Series: Bangalore 101 videos

Given that women are still unsafe in our public spaces, what options do they have if they are in danger? One option is Bengaluru City Police's Suraksha app. This app has been downloaded 1.5 lakh times since its launch in 2017. All you have to do is press the panic button on the app, which is directly linked to the police response team. Police say it'd take them only 7-9 minutes to reach your location. The police helpline Vanitha Sahaya Vani offers immediate intervention and rescue in cases of domestic violence and other forms of abuse. It also offers services…

This article is part of a special series: Safety of women in Indian cities The gruesome rape and murder of a veterinarian in Hyderabad recently shocked our country. But after the dust settles, the question that would be asked of a dead woman is “What was she doing out so late in the night?” As working professionals and contributing members of society, women shouldn’t have to answer this question at all. But we don't live in a perfect world. Hence the law needed to step in to protect women who work at night. In 2002, state government amended the Karnataka…

Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) is facing a personnel crunch. The city only has 4,638 traffic police personnel for a vehicle population of over 80 lakhs. As per a 2015 report of the Home Ministry's Bureau of Police Research and Development, there should be one traffic police personnel for every 700 vehicles. By that yardstick, Bengaluru has a traffic cop shortage of almost 54 percent. In addition to the challenges in managing traffic, this also means difficult working conditions for the constables who man our roads. Imagine standing eight hours in Bengaluru traffic, not following a regular timetable of shifts, with…

Last month, the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) released a Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) for Bengaluru. You have till January 5th to send in your suggestions and objections to the plan. Set in three phases, CMP is expected to be implemented between 2020 and 2035. What are the key suggestions and projects in the CMP? It's heartening that pedestrian infrastructure - which had been ignored in previous mobility plans - makes an appearance in this one. But what's most striking is that the elevated corridor project, which the government had shelved after major citizen protests, makes a sudden comeback…

Indian Constitution guarantees the right to free movement to all citizens. But in Bengaluru, pedestrians are an endangered lot. Of the top eight metros in India, Bengaluru has the third highest number of pedestrian fatalities. This is not surprising given that about 60 percent of our mobility budget focuses on road construction and expansion. In the absence of safe footpaths, zebra crossings, and accessible skywalks, pedestrians are prone to jaywalking, putting themselves as well as motorists in danger. If policy makers continue to invest in infrastructure for motorised transport as opposed to that for walking and other non-motorised transport, we…

Did you know that BBMP is liable to pay you compensation if you get injured in a pothole accident? This is as per a High Court order in July. BBMP refused to act on the order initially. But after warnings from the court, it published a newspaper ad last month saying compensation would be given on a case-by-case basis. However, currently there are no guidelines on the process for applying for compensation, a point of contact, or on the compensation amount to be paid for different types of injuries. BBMP has also challenged High Court's order in the Supreme Court.…

A year after ward committee meetings began in Bengaluru, we look at how effective they have been. A recent study by Sensing Local Foundation reveals that many wards have not had these monthly meetings at all. In the seven months between December 2018 and June 2019, each of the 198 BBMP wards should have held seven ward committee meetings. But 52 wards had no meetings at all, and only 12 percent of the wards conducted at least five meetings. While the meetings are supposed to discuss new projects, budget allocation etc for the ward, they are functioning more like grievance…

Crores have been spent on cleaning up lakes in the city, but these lakes still receive sewage. This is because of the peculiarity of Bengaluru's lake system - lakes here cascade into one another, and the land gradient supports this. So, once a lake is cleaned up, it will remain so only if the lakes and rajakaluves upstream of it are also clean. The infamous Bellandur lake is being rejuvenated now. But this exercise would be pointless unless the upstream Doddanekkundi and Kaggasadapura lakes too are cleaned, because it's from these two lakes that sewage enters Bellandur lake. So, even…

On December 5th, by-elections will be held in four assembly constituencies in Bengaluru - Yeshwanthpur, KR Puram, Mahalakshmi Layout and Shivajinagar. In the first three of these, disqualified MLAs are returning as candidates, albeit from a different party. Former Congress MLAs S T Somshekar and Basavaraj Byrathi, and former JD(S) MLA K Gopalaiah, are now contesting as BJP candidates. They are coming back to you one and half years after you elected them. I wish I could tell you what development plan they have for your constituency. But I just couldn’t find anything on it except political statements. Yes, these…

Since 1954, November 20th has been observed as World Children's Day. It marks the anniversary of the UN adopting the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. But are our children well-protected from violence and abuse? The recently-released NCRB (National Crime Records Bureau) report, 2017, showed that over a quarter of the crimes against children were sexual offences. These were cases filed under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act. In Bengaluru alone, 414 POCSO cases were filed in 2017. So just how do we keep our children safe? And what are the legal options in case a…