OPINION

Dear Government of Karnataka, Of late, there has been a lot of hand wringing over the traffic congestion. Various solutions are being proposed by citizens claiming to be experts, advisors and well wishers. Most of these solutions revolve around adding extra asphalt, at grade, overhead and underground. India's Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari summarised this predicament clearly when he said, in a recent event “I added 55 flyovers in Mumbai thinking it will solve traffic congestion, but it hasn’t solved anything”. Recently, however, there has been a growing realisation that Public Transport is the most efficient way forward. So the focus…

So, it’s curtains down on the 8th edition of the Bengaluru International Film Festival. The week-long film festival that saw a grand opening at Vidhana Soudha premises, much to the criticism of those from film fraternity as well as cine-enthusiasts, however, has managed to wrap up smoothly. There were many "firsts" for this year’s film festival’s credit. For the first time, the state government and Kannada Chalanachitra Academy took over the responsibility of organising completely, which had so far rested with Suchitra Film Society. Then again, for the first time, the Chief Minister himself led the Festival’s Organising Committee. In…

The Delhi’s Odd-Even experiment has ended. The Jury is still out on the outcome of this ‘Odd-Even’ experiment, i.e. reduction in pollution. There is no concrete evidence to prove one way or the other. Pollution reduction numbers may not be visible instantaneously with the absence of vehicles partially on roads in just 15 days. However, people of Delhi ensured high compliance to the odd-even rule, leading to success of this experiment in terms of less traffic. The Chief Justice of India’s voluntary compliance in spite of having the waiver just reiterates the citizen’s desire for healthier environments and surroundings, in…

January 25th is observed as National Voters' Day by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Does it include real voters? I doubt. As mentioned in my last blog post, sloganeering and “celebrations” have started on January 14th. Some reality checks on the rolls of Bengaluru Legislative Assemblies, published on January 11th 2016: Was there an exodus in parts of Mahadevpura? ECI rules require District Electoral Officers (DEO) to examine cases of deletions exceeding 2% and additions exceeding 4%. Deletion is more than 2% in 152 parts. Top 7 of them are from Mahadevapura constituency, with more than 20% deletions each. 266…

As 2015 has drawn to an end, it would be worthwhile for the government to reflect and learn from the issues that the citizens raised their voices about this year. The tech-savvy residents of various regions of Bengaluru increasingly took to public protests this year to voice their discontent with the myriad infrastructure problems that beset their neighbourhoods. These problems are symptomatic of the underlying issues arising out of a myopic vision and a deficit (sometimes bordering on absence) of governance. As long as the state government and the city’s administrators remain mired in a cycle of firefighting, band-aid fixes…

In the early 70s, my visits to Delhi and Calcutta involved late night travels within the city. During my trips to Japan during 1985-95, my working hours were most unpredictable extending beyond midnight most days and I’d travel back to my hotel by myself. Recently between 1995 to 2009, my usual practice was to drive back home from e-city in the late hours. I am not sure whether cities was safer or I was just lucky. Nevertheless we have to face cruel realities of today. I understand as young women you are raring to go and want to have the freedom to…

Pic: Sameer Shisodia The vehicle-free street initiative being tried out at HSR layout as an experiment is a good idea, for reclaiming common spaces. Its success and viability, however, depends on ‘we, the people’, who are responsible for making it workable. It can be done, and I have seen it working elsewhere. In Cambridge (UK), car owners park their vehicles on the periphery of the city and take feeder buses so that the city centre doesn’t get clogged. No one grumbles; no one seeks exemption; no one tries to break the rules. No fare concessions are offered, either. Around Harvard…

Buildings being razed down at the demolition drive at Sarakki Lake. Pic: Rahul Ravi It all started a couple of years back. Some NGOs like People's Campaign for Right to Water ( PCRW) and Sarakki Lake Area Improvement Trust (SLAIT) had begun to worry seriously about Sarakki lake. The severe pollution caused by ingress of sewage from nearby houses and apartment blocks, and the shrinking size of the once-pristine standalone lake because of the rampant encroachment by unscrupulous elements was the cause for concern. Construction debris and garbage dumped into the lake reduced the size of Sarakki lake, which covered…

Garbage dumped on a streetside, due to the lack of secondary storage. Pic: Kathyayini Chamraj I think Bengaluru was better off when it had garbage bins at the corner of roads. At least people would throw garbage in the bins. But now, all of Bengaluru is littered with garbage. In every area, there are two or three spots where garbage is thrown by people, on the road or in front of someone else's home. So why has the Swachh Bengaluru campaign failed?  Because BBMP collection guys demand money to collect garbage from house to house. No proper timings intimated to…

This is an idea of how Chalukya Circle (CC) Junction and surrounding areas can be made signal-free with existing infrastructure. The idea if implemented will make the following four bottle necks signal free and cross-traffic free. Chalukya Circle AG's Office signal on Palace Road Palace Road-Sankey Road Junction Miller Tank Bund Road-Sankey Road.  The following roads lead into and away from the circle.  Raj Bhavan Road - one way from Raj Bhavan to Chalukya Circle Race Course Road - two way Palace Road from Maharani's college side - two way Palace Road towards Cunningham Road - one way towards Cunningham…