GENRE: Voices

With Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s maiden budget reviving the pod taxi for five stretches in Bengaluru at a cost of Rs 1445 crores, several eyebrows have been raised in questions over what makes the government favour it as a possible solution to the city’s traffic nightmare. Interestingly, the idea of pod taxis isn't as new as one would imagine. Indian cities have seen similar experiments before: The Chembur - Wadala - Maharaja Chowk monorail project, the airport feeder metro built by the Delhi Metro as a PPP project which was subsequently converted into the orange line. Both have had their…

Travelling within Bengaluru City has become a chronic nightmare for all its citizens. Even as people grapple with never-ending traffic jams, the government has come up with various ideas to solve the issue, including the much debated elevated flyover and the pod taxi project. But are decision makers losing sight of the broader context and framework within which the traffic situation must be viewed? Is there a deep enough understanding of the nuances that need to be considered for the gridlock to be broken and the efficiency of solutions multiplied? Talking to Citizen Matters, Professor Ashish Verma deconstructs the overall…

Eight years ago, a bunch of us were discussing on Praja.in about commuter rail routes and reviewing its potential for changing the transportation scene in the Bengaluru Metropolitan Region of 8,000 sqkms. In one of the comments, I had proposed that we use the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) as a hub for rail as well, so a new transport hub for passengers is created. Let’s look at what we might achieve by doing this. Economic growth of a country depends on the productivity of the economy. Efficient, intelligent usage of Labour and Capital investments determine productivity. Where we deploy investments…

In our deeply undemocratic traffic system, we need to call out how strong the automobile lobby is, how suppressed pedestrians are and how small is the resistance from pedestrians and public transport uses. Consider this: peaceful, democratic protesters are not allowed by a force-wielding police to come anywhere near Mantralaya. They are confined to a corner some 2 km away in Azad Maidan, in a corner, rendered invisible to the people. But axe-wielding men of the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) could easily dig up the footpath right in front of the state government headquarters, supposedly to protest the presence of…

In our deeply undemocratic traffic system, we need to call out how strong the automobile lobby is, how suppressed pedestrians are and how small is the resistance from pedestrians and public transport uses. Consider this: peaceful, democratic protesters are not allowed by a force-wielding police to come anywhere near Mantralaya. They are confined to a corner some 2 km away in Azad Maidan, in a corner, rendered invisible to the people. But axe-wielding men of the Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) could easily dig up the footpath right in front of the state government headquarters, supposedly to protest the presence of…

அன்புள்ள பெற்றோர்களுக்கு, பாலியல் வன்கொடுமைக்கு ஆளான பதினோரு வயது சிறுமி பற்றிய செய்தியை படித்ததும் என்னைப் போலவே நீங்களும் அதிர்ச்சி அடைந்திருப்பீர்கள். இருபத்தி இரண்டு ஆண்கள், சிலர் தாத்தா வயதுடையவர்கள், தொடர்ந்து ஏழு மாதங்களாக இந்த கொடுமையை செய்திருக்கிறார்கள். இதை பற்றி அணுளவும் தெரியாமல் பெற்றோர்கள் இருந்துள்ளனர் என்பதை தான் ஜீரணிக்க முடியவில்லை. பாலியல் வன்கொடுமைக்கு ஆளான குழந்தையை பாதுகாக்க வேண்டிய பொறுப்பு முதலில் பெற்றோரிடம் தான் உள்ளது – பிறகு தான் ஆசிரியர்கள், பள்ளி நிர்வாகிகள், அரசாங்க அதிகாரிகள் ஆகியோறின் சிறிய பங்கு. இன்றைய சூழலில் குழந்தைகள் எதிர்கொள்ளும் ஆபத்துகளை பற்றி முதலில் பெற்றோர்கள் அறிந்து வைத்திருந்தால் மட்டுமே பாலியல் வன்கொடுமைக்கு ஆளாகியுள்ளார்களா என்று அறிந்து கொள்ள முடியும். வருமுன் காப்பது என்றுமே சிறந்தது, ஆகவே, நான் பெற்றோர்களுக்கு சொல்வதெல்லாம் உங்களால் இயன்ற அளவு குழந்தைகள் இது போன்ற கொடுமைகளுக்கு ஆளாகாமல் பார்த்து கொள்ள வேண்டும். அதே போல் அத்தகைய…

At least a dozen ice cream parlours, car accessory shops, hardware, electrical shops, stationary and a bustling Brahmin Tiffin Bar, a Public Sector Bank, a huge shopping centre and a former chief minister's residence lie in the very busy 80 feet road in Sanjay Nagar, RMV 2nd stage, falling under Ward 18 in in Bengaluru. The 80 feet road starts from Sanjay Nagar and ends at MS Ramaiah Hospital Signal. It connects Sanjay Nagar Main Road to New BEL Road. The road is a vital link to office goers, school children, patients visiting MS Ramaiah Hospital etc. Sadly, the 1.5…

Dear parents, I am sure you have been as shocked and appalled as I, by the reports of repeated rape of a 12-year-old hearing impaired girl in Chennai, by as many as 22 men, some old enough to be her grandfathers, over a prolonged period of seven months. It is also equally, if not more, disturbing that her parents didn’t suspect anything for seven months. The onus of protecting a child from sexual abuse lies primarily with parents -- and then to a lesser extent with teachers, school authorities, other care givers and government authorities, in that order. So, to protect…

For many in Indian cities and towns, it is not unusual to open their doors to an unwarranted pitch by a salesman for a product or service newly launched. However the Dutta family, living in Eastern High, a multi-tower building complex in Newtown Kolkata, was in for a pleasant surprise when they answered the doorbell to find a group of 10-12 year olds, explaining ways of saving electricity at home as well as in the building premises and urging them to follow those steps. As you look around the building complex today, you find several creatively designed posters depicting easy…

Earlier this year, Cape Town acquired the dubious distinction of becoming the first city in the world to face the prospect of forcibly closing off all taps and get its population to get water from 200 collection points across the city. That catastrophe got pushed back somewhat, but Simla was not so lucky. Last month, piped water was no longer feasible, and people lined up at various places to get their share of this precious commodity. A newspaper report has it that Delhi is likely to go dry in 2020. Can Chennai be far behind? Or has the city already…