City: Bengaluru

Tired of the constant digging up of roads, residents of Ward 45, Malleswaram took to the streets to conduct a peaceful walk called #SAAKU walk on March 6th, 2022, to highlight their issues. While their walk managed to get the attention of the bureaucracy and the politicians, nothing much changed on the ground. Instead of sitting quietly for the authorities to wake up and hope that they keep up their promises, Malleswaram residents decided to take further steps. Here is what they did next. Seeing all this angst of citizens and the enthusiasm during the first Saaku walk, we decided…

Walking on the streets of namma Bengaluru is an adventure in itself. Not a road left untouched and footpaths non-existent or in disarray; all in the name of development. On March 6th, 2022, to highlight the multiple problems residents are facing because of the unending work on their roads and other infrastructure for months and years, residents of Ward 45, Malleswaram took to the streets to conduct a peaceful walk called #SAAKU walk. The half kilometre walk was from Malleswaram bus stand at 18th cross to 11th cross, 4th Main. Here is what the residents of Malleswaram did: The problem…

Making public spaces safe for women, in particular, is not rocket science. Nor is it an expensive high tech exercise. Yet with little action being taken, collecting ground data can help raise awareness of the issue and convince authorities to act. With this in mind, Bangalore Political Action Committee (B.PAC) in collaboration with CGI, conducted a safety audit of public places in Malleshwaram and Mahadevapura Assembly Constituencies as a pilot project. The areas were chosen based on preset criteria - Malleshwaram being one of the oldest constituencies and Mahadevapura - one of the newer ones. Some of the locations audited.…

Low demand for booster dose Only 8,041 people in the 18-59 year age group had taken the COVID booster dose in Karnataka as of April 14, five days after private hospitals were allowed to administer it. Of them, 86.97% (6,994 people) are from BBMP limits. Bengaluru has the highest number of private hospitals and private vaccination centres in the State. Given the low demand, the offer by vaccine manufacturers to compensate the slashed vaccine prices with additional doses has not gone down well with private hospitals. Many want a refund from the manufacturers instead. Dr H M Prasanna, president of…

Loss of income. More debt. The adverse impact on employment and livelihoods because of the first few lockdowns continue to haunt low-income neighbourhoods in Bengaluru even as the city struggles to return to a kind of new normal. This was revealed in a Bengaluru COVID impact survey (BCIS) by Azim Premji University, in collaboration with nine Civil Society Organizations (CSO). The survey covered 3,000 vulnerable households in 92 low-income settlements across 39 wards in the city, in October-November, 2021. The survey’s findings included employment and income losses, debt, food security and reach of government support measures on a cross-section of…

In January 2013, the BBMP forcibly evicted over 5,000 people from Ejipura slum, near Koramangala. Those who protested faced police action and detention. The residents, who were paying rent of Rs 1,000-1,500 for the tin sheds there were too poor to afford rent elsewhere. They also felt cheated - in the mid-2000s, the BBMP Council had passed a resolution that they would be provided flats, and had issued them 'guruthina cheetis' (ID cards). After their eviction, these people were left to fend for themselves. Some lived on the pavements, some left the city, some found accommodation elsewhere, and a few…

I am Poongothai from Ward No. 194 Gottigere. I took part in the MyCityMyBudget Campaign organised by Janaagraha. BBMP in its Budget book mentioned the campaign and allocated funds for the same. Gottigere ward map. Pic credit: Janaagraha.org Footpaths might sound like a trivial issue. But it cannot be overlooked. Pedestrian infrastructure plays a vital role in sustainable urban traffic. Footpaths, a sub-aspect of pedestrian infrastructure, should be given priority to make it user friendly, improve walkability, safety and comfort of pedestrians. Footpaths are a basic need in road infrastructure. Hence, as demanded by citizens of our ward, we decided…

Bengaluru's ward committees have been chaired by nodal officers appointed on a temporary basis by the BBMP ever since the last Council's term ended in September 2020. They were mostly senior municipal officials who happened to reside in that particular ward. Before this temporary arrangement, formal ward committee included 10 citizens nominated from the ward, and were mandated to meet twice a month. Chaired by the elected ward councillor and attended by ward officials, these meetings were supposed to decide on ward-level budget, plan, prioritise and monitor works. Now, there are no formal ward committees, but nodal officers chair the…

Azaan row Bengaluru City Police has seized microphones from many religious establishments, on the charge that they defied court orders on noise pollution. The police have booked cases and will monitor the prescribed decibel levels. Notices had been issued to 301 shrines, including temples, churches and mosques, with strictures to stick to KSPCB (Karnataka State Pollution Control Board) guidelines. Many right-wing Hindu organisations had launched drives against azaan in mosques, vowing to counter it by playing Hanuman Chalisa and bhajans through loudspeakers. The Imam of Jamia Masjid, one of Bengaluru's largest mosques, said they have installed a decibel meter to…

Solid waste management remains the second highest priority for BBMP. Though allocation on this in the 2022-23 budget has dropped to Rs 1469 crore from last year’s allocation of Rs 1622 crore. Changing Priorities - more landfills Much of this money, however, is going towards managing landfills as shown in the chart below. Given the recent developments around the proposed changes to the collection and transportation system of one vehicle collecting all waste streams, the budget reflects the priorities and directions of BBMP moving towards more landfills and dumping by earmarking Rs 300+ crore for this. BBMP SWM budget allocation…