OPINION

Bangalore is projected as an emerging "City of Opportunities". It is the most favoured destination, not only in India, but also globally. Unfortunately, there is minimal co-ordination between interconnected government departments and delays in commencement and execution of most infrastructure projects. Recently, the Federation Of Karnataka Chambers Of Commerce and Industry had invited N. Sivasailam, MD, BMRCL, to address its members. Based on various observations, I have the following suggestions to make the Bangalore Metro passenger friendly and improve overall city infrastructure: 1. Asphalting of roads a few roads below the underpasses of Namma Metro across the city need asphalting. We…

"Bad Pati." - said my twelve year old granddaughter.This was her reaction to my dumping milk bags into the kitchen waste bin that contained only ‘wet waste'."Sorry dear, I won't do it again." - I said feeling proud of my eco-friendly grandchild. Yes. I felt ashamed. It is true that grown-ups should show more concern about such things in the presence of the younger generation. If we ‘pooh-pooh' their remarks and continue to be callous it would be shameful.I was walking in the park in our neighborhood and was rather upset when two youngsters threw the paper plates in which…

The woman got on to the bus, gave the conductor a two rupee coin and prepared to get off two stops later. I caught her eye and said, sternly, "Pay proper charges and get a ticket, or you'll be fined Rs 150." "All right amma, sorry" she said, alighting at the new flyover, "I work here, sweeping the rubble, and earn Rs 2,000 a month, I have to live on that."The budget for the flyover is several crores. Workers like her who build it, earn for a whole month's work, what an entry level software employee in our IT city,…

If ‘reforms' is the buzz word, then electoral reforms should be on top of the list, and the funding of political parties foremost among them. Currently there is a lack of transparency in how political parties and candidates solicit, collect and disburse funds. These issues were highlighted in a widely distributed report released by two NGOs, National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms, published this September.Legally, the activity of fund-raising, expensing, accounting and reporting of funds collected by political parties fall under the ambit of various acts including the Representation of the People Act, 1951; The Foreign Contribution (Regulation)…

If you are a regular user of BMTC, you would know that the commute during peak time is no picnic. One of my recent trips on a Sarjapura Road route at 5:30pm was no different. The bus driver and the conductor, were on an auto mode - shouting at the women - go inside, don't crowd around the pillars, while driving / issuing tickets. This kamba bittu hogri (leave the pillar/support and go inside) is a refrain I've been hearing since I was a school student.   So why do women crowd around the three kambas in the ‘ladies' section?…

Lakhs of names have been reported deleted from Bengaluru's voter lists - there is even a PIL requesting the High Court to intervene. Shantala Damle, a social activist, was shocked to see over 30% names deleted from Basvanagudi constituency. (Ref: ToI, November 9th)In his response, the Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, said:"I disagree with the claims of 30% deletions. A revision exercise was done, but there was no erratic deletion. Booth level officers of BBMP have visited individual houses. In April-July 2012, over 53,000 names were added after BBMP realised that genuine voters were affected in some places. If there are…

It was a pourakarmika who, last Friday, provided  the answer to the vexing question of what to do about the mounds of garbage  that now characterise our city. She was sweeping up the rubbish from the road in front of my apartment -- mud and muck, mixed with soggy bits of paper, plastic, heaps of dried flowers and leaves rotting after the overnight drizzle, dog mess, the lot. -- and carefully piling it right in front of my door. This new mound by the kerbside was also blocking the path of the rain water to the drains  along the edge…

Last year he called it Holiween. I didn't make any attempts to correct him and he didn't remember it beyond that point either. Why bother when it isn't a festival that belongs to us? Pic: wikimedia commons This year, he is close to seven and the Halloween monster has struck us hard. We now know the correct pronunciation and the fact that it's an American festival that has "something to do with ghosts". We also know somewhat hazily about pumpkins and trick or treat. The problem is we live in an apartment complex that isn't as Halloween friendly as the…

With rapidly growing vehicular numbers, traffic congestion in Bangalore seems unmanageable. Pedestrians, particularly senior citizens and physically challenged persons, are facing grave problems. Walking on the footpaths has become hazardous and an almost impossible task, due to narrow, uneven footpaths, footpaths littered with debris, garbage, vendors and in several cases non-existent! The only alternative is to walk on the roads, risking one's life. And, crossing the roads, especially with heavy traffic, is an adventure, few would dare attempt. To address the problem of increasing vehicular traffic, BDA, BBMP etc., understandably, focuses on widening roads, constructing flyovers and underpasses etc. This…

The Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka, advertised on 30th October with a headline  "Electoral rolls are being revised. Ensure that your name is in the Electoral Roll." After deleting about one million names from the rolls of Bangalore districts alone, does he cover up some gross errors of his organisation putting the onus on citizens to ensure that their names are in the roll? When his organisation has not accepted the errors, why would they shown any concern to correct the errors.Now they have delivered another set of incomplete and incorrect voter lists.The advertisement has some interesting phrases."... your tryst with…