City: Bengaluru

Professor Ashish Verma, convenor of the Sustainable Transportation Lab at Indian Institute of Science (IISc) recently made a detailed presentation on the problems with the Sankey Road flyover at the Citizens for Sankey meeting. A professor of transportation systems engineering, Ashish has been with the IISc for 14 years and has developed, in his own words, "a systems perspective to problem solving in transportation with a strong focus on development goals." Ashish has been a vocal critic of flyovers. He has provided his scientific perspective to various citizens groups concerned about projects like the Steel Flyover, Elevated Corridor, and, most…

After delays in the opening of Namma Clinics, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, on February 7th, inaugurated 108 clinics within BBMP limits. Bommai launched the Namma Clinic in Mahalakshmipura ward, and the other 107 clinics were launched virtually. The state government announced the setting up of Namma Clinics or Urban Health and Wellness Centres (U-HWCs) , last year, to decentralise primary healthcare. The aim of Namma Clinics is to make basic medical services and infrastructure easily accessible and affordable for low-income households or communities. In the spirit of this, the Government of Karnataka flagged off the setting up of Namma Clinics.…

Swahlaya Sufi, 13, an eighth grade student at Elite English High School, Neelasandra, dreams of becoming a doctor. Unlike most of her classmates, who were revising for their class quiz, Swahlaya, who stays with her parents in the city but originally hails from Odisha, was calm and well prepared when I met her. Sakline Abbas, Secretary of Elite English High School, a low cost private school that aims to provide quality education to children from economically weak backgrounds, is impressed with Swahlaya's calibre. Abbas, had started the school with his wife Sakhina, the current Principal, in 2000. Read more: Students…

Aero India show to be held The 14th Aero India show will be held over five days, from February 13th to 17th. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the show at the Air Force Station in Yelahanka. More than 731 exhibitors will be participating in the event. The show will include aerial displays, a large exhibition and trade fair of aerospace companies. Due to Aero India 2023, commercial flight operations will be partially shut till February 17th. On February 14th, Defence minister Rajnath Singh will host the Defence Ministers’ Conclave, even as Aero India is held parallelly. As the Conclave…

Earning a livelihood in Bengaluru is becoming increasingly difficult for street vendors because of the actions and sometimes inaction of the BBMP. The civic body appears to have done very little planning to accommodate street vendors. It has even been flouting the law, according to vendors in the city. Street vendors, who are a ubiquitous part of Bengaluru, face constant harassment from the police, resident welfare associations as well as city officials for occupying public spaces. The Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 was passed with the intention of protecting vendors from constant harassment…

OpenCity, on February 4th, organised the Bengaluru Traffic Datajam, at the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru (IIM-B). Anchored by Vaidya R and Meera K, the datajam kicked off with nearly 30 participants, from across sectors and professions, congregating to devise solutions to complex mobility problems. The issues discussed included mismanagement of traffic, promoting Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) usage, the practicality of road widening, and building elevated corridors for vehicular traffic. The datajam, supported by Oorvani Foundation with World Resources Institute (WRI) India as the knowledge partner, saw the participants engage in a day-long event that sparked off conversations and…

Adar Ali Sheikh, 38, came to Bengaluru two years after the devastating 2002 cyclonic storm hit his hometown in Nadia district, West Bengal. It wrecked his home and the fields he worked in as an agricultural labourer, entrapping him in debt. He travelled almost 2,000 kilometres to find a job as a car washer in Bengaluru so he could pay off his lenders.  “I had to leave because we couldn’t save the harvest, and the landowner (who he had leased the land from) demanded we pay the agreed amount. What would I have done?” he asks. Adar lives in a…

On January 31st, residents in and around the Sankey Tank area organised themselves under the banner 'Citizens for Sankey' and gathered together for a meeting to discuss BBMP’s plan to widen the Sankey road along the Bhashyam circle to Malleshwaram 18th Cross and construct a four lane flyover. BBMP claims that the project would ease current congestion at the Mekhri Circle junction and improve traffic flow. Residents and several civic groups have objected to the project as it would lead to felling several old-growth trees along the route, as well as cause major traffic bottlenecks during the construction process. Close…

“I have been selling coconuts here for 30 years and one thing that I can assure you is that this line to Whitefield will be of great help to commuters,” says Arif, a coconut seller outside KR Puram metro station. “Everyday I see people running to catch buses and waiting hours at the bus stop. With the metro coming, traffic too should reduce.” The much awaited KR Puram-Whitefield Metro line, likely to become operational in March, is expected to bring relief to thousands of daily commuters, most of whom are tech professionals working in and near Whitefield. Metro ridership is…

Push for suburban railway, city projects The Union Budget has allocated Rs 450 crore for the BSRP (Bengaluru Suburban Railway Project), with a total capital outlay of Rs 1,350 crore for 2023-24. However, not a single rupee has been released by the Centre for a similar sum earmarked for the project in the previous financial year, sources said. Meanwhile, the Rail Infrastructure Development Company (Karnataka) Limited has sought an €800-million (Rs 7,140 crore) soft loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the German investment and development bank KfW, which will cover 60% of the project cost. Parallelly, the state…