BBMP

I’m not sure why there is such a brouhaha about the Mayoral election. Being Bengaluru’s mayor is a prestige, no doubt. Beyond that I have only my sympathies to the person holding that role. (S)he is like a person commanding a cemetery. There are lots of people below, with hardly anyone to listen to the command. The problem is the structure of the municipality under Karnataka Municipal Council (KMC) Act, not the individual. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has a huge budget. The Commissioner is the administrative head and the most powerful person in the BBMP. He can stall or…

What would I do if I become the Mayor of Bengaluru? That’s a very tricky question because it is always easy to sit on the opposite side and keep giving free advices and suggestions. Sitting on the hot seat means significant change. Anyway, for an old Bengaluruan, who has enjoyed the English climate of Bengaluru, the slow pace of life, the clean and beautiful avenues like Margosa Road, Sampige Road, Coconut Avenue, the lovely huge circles with beautiful gardens and the neat roads with minimum traffic, today’s Bengaluru is a shocker! Crime rate was low. People were friendlier. Every home…

We’d start from our quarters near Silk Board at around 8 am on my father’s Bajaj scooter. In 10 minutes, we’d take a turn near the erstwhile Elgin Mill and head towards Shanti Nagar to eventually reach Richmond Road near Pallavi Talkies. The route was dotted by Gulmohar, or Mayflower as we know them, fallen on the road, after last night’s showers. The fallen flowers and a wet-looking road were the only signs of overnight rain in those days. We’d hit the first busy signal at Hudson Circle (now known as Corporation Circle). At about 8.15 am, a car or…

Mayor is the first citizen of a city.  Members of the Council with elected body of corporators from various wards of the city, MLAs, MLCs, local MPs, and nominated members elect a Mayor. Bengaluru city has 198 wards and had a population of around 8 million in 2016. This has resulted in significant pressure on the city’s infrastructure, water resources, water supply, in meeting the basic needs of its citizens. Mayor should know his powers, responsibilities and play an important role to keep his citizens happy. Mayor’s term is short, and he must get into the act from the word…

The problems Bengaluru faces have never been more evident. Traffic has reached a record high, more than half our roads can’t even be classified as roads, our garbage disposal system is in a state of absolute disarray, our groundwater is vanishing at an alarming rate while the part that remains is being constantly polluted, our lakes are struggling to not be engulfed by toxic foam. Most importantly, not only our ecosystem is dying in isolation but also the citizen of Bengaluru is perishing along with it. For example, with far over 65 lakh vehicles in the city, Bengalureans breathe air…

‘Bendakaaluru’ is a land of dreams for every individual with every opportunity and facilities available at the doorstep. It was a dream child which depicted the vision for the city by one of the great architect of all times Kempegowda. Bengaluru as it is called today, came to be recognised with various titles ranging from the Garden City to Silicon City to Garbage City. Every title adorned by this city clearly shows both the level of development and degradation in terms of infrastructure, technology, ecological degradation, land use pattern, etc. Bengaluru attracts thousands of people with dreams of better life…

The ballots are in and tallied for the mayor post (quixotic); and here I am, the Mayor of Bengaluru. Everyone want things to happen as per their vision, but communities aren’t always up for change. I have a vision of making my Bengaluru “Gild the Lily”. To start with, if I were the Mayor; I assure, I would not be a “Little more than a figurehead”, but strive hard for the betterment of my place and people. Aren’t the floods enough to stagnate the roads, that even the toxic foam from industries which is disposed into lakes are now onto…

What happens when a temple decides to go zero waste?? A lot of things can happen! The management realised that it’s more easy to manage garbage when you have nothing to throw.. Yes—that’s what happened at Kalyana Mahaganapathi temple in Kalyannagar, in North Bengaluru. The temple had many garbage-related woes. Prasadam was served in cups and plates which were disposable. This would pile up and they were at the mercy of waste collectors who would charge them a 1,000 rupees to collect waste every time! Tonnes of flowers and dried leaves would pile up and sometimes be criminally burnt! All…

Kaikondrahalli lake has seen a few ups and downs of late. This is a comprehensive update on the various works in and around Kaikondrahalli Lake. Sewage diversion pipeline work: Last year (May 2016), copious amount of sewage started flowing in from the south-east end of the lake. Despite efforts from the lake team and continuous complaints to the zonal office, this could not be stopped. Early this year, BBMP lake department undertook a sewage diversion work to divert the sewage through a pipeline through the lake. The diverted sewage will drain into the culvert in front of Purva Sunshine apartment…

Church Street is among the busiest streets in Bengaluru. It houses some of the most upscale business and entertainment establishments in the Central Business District (CBD). A few years ago, it was also synonymous with decaying infrastructure and chaos—crumbling footpaths, roads that would flood with the slightest shower, garbage. And these were just surface-level problems. In 2015, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) announced that the stretch would be redeveloped under the TenderSURE guidelines. The project was going to be financed through the Nagarothana Yojana by the Government of Karnataka at an estimated cost of about Rs 9 crores. However,…