GENRE: LN

This article is part of a special series: Air Quality in our Cities The 1.8 lakh and counting auto rickshaws on Bangalore streets are a boon and bane in equal measure. They are literally the last bastion for last mile connectivity in Bangalore but their role in mobility as a connecting cog to the main modes of transport (or access egress)  is unregulated, making them a bit of a nightmare. Public transport, which is often presented as a panacea for the unending nightmare of mobility in a city as crowded as Bangalore, is hampered quite often by issues of last…

பல்லவபுர நகராட்சியின் கீழுள்ள 42 வார்டுகளில் கடந்த மூன்று வாரங்களாக பல சுகாதார சீர்கேடுகள் நடைப்பெற்று வருகிறது. நகராட்சியின் பல பகுதிகளில் கடந்த சில மாதங்களாகவே குப்பைகளை சரியாக அப்புறப்படுத்தாமலும், குப்பைகளை முறையாக மேலாண்மை செய்யாமலும் அதிகாரிகள் தவிர்த்து வருகின்றனர். பல தெருக்களில் வீட்டுக்கு வந்து குப்பைகளை சேகரிப்பது முன்னறிவிப்பின்றி நிறுத்தப்பட்டுள்ளது. பல இடங்களில் எப்போதுமிருக்கும் குப்பைத்தொட்டிகள் அகற்றப்பட்டுள்ளது. இதனால் பலரும் குப்பைத்தொட்டி இருந்த இடங்களில் எப்போதும் போல குப்பையை கொட்டி வருகின்றனர் அதை சரிவரக் கையாளாததால் சாலைகளில் பறந்தும் சுற்றுப் பகுதிகளில் துர்நாற்றம் வீசியும் சுகாதார சீர்கேட்டுக்கு வித்திடுகிறது.பல தெருக்களில் தொடர்ந்து குப்பைகள் தீயிட்டு கொளுத்தப்பட்டு வ௫கிறது. இதை பற்றி சுகாதார அதிகாரியான (Sanitary Officer) தி௫ செல்வராஜ் அவர்களிடம் பல முறை புகார் அளித்த போதும், செய்கிறேன், பார்கிறேன் என்ற பதில் மட்டுமே அவரிடமிருந்து வ௫கிறது ஆனால் நடைமுறையில் எந்த மாற்றத்தையும் காண முடியவில்லை. இச்சூழலுக்கு காரணம் பல்லவபுர…

Chennai's woes with footpaths have been a recurring irritant in recent months. From protests against political parties that claim footpaths to erect their banners, to citizen complaints of newly laid footpaths being unserviceable due to design flaws and encroachments -- there is a chorus of voices sounding a clear demand for better facilities for pedestrians. Pavements across the city suffer from poor design, inconvenient placement of street furniture, street vendor stalls that block access, broken tiles, dumping of debris and overflowing garbage. This leaves little room for those who commute on foot to navigate the city's streets safely. Take a look at…

The morning of October 29, 2018 saw chaos on the ITPL main road at Whitefield in Bengaluru, when the Gas Authority of India Ltd. (GAIL)  natural gas pipeline sprung a leak in front of Decathlon during BMRCL operations. The Bengaluru Traffic Police tweeted that the traffic had been diverted to accommodate the repair teams. By 10 am, it was announced by the GAIL DGM Operations, Senthil Kumar that the leak was plugged. While there was a lot of talk about the traffic situation it caused, the accident raises several questions about safety and more importantly about what lies below Bangalore’s…

High Court considers scheduling hearings on BBMP's failures on Saturdays The Karnataka High Court's division bench of Chief Justice Dinesh Maheshwari and SG Pandit criticised the BBMP's careless approach towards filling potholes.  The court criticised the BBMP than BBMP for failure to meet the target of filling potholes in 198 wards, and said the work would be handed over to other agencies capable of doing the job better. The 43 potholes brought to the judges notice during the last hearing were still present, said the counsel of the petitioners. The HC schedules are delayed due the proceedings on potholes and…

On Saturday, October 27th, the city will be witness to yet another human chain, organised this time by the disgruntled citizens of Bellandur, one of the largest wards of Bengaluru with a tax collection of Rs 220 crore. The residents of the ward seek to highlight their issues and put forth their demands to make Bellandur livable. Residents point to the serious discrepancy of funds and infrastructure for the ward by all standards. As per the BBMP Budgetary expenditure (Source: Janaagraha), Bellandur (27 sq km) has got an allocation of Rs 6-7 crore in the annual budget. Considering the parameters…

“Homely atmosphere with good food and guaranteed safety,” reads the description of one of the many posts advertising women's hostels on a popular Facebook group for people who have moved to Chennai and are looking for suitable accommodation.  The post is accompanied by pictures of three single beds placed next to each other in a cramped room with seemingly little ventilation or light. Yet, the many enthusiastic responses show there is still demand for such places. This is the reality of many such hostels and paying guest accommodation across the city. With very little oversight on their operations, those who…

In a city like Chennai where public transportation is not really optimal in terms of supporting last mile connectivity, share autos are the cheapest and easiest option and have naturally emerged as the common man’s preferred mode of transport. But the advantages of this intermediate public transport or para transit cannot override the range of problems faced by commuters and even share auto drivers themselves. In Part 1 of the series on share autos, we discussed why share autos are necessary, especially in view of the demand surplus that crowded MTC buses are not able to meet. But commuters list…

It was among the first PILs that was filed by the Citizens' Action Forum and it wasn’t even their first course of action! For a group that is often accused of being trigger-happy with the judiciary, CAF's petition against the Master Plan 2015 was a last recourse, after they had exhausted all other options.   When the BDA released the draft of its Master Plan 2015, it proposed rapid commercialisation of largely residential areas in Bangalore, allowing for almost unchecked change of land use. Bangalore had begun to boom by the start of the millennium. The rise of the IT…

Swine Flu in Karnataka: 86 cases recorded in BBMP limits this year As many as 542 cases of Swine Flu have been registered so far in Karnataka and eight people had died, between January 2018 to October 17 2018. The toll continues to rise.  86 people were tested positive in BBMP limits, of which 54 cases were recorded in Bengaluru Urban, by the state's Health and Family Welfare Department. Most of the deceased patients were treated at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD) between August and October. The latest death reported is of a 58 year-old man from Bengaluru south…