GENRE: Voices

As the monsoons hit Bangalore quenching the thirst of a parched landscape, the heavenly waters also bring with it the burden of deadly diseases like dengue. As industrial revolution and rapid scientific advancement made life easy for human life on this planet, it also brought in unforeseen challenges with regard to health and hygiene. Dengue fever, from being present in small pockets around the tropical earth, has now become a pandemic putting almost one third of the world population at risk. It is a flu-like viral fever spread by mosquito bites. The severe form potentially kills 1 in 5 affected…

A friend forwarded me the link to a parenting blog recently. The blogger, mother of a seven-year-old, takes up the challenge of yelling less. She’s inspired by the blog famous among parenting blogs, Orange Rhino. For those who are not familiar, The Orange Rhino is the name of a challenge where the aforementioned blogger decided to go 365 days without yelling at her kids. All four of them. Yes. Four. And she succeeded. As for me, I prefer the Maun Vrat, the age-old spiritual practice of silence. Of course, I have my own version of it. Mine comes into application…

Having exact change is the best way to avoid clashes with conductors. Pic: Shree D N She steps into a BMTC bus in some part of Bangalore; asks for ticket, paying Rs.100; conductor says he doesn't have change. Argument over change turns ugly, as she doesn't understand what the conductor is speaking in Kannada. Not able to control her anger, she slaps him. Result: She ends up in judicial custody, for assaulting the conductor. (Src: Bangalore Mirror) What Swati faced is a historical problem in buses everywhere in India - not just Bangalore. Bus conductors usually don't have change; some…

I was taking my cycle to the ‘Fitness Through Travel’ to get it lubed properly for the race on Sunday. As I passed the playground near 19th Main (BTM Layout), I noticed a young woman in filthy clothes lying unconscious near the grills of the ground. A lot of young men were playing in the ground, paying no attention to her. Everyone was just glancing at her and moving away with the assumption that she was drunk. I too started moving away, but then I noticed dried blood around her foot. I felt bad, went near her and woke her…

When the alignment of around 50+ kms of the proposed road is more or less the same as NICE road, BDA has to construct only 60+ kms, not 110 kms as projected. Pic: wikimedia commons Why should the Peripheral Ring Road cost 4300 crores, and why should Japanese agency Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) be funding it? The toal length of the project is about 110 km, of which 50+ is unnecessary, because the western half of the road is more or less identical to the NICE Road which has already been built. So what we really need is road…

Ever so often, somebody makes the statement – that we need to have a right to water. You can substitute water with education, food, health or any other resource-dependent ‘right’ — the arguments are quite similar: that not enough people have sufficient access to it, that the lack of availability of the right was a fundamental human indignity, that it was likely against the fundamental right to life guaranteed by the constitution, and that it was high time the state did something about it. For better or worse, this has now resulted in Right to Education legislation, and will likely…

Dear Sir, Let me introduce myself. I am one of those estimated 48 Lakh commuters who use public transport to get to work. I travel, on average, 50 kms both ways in a day. It takes me 3 to 3.5 hours to do the same. I buy monthly passes every month and I have seen my spending go from Rs. 1350 per month just two years ago to Rs.1800 now. During this time, the cost of diesel has gone from Rs. 46.21 to Rs. 54.82. An 18% hike in fuel has meant a 33% hike in the pass rates. There…

See potholes everywhere after the rains for a week or two? Let's remember that we spent Rs.300 crores tarring the roads just before the elections. That's literally being washed away. There is a way to deal with potholes, but BBMP doesn't want to do that. As long as that doesn't change, we can't expect better roads. In most cities around the world, the local government has a small amount of internal capacity too. I.e. they don't outsource the 100% of their engineering work. About 10% is kept in-house. This means that they have a budget for some materials, a few…

Traffic congestion due to increased private vehicles and expensive public transport, respiratory diseases from polluted air, pedestrians' problems owing to poor roads and footpaths et al, have become a part of life of Bangalore. Here are some disturbing realities and possible remedies to these interlinked challenges. A joint discussion held by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), in Bangalore on March 22, 2013 rated the Karnataka capital among 14 Indian cities which have high particulate pollution. They warned that it may enter the ‘critical’ category if the situation is not addressed…

To T Sham Bhat, BDA Commissioner Subir Hari Singh, BDA Chairman Town Planning Chairman                            Subject: Construct pedestrian subways in Bangalore This is to bring to your notice that there is urgent requirement of pedestrian subways at areas such as: • Vasanthnagar - Cantonment • Mekhri Circle • Jayamahal – Fun World • Indian Express • Mantri mall area • Belundoor • Yeshwanthpur,  etc It has indeed become a pain trying to cross roads in Bangalore as one has to literally put a risk to his life to cross a road. If he is not a good sprinter, heaven will…