Commute

Pic: Sheeja Cassius   Potholes - I got you under my skin!! When you are tired of sobbing, you sing! The worst pothole on varthur gunjur stretch had me and my pillion in. Ironically we were on our way to collect an IGCSE report card (International)! To save the road of an empty fuel guzzler and wasted carbon footprint, I stick to a mobike when we are two... I trailed behind a couple cars... Maybe three feet away? But that wasn't enough to steer me away from this nasty one as I swerved to avoid and skid straight in. The…

Touts stopping non-KA registered vehicles opposite Kadugodi police station on June 8th 2015. Pic: Karthikeyan Dear Sir, I am torn. All through my life, I was the lone person in my circle of friends who had faith in the government. I was the only one who staunchly defended the government. I was the only one who said that governments don’t lie. I was ridiculed. I was chided. I was considered odd. Yet, I soldiered on. Then something happened. Some of my friends pointed out to me that the RTO, Karnataka was clamping down upon out-of-state cars. They said that the…

Tender SURE project hits the headlines often, mostly because of the work that has gone on for a long time in the roads selected for the project. Many have questioned the rationale behind Tender SURE. Space for trees on Tender SURE roads, space for street vendors, citizen participation before the implementation of the project, execution and other aspects have come under criticism. In an email interview with Citizen Matters, Swati Ramanathan, Co-founder of Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, and Chairperson of Jana Urban Space Foundation (Jana USP), answers our questions regarding the project. She explains in detail about the…

Forum for Urban Commons and Governance protesting against TenderSURE on April 9th 2015 On April 9th, the Forum for Urban Commons and Governance organised a protest in opposition to the Tender SURE project, citing that there it was approved and being implemented in an undemocratic and unconstitutional manner. Their protest was a demand for the democratisation of governance, and to build a socially that was just, and inclusive. Citizen Matters spoke to Meena Artwani, a member of the group to understand their concerns. Here is the text of the interview: Who are the organisations and individuals that are part of…

On June 1st, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) unveiled a new washing machine for its buses. Built in-house at the Bangalore Central Division (Shanthinagar) depot, KSRTC claims that the new machine is the first of its kind in India. The machine was inaugurated by KSRTC Managing Director, Rajender Kumar Kataria. As per the press release shared by KSRTC, the new washing machine offers quite an upgrade on the earlier washing process.   The new system comes fitted with six brushes on either side, for improved quality of washing. Only two brushes were used to wash the vehicles in…

The place in front of K C General Hospital where a sky walk is proposed to come up. Pic: Taken from E-Proc website Walking on some of the Bengaluru’s roads will be easier henceforth. Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has opened up tenders for 54 skywalks across the city. These are either important junctions where multiple roads meet, or mid-blocks with prominent properties on either sides requiring pedestrians to cross the road regularly. While compiling the list of ten most accident-prone areas in Bangalore, Citizen Matters learnt from traffic police that the most predominant factor causing accidents is the pedestrians…

A few days ago we decided to take a break at a home-stay in Coorg, and so had to take the Mysore Road out of Bangalore to Coorg. To avoid getting caught in a traffic jam, we always get out early in the day and that day was no different. The road was in an excellent condition which was a happy surprise for us, as most roads in Bangalore are in a mess, and we are used to pot holes remaining for even a decade. The only worry we had was the road humps, because we had hit one the…

Bengaluru has seen many experiments in urban space management. Tender SURE is one of them that is hitting headlines of late. The idea of Tender SURE was born when the Bangalore City Connect Foundation (BCCF) funded and co-ordinated the design of the Tender SURE concept in the year 2009 and implemented a pilot project on Vittal Mallya Road. After the pilot project’s implementation, the BCCF joined hands with the Government of Karnataka (GoK), the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), to implement the project on a few more roads. The technical assistance for the…

One of the first things which greets the traveller while passing through Museum Road in Bengaluru is the dug up pavements. The digging has now been extended to the mouth of Church Street, where it meets St. Marks Road. The delay in finishing the work has been apparently on account of delay in payments to the contractors by BBMP. The above situation makes me wonder if there can be a market-based solution to avoid such delays. The stretches of roads where the pavement stretches are being widened represent the central part of the city which witnesses record number of footfalls—tourists,…

TenderSURE work in progress on St Marks Road. Pic: Josephine Joseph The criticism against Tendersure projects is misplaced. All these days we were shouting from house top that we should have wide, safe and seamless footpaths and when it is provided the same groups are crying hoarse that the width of roads have shrunk. Obviously it will shrink. It is common sense when you are not or cannot widen the roads. It is not about the design which does seem to be faulty considering what happened on St Mark's Road after the recent deluge. There are other far more serious issues…