OPINION

Karnataka’s Urban Development Department, through the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), has prepared a draft Parking Policy for Bengaluru city. Citizens can send their feedback on the policy to DULT until May 15. DULT says the policy has been formulated to achieve the following goals in a systematic and time bound manner: Move from chaotic parking to well-organised parkingMove from free parking to paid parkingMove from government-driven parking supply to market-driven parking supply and managementMove from passive and weak enforcement of parking regulations to active management of parking demand. Comments on the proposed parking policy The policy aims to…

The more important question is: What should they be doing? From what I can see, some are involved in the distribution of food and rations, some have taken a more proactive approach in organising home delivery of medicines and groceries, some are seen buying vegetables directly from the farmers and some are busy sticking labels on government-provided ration kits. Now, all this is good, but it doesn’t really fulfil their job description. Functions of MPs and MLAs MPs and MLAs perform two main functions:  Legislation: Pass laws Oversight: Ensure government performs as expected Oversight includes monitoring government programmes, identifying gaps…

An institution in decline is not a pretty sight.  Particularly when it is a civic body responsible for the quality of life of vast segments of the population.  This is what is happening to Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagar Palike, which has just presented its budget for the current year.   Of course, there’s more to development than figures.  Nevertheless, the Annual Financial Statement is a great way of assessing recent performance and future plans.  From both points of view, going by the BBMP’s figures, the prospects for Bengaluru are bleak. Budget analysis usually starts with three questions.  Have promises made in…

COVID-19 has caught us all unawares, but in the last few weeks Bengaluru has sprung on its feet to tackle the crisis. BBMP has set up a war room to centrally oversee the situation, police are working overtime, and so are hospitals and medical staff. Besides, innumerable citizens are doing their bit to distribute money, medicines, food and other essentials to those in need. It’s heartwarming to see how the city has come together yet again. But what we have now is an adrenaline-filled system - both formal and informal - that’s working overtime, doing whatever it takes to cope…

To lockdown or not to lockdown, that is the question. There are other questions too. To lift the lockdown totally in one go, to lift it partially, or to prepare a calibrated lifting of the lockdown, starting April 15. The pressure cooker comparison may not be far off the mark. As the lockdown continues, the slow build of pressure among people cooped up in their homes can be seen. As also the hope and anticipation of freedom. The social fallout if those hopes are dashed, are in no way predictable. The question is how to enable the gradual release of…

It is being called the ‘long march of India’ - millions of migrant workers are fleeing our cities amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s 1967 political slogan “Roti Kapda aur Makaan” still resonates with approximately 139 million internal migrants in our country who form the unappreciated (but not anymore, as we are forced to clean up our homes) layer of our service industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen one of the most stringent lockdowns in the history of our country. And it was necessary too, to curb the spread of the virus. But the entire concept of lockdown…

My domestic help Vijayamma is an ardent student of the WhatsApp University syllabus. Ever since the world began to grapple with COVID-19, Whatsapp forwards have gone from ridiculous to Sajid Khan-movie-level logic. Picture this - somebody told her that exposure to sunlight on Sundays causes the infection, and I found myself sitting in semi-darkness a whole day. Another day, I woke up to her peering over me, wearing something like Tom Hardy's mask from the 'Dark Knight Rises'. Her theories gets so bizarre, I often want to order a chemistry set and start finding a cure for this damned virus…

The Honourable National Green Tribunal (NGT) of India, constituted under the NGT Act of 2010, bases all its directions and judgements on three basic tenets: Sustainable development Precautionary principle Polluter pays These tenets are considered the bedrock of jurisprudence in cases relating to the environment. I have absolutely no quarrel with any of these guiding principles. I have a question, however, on how the Hon. NGT defines and decides who the real polluter is, in case of dysfunctional sewage treatment plants (STPs) in apartments. Based on NGT's directions, the State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has been issuing notices to apartments for running…

Dear BBMP, How are you doing? Hope all is well with you. Things haven't been going so great with me for a month now, as I have been bedridden after being injured on a faulty footpath. But that's another conversation for another time. I write to you today because of a tweet by the BBMP Commissioner that caught my eye about a week ago. B H Anil Kumar tweeted that the Palike had identified 35 junctions in the city for "beautification" to raise the standards of Bengaluru. The Mayor of Bengaluru, Gautam Kumar, then elucidated that the idea was to…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities Every time a gruesome rape incident shakes the foundations of our belief in humanity, a few standard arguments make an appearance. Maybe I am being cynical, but my take is that the comments that follow a headline-grabbing rape seem like the script of a 70’s Hindi movie - standard, repetitive, predictable and, at the risk of sounding extremely insensitive, almost entertaining. “Make every rape punishable by capital punishment.” “We cannot ask the state to commit murder. It is barbaric and a violation of human rights.” “Justice…