GENRE: Voices

The other day I was having a rather interesting conversation/debate with some of my colleagues and friends which I thought was worth reporting here. This was a conversation about equity in Bangalore's BMTC buses. My friends were analyzing equity and accessibility in BMTC buses. Somehow the conversation veered towards the topic of Volvo buses and whether the city needs different kinds of buses, and this is where there was a sharp difference of opinion between my friends' thoughts and my own.My friends were of the opinion that there shouldn't be different kinds of buses for different kinds of people. By…

I was alright with the tokenism of International Women's day. A few political statements, some well intentioned but ill-thought out schemes announced to mark the day - that I could live with. But today's women's day celebrations bother me. In its hundredth year, it has become the biggest gimmick of consumerism. Every single business out there gets set to woo women. ‘Celebrate your womanhood' hoardings scream, mailboxes and phones are flooded with every kind of offer. Beauty salons, cosmetic companies, clothing companies, shoes, lingerie shops, restaurants and even hospitals have offers. What's wrong you say?  All these celebrations are targeted…

At the age of 24, Anita Reddy started her first project to get electricity to Lakshmipuram slum in Ulsoor. Over three decades later, her fight for land, housing rights and basic facilities for the poor has helped thousands of people in Bangalore alone. She has helped re-build around 15 slums in the city. Fighting For Slum dwellers' rights since 1978. Pic: Navya P K Anita Reddy, 57, is part of Association for Voluntary Action and Services (AVAS) and Dwarkanath Reddy Ramanarpanam Trust (DRRP). She won the coveted Padma Shri award this year. At right at her home city, she won…

"When we broke open the doors and rescued, the people inside offices, told us that we had come like angels amidst the thick smoke to rescue them," says Mudaseer Hussain, one of the firemen from the Karnataka State Fire and Emergency Services (KSFES). To hundreds of people stuck in the Carlton Tower fire on 23 February 2010, they came as angels to save their lives. Firemen from the KSFES acted swiftly to rescue hundreds of people stranded at the high-rise and prevented further loss of lives. Mudaseer Hussain, 36, Venkatesha T, 25, K T Prakash, 48, were three of the…

If you have been facing power cuts, blame it on the over-100-year-old power distribution system in Bengaluru, says P Manivannan, Managing Director at BESCOM. The issue is not power shortage, but poor infrastructure, he says. Manivannan, a 1998-batch IAS officer, took charge at BESCOM in October 2010. P Manivannan, MD, BESCOM Illustration: Sneha Prasad In the last few months, Manivannan has promised reforms such as sending SMS alerts on power cuts to consumers, publicizing power supply data etc. He is also the first BESCOM official to put up a camera in his chamber, which can be viewed live at the…

Citizens Action Forum (CAF), a federation of Residents Welfare Associations (RWA) in Bangalore, held a meeting on Saturday February 19, at the Central College Senate Hall at which three issues were tabled for discussion – the move  by BBMP to hike property tax by 15 per cent, water supply, and  the garbage problem. CAF meeting. From L: M S Mukunda, B N Vijaykumar, Manjunath, Lalithabai, Ashwathnarayana, Venkat Raju and Govindraju. Pic: Meera K. A full house saw representatives of RWA and concerned citizens voice their opinions on these issues to seek responses from ward representatives and MLAs. What remained at…

Citizen Action Forum (CAF), a federation of Residents Welfare Associations in Bangalore, is starting a campaign to highlight what it calls “misplaced priorities of BBMP, BWSSB and the state government” and to propose a plan to resolve critical issues plaguing the city. CAF POSITIONSTAXES: BBMP should not increase property tax rates. It should first widen the tax base and increase the revenues from sources like rental income from BBMP properties, licensing fees, taxes on hoardings etc. It is estimated that only 40% of the properties are paying taxes amounting to Rs 900 Crores. BBMP should also demand 8% of the…

12 Bus Days till date. Officials say the initiative has been successful and it will begin the second year of Bus Day on Friday. It's been a year since the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) initiated the Bus Day programme. Started on February 4, 2010, BMTC introduced extra buses along twelve corridors of the city on the 4th of every month. Studies indicated that at least 5,000 cars were off roads on this day, bringing down pollution levels considerably. (Source: Times of India)But is Bus Day really a success. Did it encourage commuters to use BMTC for one day or…

Citizens of Sagayapuram (Ward 60) of Bangalore recently prepared their own programme of works for their ward.  They had wanted - among other wishes - community toilets, nursery school renovation and footpaths for 24 lakh rupees, but the BBMP sanctioned 27 lakhs just for street name-boards. This shows the stark lack of community participation in decision-making even 18 years after the passage of the 74th Constitutional  Amendment (74th CAA) or Nagarapalika Act, which  mandated "Power to the People" in urban areas.  Karnataka's Community Participation Bill Amendments that do nothing to strengthen community participation The 74th CAA was to bring in decentralisation, proximity, transparency, accountability…

Have you wondered why a BMTC bus is forced through a narrow 9-metre road in Bengaluru? Why entire layouts come up without amenities that they city later has to somehow account for? Plenty of noise is regularly made about lack of ‘proper planning' in Bengaluru city. You need planners who understand how cities work, you need planners who have backgrounds of geography, economics, architecture and urban planning, says Mohan Rao.Pic: Subramaniam Vincent However, it isn't that Bangalore itself lacks qualified planners and architects to work with the city administration. One such planner and 'urban practitioner' as he calls himself is…