Here are the big stories from Karnataka today

Karnataka Today newsletter: Opposition BJP and JD(S) adamant about not splitting BBMP, and more

The Congress-led government in Karnataka is working towards tabling the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024 that aims to revamp administration of the city with a multiple corporation set-up in the upcoming monsoon session of the legislature. However, the going may not be easy given the opposition to splitting Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) from the opposition BJP and JD(S), who see the existing set-up as their legacy. 

During the earlier tenure of the Congress, CM Siddaramaiah championed the Karnataka Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2015, which was passed in the Assembly but defeated in the Council. The then Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala sent the Bill for presidential assent, but it eventually met with a quiet death.  When the BJP came to power in 2019, it brought in the BBMP Act, 2020, which provided for bureaucratic decentralisation under a single corporation, which the Congress described as a missed opportunity to fix Bengaluru’s woes. Read our series on the draft Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill, 2024.

A steady stream of tributes and condolence messages have been pouring in following the passing away of Aparna Vastarey, acclaimed TV anchor, actor and the Kannada voice of Namma Metro in Bengaluru. The anchor passed away on July 11 at the age of 57, after a prolonged two-year battle with lung cancer.

Top Karnataka leaders, including CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar, took to X (formerly Twitter) to condole the death of Karnataka’s beloved TV presenter, while many industry colleagues shared their grief and fond memories of Aparna on social media.

The old ‘Pete’ (city) area in the heart of Bengaluru has around 25,000 shops. According to the traders, the floating population in this area during festive and wedding seasons is close to a lakh per day. Yet, there is only one public toilet in Mamulpet. Most shoppers often ask shopkeepers for keys to their private toilets, or go in search of a decent restaurant to relieve themselves.

At a time when the Karnataka government is mulling over a menstrual leave policy, for women working in the informal sector and for women who are out of their houses, access to public toilets remains out of the question in many parts of Bengaluru. Even in places where they exist, they often go unnoticed because they are hidden from view or owing to the lack of signages.

While there is much alarm over the rise in dengue cases in Karnataka, a look at data from the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) under the Directorate General of Health Services of the Union Government shows that this is not the worst surge Karnataka has seen.