EDITORS' PICK

An analysis of BBMP's work order data over the last five years shows 74% of funds were meant for roads and drain works. From "Remodelling of stormwater drains, culverts-bridges and allied works" to "White Topping on selected roads" - the packages range from a few lakhs to many a crore. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru’s city government, administers an area with a population of around 12 million and has a budget of around Rs 11,000 crore as of 2023-24. In spite of its massive expenditure on civic works, BBMP is often in the news for all the wrong reasons,…

It had been more than a decade since I had travelled by myself in an MTC bus. I was able to do so on my own with my wheelchair when low-floor buses were trialled in Chennai in February. As per a Madras high court direction, low-floor, accessible buses were taken on a trial along various routes in Chennai. The buses that run on Chennai streets at present are not accessible for any persons with disabilities. Almost all the buses are three feet in height, with a four-step approach. This meant that no person with disabilities was able to access the…

Health was in much focus for the last three years due to COVID-19. The governments seemed to take some initiatives towards providing some care for the people during the pandemic. But if there was some hope that the political class would give healthcare enough attention, then this has been belied with the political class going back to business as usual. COVID-19 will not be the last pandemic, given the extent of environmental destruction and increase in human-animal conflict. But, sadly, we, as a society, have not learnt our lessons from COVID-19 and have not invested in the health of the…

Waste activist Odette finds streets littered and garbage piles everywhere during her morning walks in Domlur. Nagraj, also known as Plog Raja ,continues to organise weekly clean up drives. More than 12 years after the SWM PIL got BBMP to start implementing decentralised waste management, why does Bengaluru still have garbage piles everywhere? Why do we continue to rely on illegal dumping grounds? What has the state government done in the last five years? A recap of solid waste-related developments in the recent term: Mushrooming black spots across the city (service roads, below flyovers, lake beds, storm water drains )…

The Merriam Webster dictionary’s definition of the word ‘manifesto’ is “A written statement declaring publicly the intentions, motives, or views of its issuer”. Do the manifestos released by the four main political parties contesting the May 10th Karnataka assembly elections fit that definition? The intentions are somewhat spelt out, the motives are unknown. And its views on issues like decentralisation, of urban governance in particular, finds no mention at all. The tradition of issuing “manifestos” began with the first election in 1952. But those were different and simpler times with one major party, which faced no worthwhile opposition. But today’s…

"Why should we buy water from outside, if we are paying water tax to Metro Water for water supply?" asks S Bharathi, a resident of Besant Nagar. She gets water from the Nemmeli desalination plant but the water supplied is not potable. Residents have flagged various issues with the water being supplied from the plant for many years but with little recourse. The Nemmeli desalination plant has been operational since 2013 and supplies water to the southern parts of the city. The areas it covers include Sholinganallur, Neelangarai, Injambakkam, Karappakkam, Semmenchery, Thoraipakkam, Perungudi, Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Thiruvanmiyur, Velachery, Taramani, Pallipattu, Adyar,…

Towards the end of 2016, the massive public campaign against the proposed steel flyover, led by Citizens for Bengaluru along with many other groups, not only stopped the Government from building the flyover but also helped build support for improved and better mass public transport in Bengaluru. Protests against elevated corridor project The dormant demand for suburban train gathered steam with the energetic #ChukuBukuBeku rail yatra and all major parties pledged funds and professed keen interest in the project. It also became a topic of discussion during the 2018 Assembly and 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Similarly, the campaign to double…

"Transferring waste from one area to another area involves carbon footprint and it's an environmental injustice to dump garbage from one place at another, resulting in an unhealthy environment for residents of other areas," says Geo Damin, an environmental activist with Poovulagin Nanbargal. In recent years, Chennai has attempted to revamp its waste management system to reduce the quantum of waste reaching landfills. Under the decentralised waste management system adopted to achieve this goal, large apartment complexes and commercial establishments that are classified as Bulk Waste Generators (BWGs) are responsible for handling their own waste with the help of vendors.…

On April 24, 2023, 17-year-old, Shahrukh Zulfikar Shaikh, was killed in a truck accident at Malad, when he was cycling. The cyclist fell down after he lost control due when a rickshaw ahead swerved suddenly on his side. Last February, a 12-year-old cyclist was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he and his father were cycling in a group on the Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road.  These deaths are a sad reminder of the dangers that await cyclists in the city. Professional cyclists say that cycling within the city roads is very unsafe and could be quite risky. Urban transportation planner Zohra…

Editor's note: On January 25 2022, the state government put out a full page ad in the Deccan Herald showcasing its achievements in Bengaluru. The ad praised the government’s expenditure of hundreds of crores spent on restoring lakes, building BBMP schools, the much publicised Namma clinics, roads, and various BDA layouts. In the upcoming series, we look at some of these claims and see the reality behind it. On January 25th, the state government claimed in an advertisement that “47 lakes had been developed under the Nava Nagarothana scheme at the cost of 317.25 crores.” Under the Amrutha Nagarothana scheme,…