Articles by Arjun Rajan

Alighting at the BMTC bus stop at Puttenahalli, and walking a few metres ahead, one can see a huge expanse of land – the Yelahanka Puttenahalli lake. The lake is completely dry, and one can't miss three mounds of what were once islands. An open channel runs along the side, carrying sewage. One can see construction work happening - there is a complex concrete structure which looks like a huge tank with several partitions. "Since the 1980s till the early 2000s, I used to regularly pass by this lake and it was a beautiful sight," says Dr K S Sangunni, a…

https://twitter.com/Dr_RVS/status/1074696228447899650 This tweet from a resident asking the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) if they have planned to kill residents near the Karnataka Development Compost Corporation (KCDC), sums up the despair of the residents over the years who have been residing in the area. A group of 23 petitioners including the Kudlu, Hosapalya, HSR Layout, SomasundaraPalya, Parangipalya( KHHSP) Residents Welfare Association (RWA), have filed a writ petition in the Karnataka High Court in November 2018 demanding the closure of KCDC citing it to be a major source of pollution. The residents have run out of patience with the government. "Filing…

On January 13 2019, the President gave his nod and brought into law The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Fourth Amendment) Bill 2019. The Act amends Articles 15 and Article 16 of the Constitution, and adds clauses where the government can make special provisions for economically weaker sections (EWS) of citizens and provide them with reservations up to 10 percent in higher educational institutions including private aided or unaided institutions (other than minority education institutions) as well as in initial appointments in government services. In popular parlance, this is being bandied as 'upper-caste reservation.' Reservations or quotas, the dominant mode of…

If you are a person who commutes by walk to work or just likes to walk, you would understand how difficult that can be in Bengaluru - due to non-existent footpaths. Even if they exist they are usually less wide or in a decrepit state. Having to cross the roads is another herculean task. When one thinks of road accidents, rarely does one think of situations where pedestrians are involved. A study by National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) had earlier pointed to pedestrians being among the most vulnerable to road accidents, accounting for around 30-40 percent of…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities https://twitter.com/dr_rvs/status/1074692756843442176?s=21 The tweet on 18th December 2018 from a resident addressing Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Chief Minister of Karnataka pointed to the failure of Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC) in managing the municipal solid waste that it receives and its contribution to air pollution. Municipal Solid Waste Management (SWM) deals with the control of waste - storage, collection, transfer and transportation, its processing and disposal in line with the best principles of public health, engineering, conservation, economics and other environmental considerations. However the mismanagement of…

This article is supported by SVP Cities of India Fellowship #PlasticsGottaGo seems to be the rallying cry in cities across India as it is globally, and for obvious reasons too. Attempts to raise awareness about the hazards of plastic waste and its disposal are on an overdrive as climate change and waste management become the key challenges faced by cities. Yet, not everyone thinks that an entirely plastic-free world will be feasible or even desirable. K Ahmed Khan, Managing Director, K.K.Plastic Waste Management Ltd asserts that that they believe in saying 'yes' to plastic but only after ensuring its eco-friendliness,…

Lakshmi works as a domestic help with a few families in Bengaluru. Her daughter during the academic year 2018-2019 had been admitted to LKG in a private school through the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009, section 12(1)(c). The Act promises 25 percent reservation in private unaided schools for weaker sections and disadvantaged groups. Lakshmi chose to avail this choice as she felt that in government schools, children are left to themselves and aren't provided adequate attention. She says that she wants to educate her daughter, and felt private school was the best option. There are several…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities "Even though a mechanised sweeper is being used along the arterial roads of Mahadevapura Zone, the roads accumulate dust in no time, and it feels like they have not been cleaned in the first place", says Anu Govind, a volunteer with the citizen's group Whitefield Rising (WR). Dust is something we see everyday, but never think about controlling it outside our homes. A study done in 2010 titled Air Quality Monitoring, Emission Inventory and Source Appropriation Study for Indian Cities, found that road dust accounts for 20 percent…

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities Five out of 15 Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) buses that the Regional Transport Office officials from the Transport Department had randomly inspected had failed the emission tests.That was in 2016. Recent reports said that BMTC bus breakdowns have considerably reduced compared to previous years due to an improvement in their maintenance procedures. Would that also mean that there is an improvement in BMTC buses following emission standards? What are the measures taken by BMTC to ensure that their buses follow emission norms? What are the external measures…

The wheels of a bus belonging to Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) came off and the bus hit the ground with a thud. There were no casualties, but the passengers said they would have plunged into the Vrishabhavathi drain if the wheels had fallen off instead on the other side of the road. The incident took place in 2017 on a bus route from Kengeri to K.R.Market, where a wheel came off and the bus hit the front part of the ground. This isn't the only example - BMTC buses have been in the past known for lack of proper…