GENRE: Voices

Touts stopping non-KA registered vehicles opposite Kadugodi police station on June 8th 2015. Pic: Waseem Memon   Dear Sir, At the outset, let me express my sincerest thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to meet me in Nagpur on May 17th 2015. You gave me a patient hearing and assured me that my concerns with regards to freedom of movement of motor vehicles across all states, shall be addressed in the New Motor Vehicles Bill to be tabled soon in the Parliament. While we may still be able to Drive Without Borders across states, I believe we…

Pic: Sheeja Cassius   Potholes - I got you under my skin!! When you are tired of sobbing, you sing! The worst pothole on varthur gunjur stretch had me and my pillion in. Ironically we were on our way to collect an IGCSE report card (International)! To save the road of an empty fuel guzzler and wasted carbon footprint, I stick to a mobike when we are two... I trailed behind a couple cars... Maybe three feet away? But that wasn't enough to steer me away from this nasty one as I swerved to avoid and skid straight in. The…

Of whom are you? Who are you? Whence have you come?                                                                                                                 - Śamkara bhagavatpāda, “Moha-mudgarah” The roots of people are not always clear. Sometimes, it is quite all right for things to be that way. Nothing much is gained by knowing the facts as they seem…

Touts stopping non-KA registered vehicles opposite Kadugodi police station on June 8th 2015. Pic: Karthikeyan Dear Sir, I am torn. All through my life, I was the lone person in my circle of friends who had faith in the government. I was the only one who staunchly defended the government. I was the only one who said that governments don’t lie. I was ridiculed. I was chided. I was considered odd. Yet, I soldiered on. Then something happened. Some of my friends pointed out to me that the RTO, Karnataka was clamping down upon out-of-state cars. They said that the…

Hayes Road in Richmond Town is considered one of the better addresses to have in town. Yes, the homes are posh, the residents keep excellent, photo worthy homes, the gardens are lovely, but the condition of the road is a total and absolute mess. The road is a despair of the residents  who have been trying desperately to get the corporation to do something to alleviate their suffering. Take a look at the pictures; you need to go no further. At the end of the road, there is a house which residents say has been locked up for years. In…

June 8th 30 million people. It boggles the mind to think that so many could live in a single metropolitan area. But the Jakarta city region is just that - the second largest concentration of people anywhere in the world. The city itself (which is itself actually 5 municipalities) is of Bangalore proportions - 10 million, 700 sq km - but the metro area which includes many other cities is thrice the size. In 25 years, a few Indian cities could look like this - vast, a little more wealthy than today, and juxtapositions of order and chaos, rich and…

Lingaraj Urs (third from right) with members of Bruhat Whitefield Residential Community Association (BWRCA). Pic: BWRCA Facebook Page Well-known formula for bringing in change world over is, if you want to change the system, be a part of it first. Lingaraj Urs, a top IT honcho, fed up of the problems in his area, wanted to change the system to improve governance and administration in his area. He decided to get into poll politics to do it. And he won. To most well-heeled urban citizens, politics was thus far known as ‘the last resort of scoundrels’; good men and women…

On the morning of May 27th 2015, Benedict Jebakumar found himself caught in traffic on the flyover that connects Silk Board to Bellandur Outer Ring Road in Bengaluru, en route to his office at Eco Space. While one might say that is expected on Bangalore roads, there was one more factor that contributed to the traffic. Spread on the road were nails, many of them, the kind that one would typically find in a cobbler’s shop. Small, black and oh so troublesome! While most commuters waited in their vehicles for the jam to clear up, Benny got off his bike…

Tender SURE project hits the headlines often, mostly because of the work that has gone on for a long time in the roads selected for the project. Many have questioned the rationale behind Tender SURE. Space for trees on Tender SURE roads, space for street vendors, citizen participation before the implementation of the project, execution and other aspects have come under criticism. In an email interview with Citizen Matters, Swati Ramanathan, Co-founder of Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, and Chairperson of Jana Urban Space Foundation (Jana USP), answers our questions regarding the project. She explains in detail about the…

Forum for Urban Commons and Governance protesting against TenderSURE on April 9th 2015 On April 9th, the Forum for Urban Commons and Governance organised a protest in opposition to the Tender SURE project, citing that there it was approved and being implemented in an undemocratic and unconstitutional manner. Their protest was a demand for the democratisation of governance, and to build a socially that was just, and inclusive. Citizen Matters spoke to Meena Artwani, a member of the group to understand their concerns. Here is the text of the interview: Who are the organisations and individuals that are part of…