It’s clear we grew up reading about the kings of yore, who planted trees, dug wells and laid roads. That is indeed what we expect from our current crop of leaders.

Thank you all for an overwhelming response to the contest.

We know the Mayor has limited powers, yet we adopted the theme, to impress the importance of a city leader, one who has the authority and complete responsibility for the entire city. That is indeed what the submissions highlighted — the imagination of a mayor who could get things done.

A few writers lamented the better days gone by, “We were proud of anekallu male (hailstorms) in every April. No flooding and none got washed away, trees were healthy with their beautiful canopy on some of the roads. Alas! Where has that Bengaluru of sixties to eighties gone?”

Some stated the obvious, “Two-wheelers must not use footpath, as footpaths are meant for pedestrians only.”; some were idealistic. Many understood the role of citizens themselves, “I request citizens to be vigilant, careful and responsible, think and act wisely, and perform their duties before complaining.” Many writers mixed up the duties of BBMP and other departments, this actually highlights why the governance structure needs to be fixed.

Some acknowledged the work of past mayors: “I would stand on the shoulders of the Mayors of the past to learn lessons from their administration – G. Padmavathi to work with the BBMP officers to work with the councilor, B. N. Manjunatha’s courage to order an inquiry on the Python 5000 Bill, N. Shanthakumari’s tactice of seeking funds for projects and her surprise checking of attendance registers and Katte Sathyanaraya who focused on cleanliness and solid waste management.”

Some were impractical, “Force all TV channels in Kannada, English and Hindi to extensively advertise free of cost. Government advertisement on traffic regulations for three months,” or “People must walk only on pavements and cross at zebra crossings” — it’s not like we are all blessed with pavements on our streets, and main roads. Many submissions highlighted the relevance of technology.

Overall the entries conclusively proved, that Bengalureans care for their city, and yearn for a good leader.

Take heart Bengaluru, with active citizens’ involvement, we are sure we will see a Mayor doing the right things, sooner than later.
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“I would direct my team of engineers and planners to provide the reasons why the earlier solutions failed and to come up with data (to explain that)… I would prepare a plan to coordinate the works of the BBMP, BWSSB, BESCOM and the telecom (service providers)…I would instruct the BBMP officials to provide a live report from their inspection drives using the various available technologies…I would also motivate citizens to come forward and meet the pourakarmikas to understand the problems faced by them.”
– Sridhar S, HRBR Layout

“Lalbagh and Cubbon Park are the only two city level parks developed long back by Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan, and the Britishers. In the Comprehensive Development Plan of Bangalore, 1984, Bangalore Palace was proposed as the third city level park after it was taken over by the Government from the Maharajas under the Urban Land Ceiling Act, 1976. The family of Maharajas are allotting Bangalore Palace for various purposes like; marriage reception, political gatherings, offices of private agencies, etc. The cases filed by Maharajas and others should be decided in favour of BBMP and The Third City Level Park should be developed for the benefit of citizens in the northern part of Bangalore.”
– Dr. A. S. Kodanda Pani, Former Chief Town Planner of Bangalore City Corporation (1980-82)

“There is provision to nominate experts to the Corporation Council. Citizen experts should be nominated instead of party officials.”
– Dr. A. S. Kodanda Pani

“There is a difference between power and influence. Bangalore Mayors can wield a lot of influence in the short duration they are around. They can’t bring systemic changes in the manner that the citizen expects. They can bring changes, in subtle manner, in those areas that doesn’t upset the existing vested interests. There are a hundred areas where such initiatives can be launched.”
– Dr. A. S. Kodanda Pani

“To inculcate and ingrain CIVIC SENSE in the minds of children, all men and women living in my city. Civic sense includes keeping the city and the streets clean, being courteous and humane to fellow humans, following rules while driving or walking on the roads, accepting waiting time without cutting the line and if possible with great effort, smile at the fellowmen walking alongside you on the road.”
– Manasa Seshadri, Yelahanka New Town

“Implement cycle lanes on all roads to ensure cycle safety and hence give incentive for people to commute on cycle. -Implement a cheaper cycle sharing system along with the metro rail stations -Incentives against buying SUV’s in the city like higher tarrif for parking SUV’s, toll’s on certain roads etc. -Lower road tax, easy registration for Electric
Cars”
– Vijay Varada, Sivanchetti Gardens

“Smart traffic signals integrated with IOT (internet enabled devices) that keep the path of ambulances flowing
– Vijay Varada, Sivanchetti Gardens

”Get the BWSSB under BBMP with clear and make accountable for not just supply of water but also for sanitation. BWSSB chairman will function as per the direction of the mayor in line with the BBMP Commissioner.”
– Subbu Hegde, Bannerghatta Road

“Rain water harvesting in common areas will be taken up on war footing by digging recharge wells and channeling rain water to them to recharge ground water and make existing tube wells yield good amount of drinking water.”
– Subbu Hegde, Bannerghatta Road

“Garbage processing will be de-centralized by establishing garbage processing and composting facility in very locality, every apartment complex and every layout. No garbage will be transported more than 10 KMs from source. 100% segregated garbage only will be collected from the buildings.”
-Subbu Hegde, Bannerghatta Road

“the main reason for sorry state of roads in Bengaluru is the practice of enlisting small contractors and awarding piece meal contracts every year. This will be replaced by selecting large companies and contract will be awarded with responsibility maintain the road as well as the roadside footpaths for a minimum of 5 years.”
-Subbu Hegde, Bannerghatta Road

“MNCs must force their employees to use public transport, encourage carpooling and 2 wheeler pooling. Single person travelling in car will have to pay special tax.”
-Madhura Narayan, Arehalli

“Every school and colleges should be given a yearly tour of the council of police. Where they can be acknowledged their rights, they are aware and feel safe and secure. It’s very important that our kids learn to trust, unless trust there is no force abiding the consequences.”
-Anchal Purohit, Jayanagara

“As population increases there is a need for affordable housing and new jobs”
– Sheshadri Sridhar, Muneshwara Block

“Corruption in Public service is unbearable. Even one cannot get death certificate without paying bribes. Solution: God only can help on this and no suggestions are possible unless the public raise united against corrupt practices.”
-Venkatarajan VM, Jayanagar

“I would like to follow our olden days lifestyle by taking steps to build libraries and use them, have playground for sports, etc. because this generation kids have to come out of the so called “Pocket Size Mobile World” to the real where they really read books instead of browsing, play games in grounds instead of computers and phones. Let our kids now the real fun of reading books and playing in mud. Enough of this so-called IT Hub. Let’s not run behind industrialization further. Be contented with the current technological development and concentrate to develop our city which were once filled with green, beautiful gardens.”
– Hajra H, Frazer Town

“Subsidy for those apartments who manage their waste by themselves.”
-Sandeep Muley, Akshay Gardens

“Plan for 1 crore saplings plantation in and around bengaluru”
-Nirmala Prabhu, Hanumanthanagar

“Not all problems can be addressed many times due to lack of funds. To address this the BBMP shall create a website and app where a list of such projects requiring funding will be advertised. People and private organisations can contribute as little as 10 rupees up to any amount to projects that they feel impacts their day to day lives. All funding received will be transparently displayed and expenses for such work done shall be in public domain. This way, using crowd funding, projects that lack funding can be implemented without delay.”
-Nirmala Prabhu, Hanumanthanagar

“I would give money to government school for better equipments to be established in them I would definitely change some of the parks so that kids can go and play and parents can relax.”
-Harshitha Reddy, Jayanagar

“My primary step would be to conduct the audit of the city in terms of its strengths and weaknesses, compare the GIS City Maps to check for the loopholes with the different departments of the BBMP.”
-Rohith Vishwanath Iyer, Kalyannagar HRBR Layout

“Meetings with corporators to evaluate their performance setting parameters like complete knowledge of their ward, total length of good tarred roads, kucha roads, pot holes, status of storm water drains — problematic areas, greenery –parks, gardens -children’s play area, overall safety and maintenance of the parks, total populace, their education, men and women, children, government and private run hospitals and eateries, volume of garbage generated, high rises.”
– Vijayalakshmi Krishnarao , Kodigehalli

“A citywide survey would be done to see where people stay and where they commute to. Public transport would be encouraged at expense of private cars – 90% of people should be able to reach their destinations faster with public transport. All busy roads like ORR, Bellary road, Sarjapur road etc will have dedicated bus lanes. Clusters like ORR, Whitefield will be made more pedestrian friendly so more people walk than take their cars. Rent a cycle would be encouraged as well as companies that pool people commuting. Culturally alive. Mall hopping has become the biggest social activity. Would encourage art and music and other performing arts and artist. Every weekend each zone should have a cultural activity, preferably 9/11 of them by artists in the ward. Children to senior citizens will be encouraged to perform. Schools. All government schools will be revived like they have done in Delhi. parents will be involved and encouraged to send their children to government school. I would send my own children to a government school and then ensure that all government schools provides all the things that i desire in a school – english medium of instruction, special classes for students that need help, extra curricular activities and sports. Health. I would like to take proactive approach in health too. Identify chronic ailments that are bothering citizens and work with activists to proactive prevention of these. Yoga classes daily in each BBMP park, free yearly health checkup for all would be something I would like to see.”
– Malini Parmar, Richmond road

“I would stand on the shoulders of the Mayors of the past to learn lessons from their administration – G. Padmavathi to work with the BBMP officers to work with the councilor, B Manjunatha’s courage to order an inquiry on the Python 5000 Bill, N. Shanthakumari’s tactice of seeking funds for projects and her surprise checking of attendance registers and Katte Sathyanaraya who focused on cleanliness and solid waste management”.
– Mohan Raj, Horamavu

“Empowering Students Youngsters have high energy and want to prove themselves. They want adventure and are attracted towards games. Unfortunately, games like blue whale took advantage of this and caused many deaths. However, gamification can also be used to reinforce positive behaviors. Challenges and tasks must be crafted for youngsters that are of value to the society like cleaning their neighborhood, offering services to elderly, etc. Students who take these challenges seriously must be recognized and rewarded. This act will encourage others to take the lead. Gamification has proven success in motivating citizens in different cities and employees of many corporates.”
– Febin John James, Jallahali

“Crowdsourcing has proven success in various organizations because they improve costs, speed, quality, flexibility, and scalability. In a city whose population is only going to increase in the coming days, we must make use of the resource we have in abundance. The people themselves.”
– Febin John James, Jallahalli