GENRE: Voices

G Manjunath Raju. Bangalore's city budget, presented by the BBMP at the city council session on August 30th raises more questions than answers. The steep revenue projections BBMP has cited are themselves a whole topic. Citizen Matters spoke to G Manjunath Raju, corporator of Kadu Malleswaram (Ward 65) and member of BBMP's Taxation and Finance committee that prepared the budget. Discussion on the budget at the council is scheduled for September 2nd. There is a several fold increase in revenues compared to last year. How are you planning to manage that? There are total 15 lakh properties in the city.…

A few days ago I was at a junction where the traffic signal wasn't working and cops were not to be seen. All hell had broken loose and there were vehicles turning in every direction, as a result of which no one was moving. Tempers were rising and honking crossing all known limits of sound pollution. I was right at the front and seeing the mayhem ahead I tried to stay put, in order to not add to the utter confusion ahead of me. A few sensible drivers stood by too. Illustration: Narasimha Vedala But as usual there was one…

Auto rickshaws are a key option for private transport in Bangalore. * There are more than 1 lakh registered autos in the city. * Number of Auto rickshaw's = 100,000 * Min turnover per auto/per day = Rs.600 * Total turnover per day 100000*600 = Rs 6 crores * Total turnover per year = Rs.2160 crores Going by this, the minimum turn over is Rs.2160 crores per year. At a profit margin of 30-40%, it is amounting to nearly Rs.700 crores. This is a big business, and there are more than 20 unions but it does not have a users forum…

In recent months, a large number of mobile phone towers have sprouted atop high-rise buildings in Bengaluru. Building owners or societies agree to the installation of these towers because a handsome rental can be had from the service provider. But how safe are these towers? With constant exposure to the low radiation that these transmitters emit, what are the long-term health effects of this? Does it matter which side the tower is facing (towards a neighbouring apartment complex or building, for instance)? Do the installers conform to international safety standards? Who monitors? This was one of the issues raised at…

Take your cameras, go around the city along the few avenues that are yet to be affected by BBMP plans and also visit the few lung spaces of the city and click pictures of the beautiful fully-grown trees to show your children and grandchildren of the future, what Bangalore was. Do this quickly, because soon, Bangalore will be robbed of her greenery totally, thanks to the most insensitive and short-sighted planners, bureaucrats, politicians and officials of the state!It is very sad that protests of the public and eco-activists are just ignored.  Projects are taken up with ulterior motives of helping…

The first BJP-led BBMP council is expected to present their maiden budget within the next fortnight. In this light, about 20 days ago, a group of like-minded citizens from across Bengaluru presented a memorandum to Mayor S K Nataraj, listing their proposals to include in the budget. This was in the presence of BBMP Commissioner H Siddaiah and Chairman of BBMP's Finance Committee, P N Sadashiva. The memorandum states that any BBMP budget should have a force or a thrust and that this year's focus could be on making Bangalore 'garbage-free'. The following are some of the proposals in the…

The past few months have given us several examples once again that Bangaloreans do not sit silent beyond a point. Yes, you can push citizens here for some time, but push hard enough and they are likely to hit back. The message from the backlash against auto rickshaw drivers tampering meters and refusing rides to passengers with runaway impunity is clear: 'We've had enough'. The mere fact that the unions have reportedly met and have started making pronouncements to address citizen fury is indicative that it took a united expression of anger to bring the auto rickshaw driver community to…

Came across an article about the worsening traffic situation in India. Badly planned roads, overstretched traffic police, violators get away easy, explosion in vehicle population, and a flood of untrained drivers all contribute to the problem. Wait! There is one more reason; there are a set of unwritten rules that are passed on from driver to driver in the great oral tradition of India! Since this tradition is oral, there is ample scope for misinterpretation and consequent goof-ups on the road. The other unique aspect about these rules is that they don't have to be consistently followed, just understood and…

It doesn't take a genius to figure out the reasons behind traffic congestion.  First, a sincere round of applause for all commuters who despite lack of traffic signals at most intersections manage to peacefully negotiate and reach their destinations. People do follow directions as is evident when there is a police officer on the road (trying to do his/her best). This shows that we are very accommodating by nature but we are also deeply frustrated from long delays and a system that does not reward good drivers. Here are some obvious problems seen on the road daily: Pedestrians strolling on…

Recently, a few of us from the ‘Save Our Lake' group of L & T South City and Brigade Millennium apartments formed the Puttenahalli Neighbourhood Lake Improvement Trust (PNLIT), and formally registered it under the Trust Act of the Government of Karnataka. We have been working for a while to restore Puttenahalli Lake, and turn it into a place of conservation and recreation amidst our homes. Citizen Matters too has helped in this cause. Thanks to the BBMP, allied agencies and individuals, this restoration is now showing visible signs of success. PNLIT will also be procuring saplings to help attract…