Articles by Vaidya R

Bengaluru has had the Outer Ring Road (ORR) for decades. While it was initially a road around the city, now it is estimated that more people live outside the ORR than inside. Along with the movement of people, traffic has also grown by leaps and bounds and sections of the ORR are in the news regularly for large pile-ups. Outside of the ORR, the NICE road covers a large section of the city from the North-west to the South. There have been talks of other ring-roads to ease the traffic in the city. The premise is that a lot of traffic in…

Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) has been on a drive towards automation over the past decade. More and more challans are being added on their website, and people are expected to find them and pay their dues. While this might give BTP a bit of breathing space to concentrate on more stringent violations, that does not seem to be what is happening. Here, I analyse BTP's shift towards automation over the years while looking at how that has affected safety on the roads. While automation suggests intelligent systems like cameras and detectors that can catch different types of violations, including overspeeding,…

Think of BBMP and the first thing that pops up in your mind is roads and potholes. After an evening of rains you might think of stormwater drains, and when the garbage piles up of solid waste management (SWM). However, these are only some (of the main) parts of BBMP’s duties. How the money is split A look at their budget and how the money is spent on different headers gives an idea of the functions of BBMP. The main headers for budget allocations and their functions in brief are: HeaderDescription of FunctionCouncilPayment for corporators, ex-corporators, mayor, deputy mayor, etc.General…

BBMP recently released the data from the street dog survey conducted over July and August 2023. The survey estimates that there are 2.79 Lakh (2,79,335 to be precise) dogs on the streets in BBMP’s area. This is down from the estimated 3.10 Lakh (3,09,975 to be precise) dogs in 2019, a decline of 9.88% over the four year period. Variation within the city The survey report shows that the 2.79 lakh dogs are not evenly distributed across the city. Number of street dogs in BBMP zones in 2023.Src: BBMP street dogs survey 2023. Graphic: OpenCity.in While Mahadevapura zone hosts 21%…

The transport department’s notification on the mandatory installation of High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) has confused vehicle owners. It is mandatory  for vehicles registered before April 1, 2019, to install HSRPs by November 17, 2023.  The number of such vehicles is well over a crore and it is possible that the date maybe shifted a few times. However, if your vehicle is older than April 2019 it will be necessary to install HSRPs soon. Here is an explainer on what is HSRP and how to get one:      What is HSRP? High Security Registration Plate (HSRP) is a standard for vehicle…

An analysis of BBMP's work order data over the last five years shows 74% of funds were meant for roads and drain works. From "Remodelling of stormwater drains, culverts-bridges and allied works" to "White Topping on selected roads" - the packages range from a few lakhs to many a crore. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru’s city government, administers an area with a population of around 12 million and has a budget of around Rs 11,000 crore as of 2023-24. In spite of its massive expenditure on civic works, BBMP is often in the news for all the wrong reasons,…

Find out how Yeshwanthapura Assembly Constituency is faring and what has been happening in this constituency. Learn about the incumbent MLA S T Somashekar (BJP) and other candidates Javaregowda (JDS), Shashidhar C Aradhya (AAP), and S Balraj Gowda (INC) Table of contentsAbout the constituencyKey issues in the constituencyKey parameters - How does this constituency fare? SchoolingMobilityCitizen engagementHealthConstituency mapCitizen demandsIncumbent MLA: S T SomashekarWork in termIn the newsList of candidatesIncumbent MLA: S T Somashekar, BJPCandidate: S Balraj Gowda, INCCandidate: T N Javarayi Gowda, JD(S) Candidate: Shashidhar C Aradhya, AAPFull list of candidates  Past elections results About the constituency Yeshwanthapura Assembly Constituency was carved…

Traffic, or mobility in general, has been one of the biggest challenges Bengaluru has faced for decades now. While diverse solutions in the form of flyovers, underpasses, signal-free corridors, grade separators, and road-widening have been tried, the issue has defied a sustainable solution. Most experts have pointed out that the only way to solve congestion is to plan to move people, not personal vehicles, and that public transport is the best investment for the city.  Problem statement In the “Bengaluru Constituencies Datajam'', conducted by OpenCity.in on April 1st, we looked at public transport in terms of accessibility to Metro and BMTC…

One of the important pillars of democracy is civic participation in the processes of governance. Participation by citizens in their local governance can vary from something as simple as turning up to vote in elections - general, assembly and local body-to registering their grievances with the local bodies and participating in ward committee meetings. In the “Bengaluru constituencies datajam”, conducted on 1st April, at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore, we looked at publicly available data to evaluate the 28 assembly constituencies in Bengaluru Urban district on their civic participation. Problem statement Rank Bengaluru’s constituencies in terms of civic…

OpenCity.in, on April 1st 2023, organised a datajam at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore to analyse data of various sectors-education, civic participation, and mobility-for all the 28 Bengaluru Assembly constituencies. The event brought together participants from diverse backgrounds, including urban designers, policy wonks, GIS experts, developers, data scientists, and more. This article highlights the team's findings in education. Problem statement How many students are there per constituency population? Are there enough staff and facilities in the schools to serve these students? Background We started out by asking basic questions on what constitutes education and the basic infrastructure needed…