMP has empowered 3,000 booth-level officials to conduct door-to-door registration. The officials will visit each house to encourage the youth to vote in areas with no registrations.
Positive results: The BBMPâs campaign has delivered in its first week. In the last 20 days, around 30,000 new voters registered themselves. The Palike aims to enrol 25,000 more by the first week of March.
⨠Things to doâŚ
Here are some fun and interesting things to do in the city over the weekend!
- Night Market is the perfect place for antique and collectable enthusiasts.
- Have a blast with genre-bending DJ Bill Brewster at Indiranagar Social on Saturday.
- Attend Zusammen, a collaborative concert featuring German drummer Magnus Dauner, on Saturday.
- Watch Manchester United and Newcastle United go head-to-head at Uru Brewpark on Sunday.
- Writinge is back in the city with another open mic. Here are the details to attend or perform.
đď¸ Local Lounge
Yesterday’s Poll Results:
- Iâm still close to my childhood friends: 38.9%
- Iâve lost touch with my childhood friends: 61.1% đ
Answers to Yesterday’s Question:
What appears the most in your phoneâs photo library?
Deepta: âFood pictures and sky picturesâ
Datta: âPhotos of my son/wifeâ
Rahul: âMemesâ
Thatâs it for today. Have a great weekend!