Bengaluru  :

Bangalore Club, the city’s prestigious landmark that carries a heritage tag, has completed 150 years. The club – established in 1868 for senior military and navy personnel – will bring out a book to mark its sesquicentennial. The book is likely to be launched in September/October in conjunction with Services Day to honour the armed forces. The club also has plans to bring out a commemorative stamp to be released by the Indian postal service, said Girish Punja, president of the club. 
When it was established in 1868, it was known as the United Service Club and was renamed Bangalore Club in 1946. The club currently has a membership of 6,500 people. About 2,000 people are on the waiting list.

The club has taken up several green initiatives. It has set up a sewage water treatment plant and a biogas plant. Over 200kg of wet waste generated every day gets into the pulveriser and further to the biogas plant. The fuel generated is used in the kitchen. The STP has been successful in treating 60kld of water every day; over 30-40kld is reused for its garden. With this, the dependency on fresh water has reduced. The club has also got requests from a neighbouring apartment for the treated water.

The club, located in the heart of the city, is now feeling the pinch of traffic as it has affected members from accessing the facility. “Because of heavy traffic, people living in far-off areas like Whitefield  find entertainment locally these days. The daily footfall is around 250-300, while during certain programmes and events like cricket/footfall matches, it touches around 2,000,” said Dr Thomas Chandy , former president of the club.

The sesquicentennial celebrations began on February 10, 2018 with a concert by violin maestro Dr L Subramanium accompanied by Grammy award winner Ernie Watts on the saxophone, Ritt Henn on the bass and violinist Ambi Subramanium. During the course of the year, the club has planned a number of programmes to celebrate its 150-year history.

Rs 1 crore for projects

The club’s general body has sanctioned Rs 1 crore for projects like tree planting, playing facilities for children in government schools, wildlife initiatives along with some employee initiatives.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Bangalore News / TNN / April 18th, 2018