GENRE: In Focus

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…

On 14th August 2008, the United States Consulate decided, as part of their fresh initiative to engage with the Indian public, to host a panel discussion on "Meeting the Challenges of Terrorism", at the Taj West End, Bangalore. This was done along with EVAA (Exchange Visitors Alumni Association), of which Janaki Murali, (Group Leader, Education and Research, Infosys Technologies) is the President for the southern region. The 'Challenges of Terrorism' discussion on 14 August, at Taj West End (Pic: Deepa Mohan)The US Consulate was represented by Ragini Gupta, Consul for Cultural Affairs. The panel discussion was led by Dr D…

On 4th August, former mayor P R Ramesh sent a notice to the State Election Commission asking it to hold elections of the Bruhat Bangaluru Mahanagara Palike within a fortnight. The notice said that though the Karnataka High Court on 2 July 2008, had directed the Election Commission and State to hold elections, no action had been taken so far. It is not that the Election Commission is dragging its feet on the matter or that its officials are lethargic and unwilling to move. The problem rests elsewhere. On 20th August, the Election Commision filed an application with the High…

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL)’s plan for shopping space inside the to-be-built metro stations is likely to leave many displaced traders stranded. Except two stations, one on M G Road and the other at Byapanahalli, and possibly a third -- the Trinity Circle station, all other stations will not have shops inside, according to K Nagendra, Public Relations Officer at BMRCL. Nagendra says that Metro stations which will have provisions for parking lots and integrated transport facilities will be the ones earmarked for inclusion of shops. The other stations are going to be basic. The crane moves at…