Bangalore Mélange

BMTC ready with buses to International airport

2008-03-24T12:14:00.001+05:30

The opening of the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), might have been put off to May 11, but the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has adhered to its deadline and is all ready to ply its shuttle buses to Devanahalli from March 31.

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Metro Rail work yet to gain pace

2008-03-24T12:13:00.001+05:30

In a few days from now, it will be a year since the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC) demolished the historic boulevard on MG Road, much against the wishes of environmentalists and old-time Bangaloreans. But, not much progress has been made as the work has slowed down.

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Namma Metro's chugging along

2008-03-22T01:47:00.001+05:30

BANGALORE: In 2010, when Reach One of Namma Metro zips across the elevated tracks, it will reduce at least 30% of the private vehicles that clog city roads. By December 2011, the four corridors of Bangalore will be connected with a 33 km network of Metro rail, giving Bangaloreans the much-awaited mass transportation facility that is truly comfortable and classy.

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Bangalore gets Rs.8 mn for vehicle-tracking project

2008-03-22T01:46:00.001+05:30

Bangalore, March 20 (IANS) The central government will provide Rs.8 million to state-run Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for a pilot project to track vehicles using GPS (global positioning system) and GPRS (general packet radio service) in the city. According to a union ministry of shipping, road transport and highways statement Thursday, BMTC is implementing the vehicle tracking system at a cost of Rs.33 million, involving 500 buses on build-own-operate and transfer basis.

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WILL EASE ROAD CONGESTION

2008-03-18T10:23:00.001+05:30

The 30-minute difference in commencement of government and private school students will help reduce congestion on the roads, according to an Education department official.

“The number of students studying in private schools are more compared to those in government schools.

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Traffic snarls: City schools to start early

2008-03-18T10:20:00.003+05:30

To ensure that school children are not caught in peak hour traffic, the State Government has decided to advance school timings by half an hour in the City, from the coming academic year.

Government schools will start from 9 am, private-aided and unaided schools will open at 8.30 am, said Commissioner to the Department of Public Instructions, Kumar Naik.

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Ferraris vroom on City roads

2008-03-18T10:20:00.001+05:30

Bengaluru woke up to the sound of two Ferrari 612 Scagliettis rolling into the city in the wee hours of Monday.

The cream and maroon coloured cars were a crowd puller near Shell station on Mysore road.

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Train to airport put on fast track

2008-03-18T10:15:00.001+05:30

The proposed high speed train to the Bengaluru International Airport will be implemented under the Build, Operate and Transfer (BOT) model with private participation, unlike the Bangalore Metro which is being jointly implemented by the State government and the Centre through a special purpose vehicle, the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation (BMRC).

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Ticketless travellers may get clicked

2008-03-18T10:12:00.001+05:30

Looking for a free ride on BMTC buses? Beware. If caught while travelling without a ticket, your photographs may appear in the newspapers stating that you had travelled in public transport buses without proper ticket.

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Use of BlackBerry devices by traffic police in city not to be affected

2008-03-18T10:09:00.001+05:30

The Union Communication Ministry’s decision not to ban the BlackBerry services for the time being has come as a relief for the city traffic police, who are using the service for online registration of cases related to traffic offences. The Union Home Ministry had sought to check the use of BlackBerry services citing national security concerns.

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Direct poll for mayor proposed

2008-03-18T00:11:00.001+05:30

A mayor directly elected by the people, a separate new legislation for BBMP and establishment of a Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) for Bangalore region.

These are some of the recommendations made by the expert committee on governance in the Bangalore Metropolitan Region (BMR) and Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).

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Bangalore: the world's call-centre capital

2008-03-18T00:04:00.001+05:30

Under an oak-beamed ceiling, young couples are sitting at bar tables next to a cosy stone fireplace. They down their beers, work their way through plates of chips, and share text messages on their mobiles. The TV is showing darts matches and Premier League football. Just another Tuesday night down the Red Lion, Bangalore.

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Cong fears poll fallout over Banglore airports

2008-03-12T10:57:00.001+05:30

The Centre's formula of giving Hyderabad and Bangalore private state-of-the-art airports by closing the old ones in the heart of cities is now causing heartburn among the political class and the general public in Karnataka.

While Hyderabad — with a stable government in Andhra and a "politically conscious" GMR Group developing the airport — is less of a problem, Bangalore is proving to be a big headache.

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HC not to stall BIA opening, questions connectivity

2008-03-11T11:52:00.001+05:30

The Karnataka High Court on Monday made it clear that it will not come in the way of the Bangalore International Airport (BIA) inauguration, but expressed displeasure over the connectivity to the new airport.

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City needs HAL airport

2008-03-11T11:51:00.001+05:30

With less than three weeks to go for the commissioning of the Bengaluru International Airport, the clamour has grown louder for retention of the HAL airport for short-haul flights, at least until the access to the new airport is smoother.

Political leaders, cutting across party lines, have joined the chorus.

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NHAI bogey hits speed train

2008-03-11T11:50:00.001+05:30

The Karnataka government's efforts to put on track a high-speed train from the city to the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) has suffered a hiccup. The project, planned on NH 7, has been sent to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for a relook at the alignment, which is found to be clashing with the elevated corridor planned on the same path by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

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Poor roads delay inauguration of Bangalore airport

2008-03-11T11:47:00.001+05:30

While Hyderabad is all set to get a new international airport on March 14, Bangalore is scheduled to miss its date with the swanky new international airport that was to open on March 30. Citing safety concerns and poor road connectivity from the city to the airport, civil aviation minister Praful Patel has turned down the proposal to open the airport for commercial operations this month.

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Bangalore air traffic to go sky-high soon

2008-03-11T11:44:00.001+05:30

With the new international airport set to open March 30 in India's silicon city, domestic and foreign airlines are waiting in the wings to launch new services and increase frequencies from this southern hub to new and existing destinations both in India and abroad.

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Litter Lalbagh, pay hefty fine

2008-03-07T03:22:00.001+05:30

In a bid to check the litter menace and help the historical garden regain its past beauty, the Horticulture department and the Civil Defence will impose a penalty varying from Rs 50 to Rs 400 on litterbugs in the garden from March 24. “As part of the ‘Lalbagh Clean-up’ initiative, anyone found littering in the park — visitors or hawkers — will pay a fine from March 24.

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Cong banks on B'lore-centric ‘Krishna’

2008-03-07T03:16:00.001+05:30

The news of the return of Maharashtra Governor S M Krishna to active politics has not only bolstered the prospects of Congress candidates in urban areas, but also brightened the hopes of IT and BT sectors in the capital.

Krishna, who had been criticised by his detractors for being too 'Bangalore centric,’ has been a very popular leader in the IT capital, besides in other IT hubs like Mysore and Mangalore because of his pro-people outlook during his term as chief minister.

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Pollution board aims to make city litter-free

2008-03-07T03:12:00.001+05:30

The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) in association with the Civil Defence Wardens-Bangalore and a few city-based corporates have embarked upon a project to make Bangalore litter-free and plastic-free.

In a step towards achieving this, ‘Hasiru Kattu’ — a green code movement for the city has been launched

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BRV Grounds-airport link cleared

2008-03-06T11:47:00.001+05:30

Decks have been cleared for the multi-crore high-speed rail connecting BRV Grounds (MG Road) to Bengaluru International Airport.

The state has created a special purpose vehicle (SPV) - Bangalore Airport Rail Link Ltd (BARL) - for the speedy execution of this project.

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Govt finds it tough to close old airports

2008-03-06T11:44:00.001+05:30

The government is in a fix over its agreements with greenfield airports developers for shutting existing airports in Hyderabad and Bangalore when the new ones get operational later this month.

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Put user fee on hold, BIAL told

2008-03-06T04:34:00.001+05:30

Not happy with the BIAL proposing to charge user development fee for its embarking passengers, the Centre has asked the project operator to consider imposing the fee only after it furnishes the audited project cost, like the Hyderabad airport.

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Bangalore Open could lose WTA Tier II status

2008-03-05T01:44:00.001+05:30

BANGALORE, India, March 4 (Reuters) - A decision on whether the Bangalore Open will remain a Tier II event will be taken in the next few months, WTA chief Larry Scott said on Tuesday.
The Bangalore Open, in its third year, was upgraded to Tier II this season which Scott said was on a trial basis as the WTA was finalising plans for restructuring the tour.

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