OPINION

"There are two BBMP sheltered bus stops on 46th cross Jayanagar (one on each side of the road) between 9th and 11th main.  Both look new, but both are not in use. The buses stop away from them and people wait in the sun and rain. On the way back, my wife asked the 500C conductor why the bus does not stop at the proper bus stop and his reply was ‘nobody stands there!’." Something is clearly wrong. Commuters wait in the open at Sarjapur Road opposite the construction at Iblur junction, while students get into a bus standing several…

The BBMP has, ever since its formation, received the citizens ire for its failure to deliver civic services effectively. When young children fall prey to the open drains in Bengaluru or when trees are callously cut for the metro or road widening purposes, Bangaloreans, feeling the heat, protest against the BBMP. But the citizens have not been able to find any answers, as currently there is no one that is politically accountable to the local problems in Bengaluru. So for almost three years, Bengaluru has been under the Bureaucrats Raj.Due to the absence of elected representatives in BBMP, there is…

A recent news report talked about troubles cyclists in Bangalore face on a daily basis. As a new mother I can relate to that. Yes, there is a connection. Have you tried pushing a pram around the city? Just around the block to a park? It is the scariest thing after having to cross road with an elderly at hand! It is no breaking news that the city’s infrastructure largely caters to able and citizens who own vehicles. Pedestrians and cyclists make up 8 and 2 per cent of the total road users in the city. But having an infant…

The next time you're on the road at peak traffic time observe this. There'll be a wannabe Michael Schumacher who'll take off like a rocket at the signal, and you'll meet up with him at the next signal. You'll most likely meet up with him at every signal over the next 10 km. Why does this happen, even though he's driving faster than you? This is because of the 'Schumi-Bang effect', a scientific phenomenon caused by the interaction between Schumi's vehicle and Bangalore's roads. Here's the explanation. When traffic signals are close to each other, your average speed depends on…

In 1978, as the city of Seoul in South Korea 'developed', a 6 km. long river called the Cheonggyecheon was covered up. An 8-lane street was built over it, and an elevated expressway built over the street. The road was called Cheonggye Road, in memory of the late river.In 2005 the elevated expressway and the road were broken up and the river restored. It took two  years and the equivalent of Rs. 4000 crore for the restoration. 2002 : Seoul's Cheonggyecheon river in its avatar as a road. Pic source: G V Dasarathi. 2005 : Seoul's Cheonggyecheon river after its…

The BDA is in the process of building two flyovers on the Outer Ring road near the Iblur and Agara junctions in south-east Bengaluru as part of their 'signal free' Outer Ring Road project.  This article presents some questions, comments and suggestions regarding both the grade separators, on the basis of the project plans obtained from the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) in response to an RTI request by Citizen Matters. The flyovers have been described in an earlier article in Citizen Matters.  Two dedicated, access controlled, 11.5 feet wide bus lanes on either side of the central median of the…

Many of us know that hundreds of trees are  felled all over the city under the guise of road widening often with no prior approval. Traders, home-owners, street vendors and slum dwellers are  dislocated without appropriate compensation apparently for various infrastructure projects without guarantee that these tasks will meet their proposed objectives and deadlines. If these citizen groups hadn’t intervened, BBMP would have implemented its road-widening scheme launched in 2005 (pic courtesy: Hasiru Usiru/ESG) Knowing that we could either accept or question the largely brazen and undemocratic approach adopted in the name of the city's development, some groups such as…

Agenda for Bengaluru Infrastructure and Development Task force (ABIDe) is a Karnataka Government initiative  to build a better Bengaluru. The agency’s main aim is to provide solutions to the challenges faced by the city. Given the number of agencies required to be involved in any issue of city level urban and social development, the initiative appears to be a step in the right direction. It makes sense to create a nodal agency to co-ordinate between the various principal stakeholders.Among other recommendations towards the betterment of the city the agency has just come up with a blue print for Bengaluru’s Heritage.…

"The world is a playground, and life is pushing my swing." - Natalie Kocsis The Revised Master Plan 2015 of the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) designates playgrounds as, ‘premises used for outdoor games’. Bangalore has many such grounds which are managed by the city’s municipal corporation – Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). These grounds have unrestricted access; open play areas with some play equipment and courts, where multiple groups of youngsters are involved in various sporting activities - cricket, football, basketball and some unique hybrid sports. The Akkithimmanahalli playground before the encroachments in June 2008 (pic Rohan D'Souza) These playgrounds…