AFTER having missed several deadlines, the much-awaited Bangalore Metro finally began operations on October 20 on its first stretch – Reach 1 of the Eastern line, part of Phase I of the Metro project. Reach 1 was inaugurated by Union Minister for Urban Development Kamal Nath in the presence of Karnataka Chief minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley. Union Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniappa was also present.

V. Balasubramanian, Chairman of the Task Force for Recovery of Public Land and its Protection, at a press conference in Bangalore on July 4.

IT was clear to V. Balasubramanian, the Chairman of the Task Force for Recovery of Public Land and its Protection, when he submitted his report on encroachment of government land that it would ruffle quite a few feathers in the political and bureaucratic echelons of Karnataka. What he was unprepared for was the report's complete rejection by G. Karunakara Reddy, State Revenue Minister, on flimsy grounds.

THE impact of the global recession in terms of the slump in India