City: Bengaluru

A huge commercial advertisement hoarding towering above the Adugodi police quarters in Koramangala features in the list of unauthorised advertisement hoardings prepared by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). Questions may naturally be raised over why this was not torn down by the BBMP when it initiated its drive against illegal advertisement hoardings in the city. But, in fact, it was. During one such drive, BBMP staff under the supervision of the Assistant Revenue Officer (ARO) of Koramangala had removed the advertisement display of the commercial hoarding in Adugodi recently. But in less than a week’s time of removing it,…

A few weeks ago, I’d just come out of my gym in RT Nagar when a couple with a child, looking as if they hailed from somewhere rural, approached me. Both of them asked me if I spoke Hindi and told me how they’d come to Bangalore on train from some place in Bihar, was summoned for a job by a contractor who had then cheated them. Now they were without money and couldn’t go back to their village. The man had tears in his eyes and the woman looked sad. It was late evening and they begged me to…

The Central and State governments announce new schemes and programmes for the benefit of the poor every year, but how many of these schemes reach the bottom of the pyramid in reality? According to a news report, in August 2016, the Karnataka government changed the rules for BPL card holders, reducing the number of eligibility conditions to be fulfilled for obtaining the card from 14 to just four. According to estimates the total number of BPL card holders in the state today is 90 lakh. The new rule with simplified guidelines for considering a family as BPL may have helped…

The steel flyover will pass through this road. Pic: Shree D N To all those who insist on going ahead with the steel bridge... in the hope that good sense prevails: The issue regarding this bridge is becoming more heated as the days go by. As I see it, the matter will get uglier as both sides have their view points and arguments in place. So the best way to resolve this is to throw up all the pros and cons and see which comes out on top! The bridge will cut the journey to the airport and from North…

To Sri Siddaramaiah Hon’ble Chief Minister Govt. of Karnataka Vidhana Soudha Dr. Ambedkar Veedhi Bengaluru - 560001 Dear Sir, Subject:  (1) Our objections to the steel fly-over from Chalukya circle to Hebbal junction and (2) Our suggestions on the alternative use of Rs. 1,800 crore for de-congesting traffic and for human development and social infrastructure for Bengaluru Greetings from CIVIC Bangalore! We have been working since 24 years on urban governance and the Rights to Food, Health, Education, Livelihood and Social Security of the urban poor. Whenever we propose that money be set aside for human development measures, which are…

Traffic on Ballari road on a normal week day. Pic: Balaji Ganesan Civil Society activists in Bengaluru are opposing the Government's decision, to build a Steel Flyover from Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal Junction. As someone who supports the causes pursued by many of these activists, I'm surprised by the protests against the Steel Flyover project. Is the Civil Society working against itself, jeopardising several of the causes we have been pursuing? Do we risk wasting the opportunities provided by this steel flyover project, to improve civic amenities in this part of Bengaluru? People’s flyover, not VIP flyover To begin with,…

Google Earth image of Hebbal traffic choke point. Why are citizens opposed to #SteelFlyover? A lot of people have asked during the week, "why are you so opposed to the steel flyover?" I've said to many of them, in reply, that they should pause and think about that question. The answer should be quite easy to spot, especially since so many people have been saying it again and again. They used other words - about governance, and design, and planning, and due process, and a lot of other things that can confuse the issue. But those are the vocabulary of…

Owing to public pressure, Bengaluru Development Authority (BDA) has uploaded more details on the steel flyover, including the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the BDA's proposed steel flyover from Chalukya Circle to Hebbalon Bellary Road late on Friday night (October 14, 2016). The same information was earlier denied when Namma Bengaluru Foundation had applied for it under RTI. 3D animation for the proposed project: 2D simulation video for the proposed project: Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/embed/Caq0Swx_46M Here is the copy of the Detailed Project Report. [embeddoc url="https://citizenmatters.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/BDA-Detailed-Project-Report.pdf" download="all"] More clarifications on the project [embeddoc url="https://citizenmatters.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Update-on-the-Elevated-Road.pdf" download="all"] List of trees to…

Much has been written, in social media circles, against the expensive, potentially ugly steel bridge that is going to come at a cost of Rs 1800 Cr (estimated) to the public exchequer of the state of Karnataka. There are additional costs of course, trees, precious, full grown trees that have to be chopped off. Aesthetics. A steel structure... don’t get me wrong, I am an engineer, I love steel...is going to snake through town from Chalukya circle to Hebbal flyover. Beautiful heritage buildings and land. Compelling arguments have been made by many people along these lines, and they are right.…

Bengaluru has the most active citizenry any city can dream of. There are sustainable transport advocates, public transport activists, runners, cyclists, environmentalists, civic activists, anti-corruption activists, urban planners, architects, artists, political activists, public policy experts, resident welfare associations - you name them, you have them here. And the steel flyover coming up on Bellary Road has united them all in protest, under the banner 'Citizens Against Steel Flyover'. A human chain event has been planned this weekend on October 16th, 2016, from Chalukya Circle to Hebbal, to oppose the steel flyover. A team of citizen activists is mobilising people across…