Articles by Khader B Syed

The start of 2018 has seen a slew of announcements for the Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project, a project that was first proposed way back in 1983. The Government of Karnataka and Ministry of Railways, Government of India announced their official approval and slew of works to kickstart the actual suburban rail services in the city. Though it could be argued that the timing of the announcements which coincided the State Assembly elections was about political capital, it has put the project on an irreversible northward trajectory. On January 31, 2018, Government of Karnataka came out with its announcement for setting…

An open letter to Ananth Kumar, MP, Bengaluru South Dear Sir, Subject – Suburban Rail Service for Bengaluru I really do not know how to react to the recent press briefing (January 18, 2018) from Railway Minister Shri. Piyush Goyal with yet another announcement on ‘Suburban Rail Service’ for Bengaluru. I am appalled at your endorsement of such announcement with lofty ideas like ‘elevated tracks’, increased FAR etc. Is this announcement any better or unique from previous ones that have been made from time to time? Do you really believe that by this announcement Bengaluru City will be blessed with…

Dear Railway Minister, Bengaluru doesn't need elevated railway tracks. There is a 2012 RITES report on Suburban Rail System gathering dust in your offices that talks about what is needed for Namma Bengaluru. Please take some moments and see what this reports says. I am sure after reading this document you will hang your head in shame. The current state of railways is not of your making but a result of decades of not doing the hard work of upgrading and bringing in required efficiencies. It is reported in news that you have suggested to have elevated tracks to decongest…

Anyone who has been following the campaign for suburban rails in Bengaluru would know that Government of Karnataka’s (GOK) proposal for implementing a suburban rail system in Bengaluru is pending since 2013. Meanwhile, recently, Indian Railways has circulated a draft policy on Suburban Rail System to all the state governments. In last three years, we have seen three railway ministers, out of which two were from Karnataka - Mallikarjun Kharge and D V Sadananda Gowda. Including the present railway minister,  Suresh Prabhu, all had agreed that suburban rail is an important project for solving some of the Bengaluru traffic issues.…

Recently, in the midst of the furore over the Government of Karnataka’s ‘Steel Flyover’ announcement and the subsequent ‘BEDA’ protest that hogged headlines as well as social media space, the launch of a new railway station on Bengaluru’s map went quietly unnoticed. The brand new Hoodi Railway Station was inaugurated on September 29, 2016 by P C Mohan, Member of Parliament for Bengaluru Central Loksabha constituency, and MLA of Mahadevpura Arvind Limbavali and Sanjeev Agarwal, Deputy Regional Manager (DRM), South Western Railway. Pic: Khader Syed Hoodi is situated between K R Puram and Whitefield. It is home to Bengaluru’s IT…

The Delhi’s Odd-Even experiment has ended. The Jury is still out on the outcome of this ‘Odd-Even’ experiment, i.e. reduction in pollution. There is no concrete evidence to prove one way or the other. Pollution reduction numbers may not be visible instantaneously with the absence of vehicles partially on roads in just 15 days. However, people of Delhi ensured high compliance to the odd-even rule, leading to success of this experiment in terms of less traffic. The Chief Justice of India’s voluntary compliance in spite of having the waiver just reiterates the citizen’s desire for healthier environments and surroundings, in…

Dear Industry Captains in Bengaluru, Greetings from a Whitefield citizen. Without beating around the bush, I’ll straight away get into the topic. I’m going down the memory lane. In May 2008, when the news of the new BIAL airport opening and shutting down of HAL had surfaced, there was a lot of noise from industries. The highlight was that all of you, the Bengaluru-based IT-BT industry captains, had come out in full force and protested the closure of HAL airport according to this report. The distance to the new airport and the time taken to commute to the airport was…

  To: Smt. Vandita Sharma, IAS , Principal Secretary, Infrastructure Development Department, GOK Dear Madam, Greetings! Wishing you and your family, a happy Vijayadashmi. I hope your near and dear ones are also celebrating the festival with same fervor and spirits as done in past years. On this very auspicious day and occasion, there are families like parents of Poornima Sundaram, age 17, who died in the accident recently in Majestic Area knocked down by a BMTC bus, who are not celebrating. They are mourning the demise of their loved ones when we are celebrating the victory of good over the…