City: Bengaluru

Today’s nationwide strike comes in the midst of a stream of ongoing protests in the city and has found many convergences. In particular, the workers’ strike has received widespread support from student and civil society organisations protesting against the CAA-NRC and the violence in JNU, AMU and Jamia Islamia.“Around 20 lakh workers in different sectors are expected to be on strike in Bengaluru,” said K N Umesh, Karnataka State Secretary of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU). Workers at major industrial clusters in the city, like Anekal, Kanakapura Road, Bannerghatta Road, Mysore Road (Garment Factories), Ramanagaram District, Magadi Road, Tumkur…

In a recent article, we looked at the severe shortage of traffic police personnel in Bengaluru, and how the administration is trying to bridge this gap. In this article, S T Ramesh, former DG&IGP of Karnataka, weighs in on the issue. There are three 'E' s that have to be followed to ensure good traffic management. They are Engineering, Enforcement and Education.  The police is hardly consulted in matters of road engineering though it affects smooth flow of traffic in a big way. The biggest challenge in traffic management in Bengaluru is the absence of parking spaces; because of this,…

Translated by Madhusudhan Rao and Pavan ಅಕ್ಟೋಬರ್ 4 ರಂದು, 33 ವರ್ಷ ವಯಸ್ಸಿನ ಐಟಿ ಉದ್ಯೋಗಿ ವ್ಯಾಸ್ ರವರ (ಹೆಸರು ಬದಲಾಯಿಸಿದೆ) ಸ್ಕೂಟರ್ ಗುಂಡಿಯೊಳಕ್ಕೆ ಬಿದ್ದು, ಮೊಣಕಾಲು  ಮುರಿದುಕೊಳ್ಳಬೇಕಾಯಿತು. ನಂತರ ನಡೆದ ಶಸ್ತ್ರ ಚಿಕಿತ್ಸೆ, ಆಸ್ಪತ್ರೆ ಖರ್ಚು, ಫಿಸಿಯೋಥೆರಪಿ, ಔಷಧಿ ವೆಚ್ಚ, ಗಾಡಿ ರಿಪೇರಿ ಖರ್ಚು ಇವೆಲ್ಲ ರೂ.4,34,323 ಕ್ಕಿಂತ ಹೆಚ್ಚು. ಆತ ಈಗಲೂ ಹಾಸಿಗೆ ಬಿಟ್ಟಿಲ್ಲ. ವ್ಯಾಸ್ ಪರಿಹಾರದ ಭರವಸೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದಾದಮೇಲೊಂದು ಸರ್ಕಾರಿ ಇಲಾಖೆಗಳಿಗೆ ಇಮೇಲ್ ಕಳುಹಿಸುತ್ತಲೇ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ. ಆದ್ರೆ ಜವಾಬು ಮಾತ್ರ ಬಂದಿಲ್ಲ. ಕಾರಣ? ಬಹಳಷ್ಟು ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ  ರಸ್ತೆಗುಂಡಿ ಸಂತ್ರಸ್ತರಿದ್ದರೂ, ಬಿ.ಬಿ.ಎಂ.ಪಿ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಒದಗಿಸುವ ವ್ಯವಸ್ಥಿತ ಕಾರ್ಯಸೂಚಿ ಕಲ್ಪಿಸದೆ ಇಲ್ಲದಿರುವುದು ರಸ್ತೆಗುಂಡಿ ಅಪಘಾತ ಸಂತ್ರಸ್ತರಿಗೆ ತಲೆನೋವಾಗಿ ಪರಿಣಮಿಸಿದೆ.   ಇಲ್ಲಿವರೆಗೂ ಪರಿಹಾರ ಕೇವಲ ಮಹಾಪೌರರ ‘ವಿವೇಚನೆ'ಯ ಮೇರೆಗೆ ಮಾತ್ರ ಸೀಮಿತವಾಗಿದೆ. ಅಲ್ಲದೆ, ಎಷ್ಟು ಜನ ಸಂತ್ರಸ್ತರಿಗೆ ಈಗಿನವರೆಗಿನ ಮಹಾಪೌರರು ಪರಿಹಾರ ಒದಗಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಅನ್ನುವುದರ ಮಾಹಿತಿ ಕೂಡ ಇಲ್ಲ. ಈ ವರ್ಷ ಜೂಲೈ ನಲ್ಲಿ, ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದ…

The Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) has a current strength of 4,638 personnel. Its sanctioned strength is 5,306 personnel, as per data obtained from the Traffic Management Centre. On the face of it, this indicates a shortfall in recruitment, of 12.59 per cent. Most of these -- 598 vacancies out of the 668 -- are for the post of police constables, the men on the street.  The shortfall may not seem like much.  Almost every police department in the country has some vacancies due to multiple reasons, says Bengaluru’s Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) B R Ravikanthe Gowda. “It is not…

Translated by Purushothama Nag and Umesh Babu Pillegowda ಪ್ರಮುಖ ರೈಲ್ವೆ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ, ಮೆಟ್ರೋ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣ ಮತ್ತು ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರೀಯ ಹೆದ್ದಾರಿ (ಪೀಣ್ಯ ರಸ್ತೆ) ಇವೆಲ್ಲವೂ ಯಶವಂತಪುರ ಉಪನಗರದಲ್ಲಿ ಪರಸ್ಪರ ಹತ್ತಿರವಿವೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ಸಾರಿಗೆ ವಿಧಾನಗಳು ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಸಂಯೋಜಿತವಾಗಿಲ್ಲ, ಇಲ್ಲಿ ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ಸಾರಿಗೆ ಬಳಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ದೊಡ್ಡ ತೊಂದರೆಗಳು ಉಂಟಾಗುತ್ತಿವೆ. ಹಳೆಯ ರೈಲ್ವೆ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದಿಂದ ಮೆಟ್ರೊಗೆ 2.3 ಕಿ.ಮೀ ಕೆಳಗಿನ ನಕ್ಷೆಯು ರೈಲ್ವೆ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದ ಪ್ಲಾಟ್‌ಫಾರ್ಮ್ 1 ಇರುವ ಯಶವಂತಪುರ ಹಳೆ ಪ್ರವೇಶದ್ವಾರದಿಂದ ಮೆಟ್ರೋ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣದವರೆಗಿನ ಅಂತರವನ್ನು ತೋರಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಈ ಅಂತರ ಕ್ರಮಿಸುವ ವಿಸ್ತರಣೆಯು ಸುಮಾರು 2.3 ಕಿ.ಮೀ ಉದ್ದ ಆಗಿರುತ್ತದೆ. ಪ್ಲಾಟ್‌ಫಾರ್ಮ್ 8 ಇರುವ ಯಶವಂತಪುರ ಹೊಸ ಪ್ರವೇಶದ್ವಾರದಿಂದ ಮೆಟ್ರೋ ನಿಲ್ದಾಣಕ್ಕೆ ಇರುವ ಅಂತರವು ಚಿಕ್ಕದಾಗಿದೆ. ಆದರೆ ಈ ಎರಡರ ನಡುವೆ ಮೀಸಲಾದ ಮಾರ್ಗದ ಕೊರತೆಯಿಂದಾಗಿ ಪ್ರಯಾಣಿಕರಿಗೆ, ವಿಶೇಷವಾಗಿ ಸರಕು ಸಾಮಾನು ಹೊಂದಿರುವವರಿಗೆ ಮೆಟ್ರೊದಿಂದ ರೈಲ್ವೆಗೆ ಹಾಗೂ ರೈಲ್ವೆಯಿಂದ ಮೆಟ್ರೊಗೆ ಬದಲಾಯಿಸುವುದು ಕಷ್ಟವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ರೈಲ್ವೆ  ಬಳಕೆದಾರರು ಮಾತ್ರವಲ್ಲ, ಇತರ ಸಾವಿರಾರು…

Mittiganahalli landfill to be delayed The Urban Development Department (UDD) turned down a bidder chosen by the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) for setting up a scientific landfill at Mittiganahalli near Hennur, and asked BBMP to initiate a fresh tender process. BBMP had hoped to dump waste in the Mittiganahalli landfill since the landfills at Bagalur and Bellahalli quarries had already been overflowing. But UDD rejected the bidder on grounds that he was not technically qualified, having had prior experience only as a sub-contractor and not as primary contractor. Garbage management in the city is likely to be hit since…

Last month, the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) released a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Bengaluru. You have till January 5th to send in your suggestions and objections to the plan. Set in three phases, CMP is expected to be implemented between 2020 and 2035. What are the key suggestions and projects in the CMP? It's heartening that pedestrian infrastructure - which had been ignored in previous mobility plans - makes an appearance in this one. But what's most striking is that the elevated corridor project, which the government had shelved after major citizen protests, makes a sudden comeback…

Jayanagar was founded in 1948 as a suburb of Bengaluru, and planned by the city’s pre-eminent administrator N Lakshman Rau and his team. Today it is spread across 3 kms east to west, and about 5 kms north to south. Jayanagar is now a vast area of residential, commercial and educational activity that hums with life by day and night. With parks and avenues lined with native as well as exotic tree species, Jayanagar cannot be compared to any other suburb in our country. And residents here rightly take pride in this legacy. So which are the trees along Jayanagar's streets,…

Everyone in Bengaluru would have seen and been disgusted by mounds of garbage on the roads. Everyone heaves a sigh of relief when the BBMP carts off waste upon receiving complaints from frustrated residents. But where does the garbage go? Government has come up with a quick fix solution for Bengaluru's garbage woes - five Waste to Energy (WtE) plants with a combined capacity to manage 2100 tonnes of waste per day. Many people may think - wow, Waste to Energy! That’s a brilliant concept! Solves two crises in one go! Absolutely wrong. Here are five reasons why: WtE plants…

Indian Constitution guarantees the right to free movement to all citizens. But in Bengaluru, pedestrians are an endangered lot. Of the top eight metros in India, Bengaluru has the third highest number of pedestrian fatalities. This is not surprising given that about 60 percent of our mobility budget focuses on road construction and expansion. In the absence of safe footpaths, zebra crossings, and accessible skywalks, pedestrians are prone to jaywalking, putting themselves as well as motorists in danger. If policy makers continue to invest in infrastructure for motorised transport as opposed to that for walking and other non-motorised transport, we…