All this for you "Namma Bengalooru"

For the people who have been living in Bangalore for more than 4-5 years and didn't even put any effort to get their names registered in voter-list and vote, I have no words for them. They are shameless bunch of people, who have no rights to blame anyone if they dont' get good roads, electricity or any other civic amenities. They just want to think whole of India is theirs but when it comes to responsibility, they happily choose to back-out. I agree that you might not believe in this current Voting system, but understand that most of the youth educated people still don't vote. If you can't vote for somebody, atleast vote against. This will bring some fear in those politicians minds. Still hoping to see some changes in those so-called educated youth's acts and responsiblities towards India.
I wanted to end the post with the above lines, but I chose to write it at the top.

Last few weekends gone busy working with SmartVote and I appreciate hardwark and great effort put in by all the volunteers of SmartVote including me. :-)
All this for you "Namma Bengalooru". When you have some good cause associated with what you do, you like everything what you would have not liked in day-to-day routine, as door-to-door ringing the bell, talking the samething to all of them, tele-calling people etc.
BBMP elections are over, and there are discussions going on the same "Lower Voter Turnout". From last few weeks (weekends), I have been working with SmartVote in their drive to increase the voter-turnout, and encourage citizens to come out and vote, actually not only vote but vote for the right candidate. I as a part of SmartVote team, enjoyed every other work we did to make the whole of koramangala aware of elections, candidates and last but not the least is "To Vote".
This time SmartVote has concentrated on Koramangala (ward# 151) and did every effort to give comfort of Voting. Starting from the data-collection drive by the SmartVote volunteers from last 3-4 months, they did a awesome job of registering around 6k residents of koramangala in database. People have been informed, encouraged to search for their names and if not then get it added. Then a week before the elections, they have organized a candidates-debate in partnership with a independent and honest magazine "Citizen Matters". SmartVote volunteers have called people, texted them about the debates so that citizens can come and listen to their potential candidates. Also, candidates profiled being published and distributed in whole of koramangala. Finally before the Election-day, they setup a call-center to assist voters to find their names in the voter list all around the bangalore. Volunteers have called up all the people in the database in koramangala to remind of the election date and to vote. On the D-Day, Vote-Marshalling being done in koramangala door-to-door to say thanks if they have voted and if not then they are requested to go out and Vote.
In the whole of the process, I really enjoyed doing everything like door-to-door data collection, distributing candidates profile and inviting for debates going door-to-door in koramangala, then tele-calling koramangala citizens to remind them about election-day and requested them to vote. Vote-marshalling was also a good experience with Red FM covering a few bytes out of it.
Overall, people's responses were turned out be very good. Initially whenever we went to a door, they were reluctant to talk to us thinking salesman, and when they heard us fully, some complained us about the faults in voter-list, some said thanks and many others appreciated our effort and a larger percentage assured us that they will vote.
This time, I think its not citizens fault this time, probably the faulty voter list caused lower turnout, due to stale names present and valid names being deleted.

Busy Weekend with SmartVote and Loksatta

After a long time, I was so much busy on a weekend, that too in Bangalore :-)
Attended Dr. Meenakshi's Election Campaign Meeting at Sumir's house. Dr. Meenakshi is contesting at the Loksatta Ticket from ward# 35 Aramane Nagar.
I request all the readers of my blog to spread about Dr. Meenakshi and Loksatta whomever they know in Aramane Nagara.
Got to talk to her for quite a long time, and yes it is sure that if she gets it, she is gonna give the best of services to the ward.

Then, met there SmartVote's Sumir, and he asked me to campaign for SmartVote on Sunday Morning door-to-door and I agreed.
Sunday, 8:30 AM, behind Sukhsagar, and I was there. And then started door-to-door campaign. We went in pairs and covered one cross (a street) and spread the "To Vote" word door-to-door.
SmartVote has done a great job in making a database of Voters of Bangalore and created a very good search interface, where you can search your name based on your Name, a substring from the name, door-num or any field. We all know that there are lot of names mis-spelt, making it difficult to even search. SMART VOTE made it easy, just give it a try once. Choose your ward and search name, if not found, try with a part of your name.
SmartVote has gone a step further in this "To Vote" campaign. There is a debate organized on this Sunday, March 21st, 4:00 PM @ NGV Club, where all the contestants from the Koramangala ward# 151 will be coming and citizens can listen to them and ask questions. This would help them make a better choice among all the candidates.

It was quite a good experience, talking to people and spreading the importance of Vote.

Again, would like to request all of you to please VOTE, that's the only chance to intiate some change, the change you wish to see, yes stand-up, make a choice and VOTE. Your vote counts. A corporator choosen will be the one who is going to listen to your day-to-day issues and we all Bangaloreans will make sure that its well taken care. Yes, together we can, we will make a difference.

Don't Forget, March 28th, BBMP Elections, go and VOTE, and Make a difference.

Learn to queue up to become UK citizen, But what about an Indian becoming a good Indian Citizen?

Monday TOI - "Learn to queue up to become UK citizen".

Good initiative by London authorities, I wish Indian Government could also do something on the same lines to make our own people learn how to make a queue and be part of it.

From the news-article -
Paul Woolas, the immigration minister, said “The simple act of taking one’s turn is one of the things that holds our country together. It is very important that new comers take their place in queues whether it is for a bus or a cup of tea,” Woolas said.

If we Indians learn to form a queue or atleast if we learn to not to break a queue, many of our basic and fundamental problems will be solved easily.

If you didn't get this yet, think again.

Mare hue Ravan ko kya marte ho, Grow up !!!

Ghor Kalyug !!!
I feel very sad seeing burning effigy of Ravana, how glad we are after Ravan-Dahan, as if we ourselves have killed our own Ravana's and become the purest of the soul. In today's world, if I observe relatively, I cannot agree Ravana being a bad-man, I repeat, I am speaking "relatively". He was the most scholar of his times, there was noone who can beat his knowledge, he has done such a hard tapasya, neither you nor any good-man can even think of doing it, let alone doing it. That was "Treta-Yug", that was "Ram-Rajya", everything there was ideal, and hence Ravana was the only bad-man (again relatively). I hope its now cleared what the great significance the word "relative" has.
There are many more tangible and non-tangible bad-men present in today's world (The Great Kal-Yug).
If you want to fight, you want to kill, yes come forward, lets kill religious-descrimination, caste-descrimination, illiteracy, quota, corruption, poverty and what not.
Today we have many worst-men (Ravan being only bad-man, again relative, isn't it !!!) - to name a few - Kulayam Singh, Aayagati, Aloo Fasad, Aede-Ghoda, Akaal Fakre, Aaj-Fakre, Shok Ingle, .... And the list goes on.

Time has come, Jaago, Jaago, Grow up, fight against these tangible and non-tangible bad-men, don't let them play with your sentiments, we have a long way to success in this world.

Traffic police - "To police traffic" or "To make money from innocent citizens"?

I always follow traffic rules and also make sure that if I am pillion riding or sitting in car, the driver should also follow traffic rules. Yesterday something happened to us which was not good -

We were in Jayanagar sunday evening, trying to look for a parking space, and we reached canara bank circle. We stopped there for the signal as it was RED, and then it turned GREEN, we started moving, with that slowly moving traffic we crossed the white line, it was still GREEN, we were turning left but due to other vehicles we got a little bit delayed(Noone follows lane discipline in bangalore, its a known fact), but it was still GREEN till we can see the signal. It must have happened that we turned left and signal must have turned RED and there were 2 police inspector standing with their motorcyle with blackberries, one came in front of our car, we stopped and they alleged that we have jumped signal, we should pay fine. We were shocked, as we knew that we haven't, it was GREEN, but there was no way to prove our innocence. I agree that it might be possible that the moment we would have turned left and singal were turned RED, but we were already ahead of line and almost turned left by then. How can you drive as well as look back to see what is the condition of signal now, not possible right?

We requested a lot that we didn't jump, we were already in the middle of road but they said "No arguments", pay fine for Rs. 100 and started typing in their blackberries.

Now the questions props up -

(1) What is the first responsibility of Traffic police ( that too 2 cops), To make sure that traffic is running smoothly, to check people stick to their lanes and do not obstruct other's ways and not cause any jam at the intersection or JUST SLAP FINES AT INNOCENT CITIZENS?

(2) Now, when a traffic cops alleges that one jumped signal, now what's the proof, what is the way we can prove our innocence?

(3) There has to some answer to this, otherwise its a joke on World's largest democracy. I would say Traffic Management should put cameras and cops should only fine when they can prove that one broke the signal.

The reason I am posting this blog is that I need suggestion in how should I do something about it so that it shouldn't happen with other innocent citizens. I am attaching here the receipt photo also so that if we can make this complaint reach upto the higher management, the culprit cops can be tracked by the place, time, number on the reciept, and others should stop catching innocent peoples.
(I blurred the Driver's name and Vehicle number in the photo to protect the identity of the person driving the car publicly.)

New TTMC@Jayanagar and Metro Reach-4

Last saturday, we PRAJA folks had a monthly meet, and this time we have decided to meet at the new TTMC@Jayanagar, so that we could critically examine and provide feedback on the PRAJA and BMTC can use it for the betterment in the future projects. There are many more TTMCs coming up in the Bangalore city under the JnNurm Fund.
Here is the link which describes all the pros and cons, good and ugly part of the newly built TTMC@Jayanagar.
Jayanagar TTMC Report

After the TTMC meet, we took a MetroWalk on the reach-4 portion on RV road constructed by NCC. We spent a hour so at the metro site discussing and taking pictures.
Namma Metro Reach-4 pictures

Will we ever become developed nation in right perspective?

Was reading Today' TOI and eyes stuck at the page about Panchayat making people to die/suicide/kill/murder, I was shocked, I said to myself "Ghor Kalyug".
TOI dated 8th Sep 2009, page-11, "Medieval Justice, 50km From Delhi"
(Boycotts. Killings. Lynchings. All in the name of honour and kinship. That’s justice, khap style — and it flourishes in vast stretches of India’s hinterland. An hour’s drive from the capital is all it takes to go back a few centuries).
Other articles on the same TOI page-
'Only whores choose their partners'
Pesticide pills for 'wayward' girls
Khap panchayats seek legal claws

One can easily see that people are doing hell lot of injustice to human life in the back of so called Maryada. If this is Maryada, I wish it doesn't exist on earth, we are better without Maryada(so called Honor).
I question how come decision-makers of Panchayat are within so-called-maryada by killing innocent people, raping women in innocent families, punishing which is purely against the human rights.
Why Human Rights people can't see it?
Why Nation Commision of Women can't take any action against it?
Why Mayawati (so called Dalit's support) is not doing anything about it?
Why Police fears acting against Village Panchayat?

Everyone starting from the people facing the trauma to the police, state government, Central government, Human Rights Commision, NCW, everyone is questionable.
People Jaago, raise your voice against this? Those who are good at protesting, make non-voilent protests?

All these raises another question, will be ever developed from all perspective, this way, never, never !!!