City: Bengaluru

On 26th May 2016, I made an appeal outlining a 3-point program for this monsoon "Let us send some rain water to our lakes" by clearing the storm water drains that carry precious rain water. "Great idea!" but.."easier said than done", "clearing drains is not as simple as spot fixing"  Those were some of the reactions. It made me even more determined to try harder, to get things started, to understand practical difficulties better. I'm a software engineer by profession and learned over the years that without a working prototype no one will give you a chance for your great…

Nation-wide strike ... some thoughts. a) People who feel that they are not sharing in the economic gains of the country resort to strikes. That much is understandable. And we must do something about this - inequality at these high levels is harmful in many ways. b) The public at large, however, is tired of strikes - especially because in addition to economically motivated strikes called by disaffected workers, there is another set of strikes called by employees of over-staffed public sector organisations that most people think should have been closed long ago, because they are just a drain on…

File pic: Mayur Channagere A press release issued by the Karnataka Department of Information and Public Relations on July 30th about Bengaluru Vision Group sub-committee’s traffic related decisions related to Bengaluru has ruffled feathers. A section of citizens have questioned the sub-committee for taking unilateral decisions for Bengaluru, instead of remaining just an advisory group, as noted by the government during the formation of the Vision Group (Bengaluru Blueprint Action Group or BBPAG). A lot of information has been floating around about the decisions taken by the sub-committee: starting with their declaration of 12 roads as high density roadsto their intent of…

“Why do I need to be eating a California apple?” asks Laxminarayan Srinivasaiah, co-founder of Jivabhumi, a new platform that connects local farmers to “conscious consumers” in Bengaluru. Srinivasaiah and his two co-founders, left behind corporate stability earlier this year to fully commit to their growing business, which now feeds 600 Bengalureans. Their goal is twofold: to provide healthier, chemical-free, and locally-sourced food and to support farmers. Customers select the chemical-free local foods online, Jivabhumi works with local farmers and ships the food to local pick-up points. For now, Jivabhumi is targeting the conscious consumers, or those already aware of the…

A view from the street in Kodichikkanahalli, Bengaluru. Only the front side of this property was demolished. Another view of the same property. Properties on the Raj Kaluve are technically government-owned and can be demolished at any time. In Kodichikkanahalli, and in other Bengaluru neighborhoods, residents are claiming BBMP has given them no notice before coming in and demolishing their homes. A clear view of the Raj Kaluve seeping into a residential area in Kodichikkanahalli where several demolitions have occurred over the past month. These demolitions are of properties encroaching on the Raj Kaluve. Rubble can be seen strewn about…

Bengaluru represents the future of many urban challenges and opportunities. The city is experiencing rapid economic growth, great inequality between rich and poor, and a limited capacity to secure an ecological support for the resource needs of the growing population. With these challenges in mind, I have focused my doctoral research on the question: What is the role of the residents in such a city? A well-known and defining challenge for Bangalore concerns water, both in terms of a drinkable supply and in safely disposing of the sewage produced. In a recent scientific paper published in Sustainability Science, “Against the…

Absence of physical verification with the state Revenue Department data while registering the property and lack of timely survey and settlement of revenue land were the factors that initially led to storm water drain encroachments in Bengaluru. However, these flaws could have been identified and fixed subsequently, had the urban local bodies done their duty diligently. In the process, knowingly or unknowingly citizens purchased the properties encroaching upon drains and are now facing the music. In the series so far: Part 1: Why and how did stormwater drain encroachments take place in Bengaluru? And the concerns raised by citizens who…

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s demolition drive against properties built on storm water drains in Bengaluru city has raised questions over the loopholes in the system that led to encroachment of government properties over the last few decades. Even as the authorities are now accusing the developers and citizens of encroaching the public property, how did all this happen over the years? What are the ambiguities in the system that led to easy encroachment of storm water drains or any government land for that matter? A building on encroached storm water drain was demolished at Avani Sringeri Layout near Kodichikkanahalli…

Early August, house owners in some neighbourhoods of Bengaluru woke up to find they may soon not have a roof over their heads. They were gripped by panic. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) had initiated the drive against storm water drain (SWD) encroachers. On the first day of the drive, buildings were demolished in more than 32 locations in Bommanahalli, Mahadevapura and Yelahanka zones. Emotions ran high at the demolition sites. House owners were seen pleading the BBMP officials to grant them extra time to vacate, while some of them even got into an argument. It was a disturbing…

When an overhead walkway built by Ecospace was recently opened to public, residents of Outer Ring Road greeted it with joy. It made crossing the ORR so much safer and seemed to reduce congestion caused by vehicles slowing to let jaywalkers cross. Though India had a strong tradition of pedestrian-centric cities, it is deplorable that post-1970, cities in India have rarely been designed for pedestrians. Reviewing the list of ten most accident-prone areas in Bangalore, Citizen Matters found that the predominant factor for accidents was pedestrians crossing the road in the midst of high speed traffic. With the absence of…