sarjapur road

It is quite common in Bengaluru for builders and developers to build houses on other people's lands, or on public lands like lakes. After all, the city used to have more than 500 lakes, and now has only 183. Therefore, we must conclude that the most common activity that occurs on lakes is construction !! It is also quite common in Bangalore for such things to happen with the full knowledge of the local ward engineer of the BBMP. In theory, this official is responsible for making sure that such encroachments don't happen, but in practice he is the one facilitating them…

This is a fortnightly newsletter shared by bellandur-forum@googlegroups.com Metro on Sarjapur Road, in some years    Namma Metro Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) has begun the spadework for a 133-km Phase III.  Engineering consultancy firm RITES is preparing a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the 33-km line from Central Silk Board to Hebbal, one of the five routes proposed under the new phase. The Central Silk Board - Hebbal line will cover vast stretches of the ORR, linking areas such as Sarjapur road, Marathahalli and Mahadevapura. The four other routes: * Nagawara - Kempegowda International Airport (KIA): 25-km line*…

Ibblur lake is a small lake situated on Sarjapura ORR road junction, roughly 12 acres in its current state. In the beginning of 2013, local residents and RWAs came together and instituted Ibblur Lake Forum, an informal federation of RWAs and united in their goal of the restoration and rejuvenation of the lake. The lake has rotated jurisdiction a couple of times in recent times and is presently under the purview of the BDA. JCB clearing encroachment on Ibblur lake bed. Pic: Mukund Rao After much engagement by the community with the authorities, the BDA finally approved the fencing of…

If there is one politician who is most qualified to present a Budget for Karnataka, it is the Chief Minister himself - Siddaramaiah. While he has shown his ability to do the fine balance with not antagonising the public with more taxes, he has played to the gallery as far as keeping multiple vote banks in good humour is concerned. What should the budget aim to do? What are the key measures that should have been dealt with differently in the budget? Creation of more jobs across agriculture, manufacturing and services sectors should be the fundamental objective for the moment.…

Every budget talks about how Bangalore is an important metropolis and how its glory as an IT-BT capital has to be restored. In keeping with the current sentiment, the budget has discussions about garbage, roads, sites and investments. However there is only so much a city can take; so much a city can absorb; a limit to which it can cope. So, the question with every budget is that why are we so Bangalore-centric? Unpack the current Karnataka budget and you have a section dedicated to Bangalore which details out fly-overs, sky-walks, grade separators and garbage management. There is an…

Connectivity to Bangalore will be improved in the coming years, with the government formally announcing the willingness to form Bangalore Suburban Rail Corporation, in the state budget, a few days after the proposal getting formal approval. This has cheered many groups who have been batting for the commuter railway for many years. Other major announcement was the decision to separate ground water wing from the Mines and Geology Department and form a Ground Water Directorate. This looks important in the background of the Right to Water bill proposed to be tabled in the Parliament. “We should not avail loans just…

The new Budget has been announced. For the first Budget with limited time, it is indeed a good one. Our Chief Minister  has said in the introduction that he intends to provide every citizen the bare necessities of life, a house, water in the tap, power, a road to the house, sewage facilities, education for children and safety for people and property. Ultimately this is what every citizen looks forward to and what we have not been able to achieve in the past 65 years. He has stated that he will ensure that taxpayers’ money is well-spent with no wastage,…

In Part I and Part II of the series, Citizen Matters had explained how the Manipal ETA Infotech is constructing a multi-crore project near Agara lake, consuming the wetland and lake drain, and how the authorities like Ministry of Environment and Forests have approved the project. Part III explains the traffic-related problems the project has brought in. Studies - including those submitted by the builder - show that the Sarjapur Road is going to be completely choked once the project by Manipal ETA Infotech comes up. The project will have parking facility for over 14,400 vehicles. The entire complex is…

The space beyond Wipro's corporate office in Sarjapur has been projected as the new Whitefield of Bangalore. There are many real estate development projects on the Sarjapur-Attibele road which is under the Sarjapura Gram Panchayat and Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA). As a resident of the area since August 2012, I have been told that real estate developers or builders, started advertising their plans from the late 1990's or early 2000. These developers vie with each other to portray how big they are and dangle the list of amenities in newly constructed or upcoming buildings, on large hoardings across…

When 900 families of Ejipura slum were thrown out last month, it was chaos for the families. While most have dispersed across the city, trying to find housing, about 55 families have moved into a Slum Board quarters in Kudlu, along Hosa Road (off Sarjapur Road). About 80 families (450-500 people) remain in the footpath near the Ejipura site as they could not afford alternate housing. Many families stayed out for days initially, even though most flats in the complex were vacant. Pic: Navya P K Most of those who are in the Kudlu quarters, reached here by accident. They…