Invitation for public meeting to launch Jana Pranalike/ People's Manifesto
vinay sreenivasa
Namaskara,
All efforts of the Karnataka Government to deny the people of Bangalore their fundamental right to choose their local government has been defeated by landmark decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and the High Court of Karnataka in response to Public Interest Litigations. As a result elections to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) will now be held on 28 March 2010.
Bengalureans have been denied their due right to shape their city for over 7 years due to the absence of an elected body. In this period a highly unaccountable and centralised bureaucratic raj took over, giving very little opportunity for citizens to be involved in local decisions. People's role in shaping debate and decision making was reduced. The impact was apparent everywhere: quality of basic services significantly declined, even as money and public resources were invested in projects and schemes in a non-transparent manner.
The opportunity now exists to renew our tryst with local democracy and begin shaping our city. Municipal elections are key drivers in shaping our city. Choose the wrong candidate, and vote on the wrong set of issues, the impact is likely to be irreversible. Contrarily, if candidates were to agree to People's real issues of concerns, and get voted, they are likely to follow up on election promises during their term in office.
With this in context, many not-for-profit voluntary and public interest organisations and individuals working with a variety of communities and on a range of issues met over the past several months to collate a People's Manifesto. Several meetings and discussions within and across sectors was the basis of preparing this Manifesto which is a distilled version of various progressive policies and measures that we feel people of Bengaluru deserve. The list of issues and concerns raised in the Manifesto are meant to be indicative and not all comprehensive.
The idea is to urge Voters or Candidates or Public Spirited Campaigners to use this Manifesto as a basis to make a wise choice while participating in the BBMP elections.
This manifesto is being launched in a public meeting on Monday, March 15th. We are writing to you to invite you to the public meeting.
Venue : The NGO Hall, Cubbon Park (opposite M.S.Building, Dr.Ambedkar Veedhi, near K.R.Circle)
Date and Time : Monday, March 15th, 4 – 7 p.m
Schedule : Presenting the manifesto – 4 to 5 p.m Open Discussions on the manifesto – 5 to 6 p.m Discussion on campaign and strategies – 6 to 7 p.m to take the manifesto forward
We request you to share your views on the manifesto and help us in the larger campaign to take it forward if you are in agreement with us. Do join us in helping shape the city which will serve all sections in a just, equitable and sustainable way! On Behalf of -
Bengaluru Janara Vedike / Bangalore People's Forum
A Forum of various progressive organisations including ActionAid, Alternate Law Forum, Aneka, Bengaluru Slum Janara Kriya Vedike, Centre for Education and Documentation, Community Health Cell, Concerned for Working Children, Environment Support Group (Environment, Social Justice and Governance Initiatives), Garment and Textile Workers Union, Hasiru Usiru, Janasahyog, Jana Arogya Andolana Karnataka, Kilikili, Maraa, Nightingales Medical Trust, Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, Sangama, Slum Jagattu, The Avenue Road Traders Associations, Urban Research Centre
More about the manifesto The manifesto addresses various issues - Governance, Public Health, Acessibility(focussing on people with disabilities), Mobility, Culture, Parks, Playfields and Open Spaces, Heritage, Livelihoods, Wlfare of Unorganised orkers, Natural Resource Management, Urban Poverty, Elders Welfare, Public Education, Child Lbaour,Rights of Children, Animal Welfare , Safety and Waste Management. We intend to have this manifesto serve as a frame of reference for dialogue and debate, and aim be a document that could shape the outcome of these elections. After the launch of the manifesto, we will be taking ot to the people of the city through handbills, performances and various other means. The aim of this exercise is to provoke dialogue amongst people and the political parties. An aim of the manifesto is to help people articulate their demands when candidates come knocking to their doors, asking for votes. Later next week, we will have a meeting where we will request all political parties to respond to the demands in the manifesto as well. It is hoped that tis exercise will then make the administration of our city much more transparent, democratic, just, equitable and common people centred. The People's Manifesto may thus serve as an important benchmark in the evolving electoral politics of our city.
Contact Details for organizations who have endorsed and have shaped the manifesto - Action Aid : Kshitij Urs, 98454 52242, Kshith...@actionaid.org Alternate Law Forum : Clifton D'Rozario, 94481 35832, cli...@altlawforum.org Aneka : Shubha Chacko, 9243446105, shubha...@gmail.com Bengaluru Slum Janara Kriya Vedike : Ganesh S, 9342926841 Centre for Education and Documentation : Walter Mendonza, 94907 53601, wal...@doccentre.net ; Veena, ve...@doccentre.net Community Health Cell : Sowmya K R, 25531518,sksso...@yahoo.co.in;Premdas E, 25531518, pre...@sochara.org Concerned for Working Children : Kavita Ratna, 9448990480, kavit...@gmail.com Environment Support Group (Environment, Social Justice and Governance Initiatives), Leo Saldhana, 94483 77403, l...@esgindia.org; Bhargavi Rao, 94483 77401, bhar...@esgindia.org, Garment and Textile Workers Union : Jayaram K R, 98450 19056, ga...@rediffmail.com Hasiru Usiru : Vinay Sreenivasa, 98805 95032, vinay.sr...@yahoo.com Janasahyog : 22128569 Jana Arogya Andolana Karnataka : Premdas E, 25531518, pre...@sochara.org Kilikili : Kavita Krishnamoorthy, 98807 42028, kav...@kilikili.org Maraa : Deepak Sreenivasan, 9343763497, deep...@gmail.com Nightingales Medical Trust : Dr.Radha Murthy, 9844037381 ,nighti...@vsnl.net, nightin...@gmail.com Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled : Ravi G, 98860 32928, ra...@samarthanam.org Sangama : Revathi, 99452 31491 , san...@sangama.org Slum Jagattu : Isaac Arul Selva, 94804 52037, slumja...@gmail.com The Avenue Road Traders Associations : Sridhar G V, 98450 15036; Dileep Shah 9342880924,tarc...@gmail.com Urban Research Centre : Gururaj Budhya , 94488 49353 , gururaj...@gmail.com
---------------------------- Streets and Their side walks are the main public places of a city; they are its most vital organs. Think of the city and what comes to the mind? Its streets – Jane Jacobs, 1961. |
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