GENRE: In Focus

Sunita (assumed name *) was in the hospital for a long time. Diagnosed with cancer, she had undergone multiple rounds of chemotherapy. As a result, her immune system was severely stressed. A few weeks later, she developed an open chest wound that had to be operated upon. Soon after, her doctor noticed a stubborn bacterial infection that just would not go away, no matter what antibiotics they prescribed. The doctor conducted a few tests and found that Sunita was infected with Methycillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA, a fatal drug-resistant bacterium that thrives in hospital wards all over the world (www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735).…

Prasun Bandyopadhyay is 35 and a senior scientist at a major multinational firm in the rapidly developing Whitefield area of Bangalore. He and his wife Punam, also a scientist, have two children and they live across the Whitefield Railway Station, in north-eastern Bangalore, beyond the Sai Baba Ashram. This is the extended Marathahalli-Whitefield road that goes north to intersect the Hosakote/Kolar highway. A number of private residential layouts have mushroomed here over the last few years. A whole host of young, as well as middle-aged professionals have started settling down here. The Bandyopadhyay couple, like many of their fellow-residents are…

In response to a public interest litigation, the High Court of Karnataka had directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) three months ago to constitute a special committee to monitor its road widening projects and the Metro works. But, the court's intervention has not impacted the 'free' uprooting of trees.  Trees impacted Kanakapura RoadBellary RoadRace Course RoadPalace RoadSarjapur RoadBBMP note constituting the committee The BBMP constituted the nine-member 'Sustainable Development Empowered Technical Advisory Committee' in July 2008, under the chairmanship of Yellapa Reddy, a retired officer of the Indian Forest Service (IFS. According to the court's order, the committee has…

I would not mind starting with a clichéd phrase for Bangalore - the city of lakes and tanks. But these days this lake city is making news because its lakes are drying up. Some because of waste dumping, some because of encroachments. One of these unfortunate lakes in Bangalore is Bellandur Lake, one of the oldest with 130 years of history and the main water provider or the city. The lake is two kms from the Koramanangla valley southwards of the city. It covers an area of 903 acres and is six meters deep at the center. The water storing…

“You know you’re in Bangalore, you know you’re in the Silicon Valley of India, when you go to play golf and the caddy on the first tee says you can either aim at the Microsoft building or the IBM building. You know you’re in Bangalore when you see the Pizza Hut advertisement says ‘gigabytes of taste’,” famously said the US journalist Thomas Friedman in 2004. Ever since, reams have been written on outsourcing, the software boom and the rise of the uber-smart, uber-rich new technogeeks of Bangalore. But whatever happened to the other Bangalores, the ones that shun the arc…

Manjulatha, 25, died a few months ago while giving birth to her third child. She has left behind a five year old daughter and a two year old son. Manjulatha used to help her husband in his ragi fields and take care of the house also. Her daughter, Anitha is now forced to drop out of school to take care of her younger brother and look after the house while her father works in the field. Manjulatha's is not the only case of Gollahalli. There are several similar cases in this small village 35 kms from the Silicon city of…

Come rains and most roads of the city are flooded. Some roads see potholes and muddy water all over, some lose their asphalt cover and some others are deformed. You may be surprised to know that the BBMP appoints private consultants to repair flood damage on roads with its own engineers. But the roads remain in bad shape even after that.In 2006, the BBMP formed a Flood Damage Control cell to carry out such road works. A total of 26 roads in the city were shortlisted for repairs with a budget of Rs.19 crores. All these road works were awarded…

From time to time newspapers report that an effort is to be made to improve footpaths (sidewalks, pavements) to benefit pedestrian movement. In 2005 and 2006 such statements came from the office of the Commissioner, BMP. In 2007 the Deccan Herald reported that the Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic & Security) had announced work on, ‘a policy dedicated to construction and maintenance of footpaths’. There is hardly any evidence on the ground of results from either initiative.Footpath access blocked by Police (Pic: S.G.Narayanamurthy)16th Cross kerb 2007 (Pic: S.G.Narayanamurthy)Bank van customers block Footpath (Pic: S.G.Narayanamurthy)Car equipping work on Footpath (Pic: S.G.Narayanamurthy)Cars…

In part 1 of this article, we saw the the various types of encroachments that hinder pedestrian mobility. Here we take a look at what is involved in finding a solution. Ward level staff will not be able to deal with these different types of encroachment without a sound operational framework and good training.The best starting point could be an official mission statement. This should emphasise that provision of encroachment-free pavements for pedestrians is an essential measure of public safety. It is not only pedestrians who will benefit, but it can go a good way towards making driving less stressful.It…

Did you know that of the innumerable road humps (or speed breakers) in the city, only 282 are authorised by the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike (BBMP)? All the others, according to the BBMP, are unauthorised and do not have any mention in their records. This fact was revealed when BBMP responded to a RTI application regarding the same recently. Most of us are troubled by the road humps we come across every day. It’s a common feeling that some of them are not required at all, while some of them appear to be hastily put up with no concern for…