CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Public transport in Bengaluru has deteriorated rapidly. Though the government declares magic bullet schemes such as elevated corridors and bus priority lanes, these pop out of thin air without any city-wide planning for transportation. Rather than jumping to ad-hoc solutions, we should first be clear about the problem. At the core of this is how we measure the performance of our transportation. If any public transport agency wants to win over the public as its customers, it will have to consider the following Key Success Factors (KSFs) for mobility, and find optimum solutions. End-to-end connectivity Pickup within 300 m of…

Twenty six years ago, on 1st June 1993, the 74th Constitutional Amendment or Nagarapalika Act was effected to give “power to the people” in urban governance. Under the 74th CA, ward committees had to be set up in all municipal corporations with population over three lakh, to ensure decentralisation, citizen participation and accountability. In the municipal corporations of Karnataka, elected representatives have posed total resistance to the setting up and functioning of ward committees. In Bengaluru, with constant pressure from citizens, more than 50 percent of wards now have ward committee meetings, though infrequently. But how are these meetings being held?…

On a scalding hot afternoon, a petite, dainty woman stands at a small shop in R A Puram, counting the change she has to return to her customers. Her bangles clink as she swiftly wraps some eggs and then hands it over to the customer along with the change. With her saree pallu tied at her hip, she toils to the sound made by the jangling of her armlets. “I had sold bangles like these to buy this shop. They were made of gold. It has been 10 years now, but I don’t regret it,” says Ponnarasi, recalling times past.…

The #CycleToWork programme launched last year has made tremendous strides in catalysing commute in Bengaluru. The cycleto.work platform allows 'Bicycle Ambassadors' nominated in each company to take leadership to upscale cycle commute in their company. More than half the companies that clock rides on the #CycleToWork platform are situated in the IT belt. So it was just a matter of time before the ambassadors wheeled up to make a statement. Yesterday, we kicked off '#CycleToWork Fridays' as a critical mass event for bicycle commuters, under the leadership of Shilpi Sahu, Sameer Shisodia and Chidambaram Subramanian. The event was held on…

Life in the city is inextricably linked with a range of sounds that we have grown accustomed to. But the threat of noise pollution is among the least acknowledged as we go about our day to day activities. The brunt of growing noise pollution is borne by the delicate ecosystems that make up life in and around the city. From the loss of animals due to noise pollution to the disappearance of an entire species, the impact of noise pollution has been devastating, yet we rarely hear enough about it. How sinister is noise pollution and what can we do…

The global call for Climate Strikes between 20-27 September, 2019 drew many young Indians to the streets. The week-long climate protests held across the world have shown that the young generation isn’t going to let the politicians continue with their inaction on climate change. They want them to listen to the scientists, and take urgent climate action. Global climate strikes have built a solidarity among youth across the world on the issue of climate change. The youth today live in fear and anxiety about their future because of the failure of the previous generations to act on climate change. These…

Following complaints from several residents against revision of property tax by the Greater Chennai Corporation [GCC] for the period 2017-18, in addition to the general revision for the period 2018-19, the Motilal Street Residents' Welfare Association approached officials to ascertain the reasons for such selective revision for some properties. This revision of tax for the period 2017-18 was implemented along with the general revision for the period 2018-19. We were told that the revision for 2017-18 was on account of the change in the occupancy of the premises -- that is from owner to tenant. However, upon analysis of the…

You’ve probably heard about BMTC’s 'bus priority lane' pilot project in ORR (Outer Ring Road) by now. Officials are working full-time to set up infrastructure for the project, and are conducting test runs. Speaking to Citizen Matters, KR Puram Traffic Police Inspector Lokesha says they have been asked to deploy police personnel to ensure only buses ply in the priority lanes. "BMTC will gives us details after the pilot runs are completed. We will then deploy personnel depending on the number and frequency of buses," he says. Here are some quick details about this pilot : Starting November 1st, the…

The city is all set to provide passage to the Chinese President Xi Jinping who is heading to the temple town of Mahabalipuram, roughly 60kms away from Chennai, for his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi (the PM is expected to fly into Mahabalipuram). In order to make the city ‘presentable’,  Greater Chennai Corporation has taken up a series of beautification activities along the route to Mahabalipuram. Multiple pockets have been spruced up by repairing roads, painting the road dividers, cleaning and recolouring the barricades and in some places, covering up the ugly patches.  Various departments of the City administration…

With all the buzz around sustainability, climate change and plastic pollution, it is good to see businesses around the world including PepsiCo and Nestle starting to talk about eco-friendly choices. Everyday, news reports highlight the innovative strategies of businesses to combat plastic pollution. For decades, we have been polluting our environment with plastic disposables, obsessed with the use-and-throw culture. Now we read about many inventions to replace plastic disposables with other types of disposables that are environment-friendly, labelled as pro-earth, biodegradable, compostable, food-grade etc. But are we going in the right direction by replacing one kind of disposable with another…