Archive for the ‘News’ Category
Thursday, April 8th, 2010
Now that rainwater harvesting has become mandatory in Bangalore, this is the time to dig recharge wells. The law states that the depths should be a minimum of 10 feet. In most parts of the city, a depth of 20 feet to 30 feet is recommended.
All individual households, apartments, layouts, industries and institutions can construct recharge wells and should appropriately include it as part of the design itself. In many cases the groundwater levels increase almost immediately after a rainfall year and this water is available for supplementary and appropriate use. In many cases borewells too are benefited as the shallow aquifer eventually recharges the secondary porosity from where borewells draw water.
A typical recharge well is one meter in diameter. It is then lined with pre-cast concrete rings with perforations to allow water to slip out from the sides. These rings are then gradually lowered into the well to line it from the bottom all the way to the ground level and above. A solid cover of steel or pre-cast concrete rings is placed on the top for security and safety purpose. This is very important.
The capacity of such a recharge well of one meter diameter and six meters depth is about 5,000 liters. Normal procedures for well maintenance, such as regular cleaning and disinfection annually, are recommended. Removal of silt regularly helps in greater recharge. By integrating rainwater harvesting with groundwater recharge each citizen can contribute to the cause by using water judiciously and ensure its continued availability for future.
Source: The Hindu
Tags: Bangalore, dig recharge well, rain water harvesting mandatory for new building, rainwater harvesting, recharge wells, save water
Posted in Bangalore, News | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, March 30th, 2010
To facilitate receipt of taxes from the public the Reserve Bank of India(RBI), Bangalore, and branches of agency banks conducting government business will remain open up to 5.30 pm on March 30 and March 31.
To realize and credit clearing instruments received from the public by March 31 , a special clearing will be conducted on March 30 and 31.
The Reserve Bank of India, Bangalore, and branches of agency banks conducting government business will remain open up to 5.30 pm on March 30 and March 31 to receive cash, deposits, cheques and instruments representing government taxes.
Tags: Bangalore, banking hours, financial year, march 30 and 31, rbi, receipt of tax, Reserve Bank of India, special clearing, tax
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Monday, March 29th, 2010
The poor turnout in the posh areas of the city and the general voter apathy was cause enough for several politicians to spit fire at Bangalore, and to hint that if people did not turn out to vote they had no right to criticize the ruling class.The much-awaited elections to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) were marred by poor voter turnout, with the State Election Commission pegging the voting percentage in the city at 44.6 per cent.
Not even a single vote was polled in polling station No 10 of Benniganahalli, situated in the defence colony C V Raman Nagar.Only 161 of 1,085 voters had cast their votes till 3 pm in polling station No. 6 of Seshadripuram ward, which falls in the most elite area of the ward.
“They have no right to blame politicians when they do not vote in the very important process of democracy,” Kumaraswamy said. Krishna Byregowda, MLA from Byatarayanapura Assembly segment echoed similar sentiments. Byregowda said: “These people always demand facilities from government but are not ready to spend a few minutes to exercise their franchise. I consider the poor turnout as the failure of the educated people.” Going a step further, Transport Minister in-charge of Bangalore R Ashok scolded people for watching films and going to restaurants instead of voting and called for making voting compulsory.
“It is a shame on part of educated people. I don’t know why these people have no time even to come to polling stations to elect a right candidate.It is a pity and disappointment to see that educated people prefer to watch films instead of polling. Voting should be made compulsory,” the minister R Ashok said.
Several voters found their names missing from the voter’s list or mentioned in wrong ward numbers. Many voters were not allowed to cast their vote in spite of having valid election photo identity cards, as their names were missing. This included first time voters as well as holders of the new voters ID cards issued in 2009.
Reference:
expressbuzz.com
Tags: Bangalore, bbmp bangalore, bbmp election, cv raman nagar, election 2010, poor voter turnout
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010
Bangalore city goes to polls on 28th March 2010 and contestants are leaving no stone unturned to woo voters.It is only less than five days left for BBMP election and Campaigning modes like publicity material, announcements, radio and TV announcements, public meetings, rallies and door-to-door campaigning with handbills and pamphlets going to end by March 26.
The tech savvy contestants will canvas till the day of the elections through e-campaigning.The contestants especially those who have opted for the social networking sites campaign through SMS or social networking sites till the day of the elections.
Janaagraha Jaagte Raho campaign has teamed up with CommonFloor (www.commonfloor.com), an online application that provides a feature rich and private portal for residential community/apartment complex to ensure all Bangalore residents to vote.
Check out websites http://bit.ly/b5jFu8 for final list of candidates in your locality or neighborhood. Know about candidates whom you are going to vote before the day of election. Voting is your right and responsibility, on 28th March set aside your busy shedule or works and ensure that you and your family members vote. Volunteer to assist those with disabilities or transportation issues get to the polls. If you’re a student, educate your friends and others about BBMP election.
Tags: Bangalore, bbmp bangalore, bbmp election, campaign, commonfloor, final list of candidates, responsibility, vote, voting right
Posted in Events, News | 1 Comment »
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
Karnataka High Court on Friday upheld the Hindu Succession Amendment Act, 2005. A daughter is entitled to equal share like the son in the co-parcenary property and the marriage in no way affects her right to equal share in that property. This means those daughters born after June 17, 1956, when the parent Hindu Succession Act came into force, can challenge proceedings with regard to their coparcenary properties.
The division Bench headed by Justice N Kumar observed, Son is a son until he gets a wife, however a daughter is a daughter throughout her life. A married daughter is also a co-parcener and is entitled to equal share like the son in the co-parcenary property and the marriage in no way affects her right to equal share in that property. The daughters can challenge proceedings with regard to their coparcenary properties but cannot challenge where there is a registered partition deed and when a partition has reached finality in court by a final decree from the highest court.
Coparcenary is a type of co-tenancy where property descends to two or more persons on the death of the owner.Since the passing of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956 (‘the Act’), one issue which was constantly agitated by the liberals was regarding the right of a daughter or a married daughter in coparcenary property of a Hindu Undivided Family.
The amendment wants to give such rights from the day the Act came into force. This is the will of the people, the Bench observed.
Tags: co-parcenary, daughter, equal rights in property, girl, married daughter, News, partition deed
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Friday, March 12th, 2010
In recent Karnataka budget 2010-11, the decrease in stamp duty is expected to cause some optimism among home buyers. Real estate sector is gradually becoming active and reduction in stamp duty in recent budget is boon for for those homebuyers or investing in real estate.
Stamp duty on Deposition of Title Deed (DTD) would be would be reduced to 0.10 per cent from previous 0.25 per cent subject to a maximum ceiling of Rs.50,000. For amalgamation and de-merger of companies, present rate of 5 per cent would be brought down to 3 per cent. One per cent duty would be imposed on papers of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR).
An appropriate amendments would be brought in to stop stamp duty evasion in transfer of apartments/flats. Stamp duty on Agreement to Sale to be modified from 0.25 per cent to 0.10 per cent subject to a maximum of Rs.20,000. After further simplifying of duty structure in respect of lease and license, Stamp Duty at the rate of 0.50 per cent will be imposed for a period up to 1 year subject to a maximum of Rs.500 for residential buildings. Stamp Duty would be imposed one, two and three per cent respectively for a period of one year to 10 years, 10 to 20 years, 20 to 30 years, based on average of one-year. rentals and advance
Stamp Duty and Registration Fee exemption
In the recent budget 2010-11, it is decide to exempt Stamp Duty and Registration Fee fully in respect of loan documents of rainwater harvesting units, houses built under Indira Avas Scheme and non-conventional sources of energy – like solar and bio-gas energy units. Stamp Duty and Registration Fee exemption will be granted in respect of documents transferring properties for public purposes, free of cost to local bodies and urban development authorities. Duty in respect of annulment of all kinds of documents will be simplified.
Tags: Apartment, Apartment India, Bangalore, budget, deposition of title deed, karnataka, karnataka budget 2010-11, market trend, News, real estate, real estate sector, reduction in stamp duty, residential property, Stamp duty
Posted in News | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
The Government has sought to hike the penalty amount on all types of offenses, including tampering of meter, connection to the Board sewer without permission, execution of work by any person other than a licensed plumber and constructing a building without drains.
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage and Certain other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2009, tabled in the Legislative Assembly,seeks to enhance the penalties on various offenses under the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Act.The bill also seeks to empower the Board to insist house owners to adopt water conservation methods.
Illegal use and wastage of drinking water and tampering of meters will soon attract severe punishment. Presently there is no provision to imprison an offender. New bill includes a penalty of imprisonment from six month to three years if water is wasted or misused. Board has been empowered to insist on the building owner to adopt water-conservation methods like rainwater harvesting and recycling of waste water for potable purposes.The bill is yet to be debated in the assembly.
The amendment to the Bill also brings developers of apartments and high-rise buildings in BBMP area to pay pro-rata charges (proportionate charges) towards cost of improvement of water and sewerage systems levied by the board from time to time.
Source : Deccan Herald
Tags: amendment of bill, bwssb bangalore, hike in penalty amount, New bill, rainwater harvesting, wastage of drinking water
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Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
A week after the Budget made homes more expensive by imposing a service tax of 10% on the cost of construction, banks are now ratcheting up interest rates by 0.25-0.50%. Bankers say they expect rates to rise by another 0.25-0.50% after two-three months when the Reserve Bank ups rates in general at its next credit policy review in April.
All new home buyers will now have to pay 0.25-0.50% of additional interest. This is because the Reserve Bank of India has impounded more bank cash to check inflation, with the cash reserve ratio being raised by 0.75% to 5.75% in February. New borrowers will have to shell out Rs633 more in terms of equated monthly installments (EMIs) compared to people who have already raised their loans.
Home loan vendors are not making the buying decision any easier. Kotak Mahindra Bank, too, has announced a hike in home loan rates. On Thursday, leading home financiers ICICI Bank and Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) ended their “teaser home loan” schemes, under which rates were as low as 8-8.25% in the initial years.An ICICI Bank spokesperson said that the “two-year fixed-rate home loan scheme has been discontinued from March 1, 2010. The current floating home loan rates are 8.75% for loans up to Rs 30 lakh, 9% for Rs 30-50 lakh and 9.5% above Rs 50 lakh.”
Tags: Bangalore, buying a home, home loan, home loan gets pricier, News, property, real estate, Real Estate India
Posted in News | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Last week’s blaze in Carlton Towers Bangalore has taught many lessons not just for the BBMP but all other departments.The State Government is now planning to make it mandatory for owners of high-rises to submit annual affidavits to the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) certifying that all safety mechanisms are in place.
“Everyone knows that the building owner tries to comply with all norms before obtaining an occupancy certificate from the Palike. But the problem starts when violations take place after the construction,” Said A. Ravindra, Adviser to Chief Minister (Urban Affairs).
“Everyone talks about prevention and precautions only after the incident. We should plan something concrete to ensure that such tragedies do not recur. We are trying to fix the responsibility of ensuring safety mechanisms on both the owner and the occupants,” he added.
Apart from periodic inspections to check post-construction violations, it is also important for a coordinated effort from all departments to ensure that all safety aspects and precautions to prevent accidents are in place.
Reference:
The Hindu
Tags: annual affidavits, annual affidavits certifying that all safety mechanisms, apartment owners, bbmp, bbmp bangalore, owners of high rises
Posted in News | 1 Comment »
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
A fire broke out on seven-storey Carlton Towers on the Old Airport Road. Tuesday’s fire at the Carlton Towers Bangalore has once again brought into focus safety in high-rise buildings and the responsibilities of the owners/occupants concerned.
“Tuesday’s fire at Carlton Towers was due to negligence and was a violation of human rights.” said The Karnataka Human Rights Commissioner (SHRC) S R Nayak. “It was noticed that the common passage was constructed illegaly and we also suspect that there is deviation from the building plan and violation of building norms,” added Nayak.
Post-mortem reports on Wednesday confirmed what had been preliminary suspicions, that eight of the nine deaths due to the Carlton fire were caused by head injuries and only one by asphyxiation.
The building plan violations made fire-fighting difficult.The fire alarm didn’t go off. The sprinklers didn’t work because there was no water. The fire exits were locked. Nothing seems to have worked when the flames struck at cables in the duct beside the ground-floor lift. An opening, left unsealed on the top floors led to the smoke spreading, causing panic. This is a common violation in many high-rises.On some floors, the passage connecting the two staircases on either sides of the building was blocked. Advertisement hoardings and minor construction on the premises hindered the movement of fire engines.
“We don’t have the powers to undertake frequent inspections of fire safety measures.We gave the clearance in 1999. The owner has sold it room-wise and floor-wise. The [present] owners have the collective responsibility of adhering to the safety norms.We could not use the turntable ladders to evacuate people as the fire engines carrying them were stuck in traffic. Our men were injured by the glass facade being broken by those in the building.” Said B.G. Chengappa, Director, Karnataka Fire and Emergency Services.
Reference:
The Hindu
Tags: 9 dead, bangalore fire, carlton towers bangalore, fire safety, old airport road, violation of building norms
Posted in News | 1 Comment »
