City: Bengaluru

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities It has taken seven years and numerous rounds of review in different courts to get justice and closure in a case that shook the country with its brutality and almost became a metaphor for the spiralling sexual violence that women in India have faced in recent years. Why has the system failed us despite both POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) and POSH laws in place? Is it only the tardy justice system or a total systemic failure? As per National Crime Records Bureau, as…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities In any criminal act in which a woman is the target, the police is almost always in the best position to offer help, safety and reassurance to the aggrieved, besides investigating the crime and bringing the assailant to book. Clearly, this calls for a certain level of competence and professionalism, and a degree of empathy, patience and sensitivity towards women. Such qualities on the part of law-enforcers would be the criminal justice system’s most significant contribution towards empowering women and upholding their equal status.  Sadly however,…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities The gruesome rape and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad recently shocked our country. But after the dust settles, the question that would be asked of a dead woman is “What was she doing out so late in the night?” As working professionals and contributing members of society, women shouldn’t have to answer this question at all. But we don't live in a perfect world. Hence the law needed to step in to protect women who work at night. In 2002, state government amended the Karnataka…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities Last November, the Karnataka government issued a notification allowing women employees in factories to work night shifts, along with their male counterparts. Until recently, night shift for women was allowed only in the IT and ITeS (IT enabled services) industries. As per the Factories Act, 1948, women were originally allowed to work only till 7 pm. This law was amended in 2007 to extend timings to 10 pm. With the new notification, factories registered under the Act can employ ‘willing women workers' in night shifts - that…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities In 2018 alone, there were 53 dowry deaths in Bengaluru, according to the National Crime Records Bureau. Bengaluru was also the metro with the highest number of dowry deaths in south India that year, and the city where the highest number of dowry harassment cases were filed. If you suffer dowry harassment, sexual abuse, or other forms of violence within or outside your home, what options do you have? There are many helplines in Bengaluru that offer services like shelter, counselling, legal support, help securing employment…

The BMRCL and DULT have come up with a draft Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) 2019 to achieve sustainability, and thereby improve liveability in Bengaluru. The CMP develops 10 strategies such as augmenting capacity of public transport, promoting the use of electric vehicles, and so on. It further develops three sustainable transport ‘options’ or scenarios, each by grouping a certain set of the strategies. And then analyses the impact of each option on modal share and emissions in the city.  Eventually the CMP identifies several projects, which would be implemented in three phases. CMP has been technically reviewed by Dr Ashish…

The draft Comprehensive Mobility Plan for Bengaluru dated October 2019 has been unveiled and opened for inputs from the public. One glance, and you can tell this is Akrama Sakrama for mobility. The document doesn’t hide this fact, mentioning in several places that it is organised to fit in the projects already identified. The tail is wagging this dog. Nevertheless, I took a specific look at the focus on cycling in the document. Among the 10 strategies that the CMP articulates, there was only one mention of the word NMT (non-motorised transport) - in strategy number 3, 'Promote multi-modal mobility…

Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) is facing a personnel crunch. The city only has 4,638 traffic police personnel for a vehicle population of over 80 lakhs. As per a 2015 report of the Home Ministry's Bureau of Police Research and Development, there should be one traffic police personnel for every 700 vehicles. By that yardstick, Bengaluru has a traffic cop shortage of almost 54 percent. In addition to the challenges in managing traffic, this also means difficult working conditions for the constables who man our roads. Imagine standing eight hours in Bengaluru traffic, not following a regular timetable of shifts, with…

Activists protest 'film city' plan at Hesaraghatta As the BJP government is reviving the proposal to set up a film city, apparently at Hesaraghatta, environmental activists are getting ready for a fight. One section of activists has written to Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, asking him to drop the 345-acre grassland as a possible location for a film city as it would create a biosecurity threat to animal farms nearby. Environmentalists explained that the Hesaraghatta lakebed area, and grasslands in the nearby catchment, are an important reservoir of biodiversity. It could act as a large carbon sink, a powerful tool to…

The draft Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) 2019 is essential for providing a long-term vision for Bengaluru’s transport and mobility. But the plan gives little importance to the environment; it does not consider mitigation factors against the city’s depleting green cover, or steps to prevent the heat island effect. On the contrary, a project such as the elevated corridors -- which is included in the document -- would only further environmental degradation. Walking and other non-motorised modes of transport are not emphasised enough in the CMP as well. Besides, the process by which CMP was developed raises a fundamental question about…