Commute

Chandru Kumar, a resident who lived off Mysore Road near Nayandahalli junction in Bengaluru is a disgruntled man today. Thanks to the non-coordination between Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) and Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), Chandru Kumar and 69 others had to lose their land to make way for the pending flyover on Mysore Road on Outer Ring Road junction. Chandru Kumar had never imagined four years ago that he had to sacrifice his land for the new flyover coming up near the junction of Outer Ring Road and Mysore Road. There was ample space on the road for the…

Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda all set to present Railway budget. Pic courtesy: facebook.com/RailMinIndia D V Sadananda Gowda, Minister of Railways, also the Member of Parliament elected from Bangalore North, gifted the city of Bengaluru many trains that will boost suburban connectivity. The move has cheered up the advocates of Commuter Railway in Bangalore. In his maiden Union Railway Budget, Railway Minister Sadananda Gowda announced a list of five Jansadharan trains, 5 premium trains, 6 AC express trains, 27 express trains, 8 passenger trains, 2 MEMU services and 5 DEMU services. Among these, Bangalore and surrounding areas got the following trains:…

Pic courtesy: skyscrapercity.com   Railway Minister for India is from our own Bengaluru. Bangalore North MP D V Sadananda Gowda is all set to present railway budget tomorrow. What does the Railway Budget mean to Bengaluru? Here are some expectations from this budget expressed by several citizens of Bengaluru, who have been in touch with Railways and have been bargaining for particular issues. FKCCI president also had some of his own demands. Sumathi Rao Malleswaram Swabhimana Initiative We want the land adjacent to all the tracks inside the city to be kept clean. Malleswaram has a railway station and there…

Let me not write a sentence more than this one, over the daily traffic jam at Kundalahalli Gate, near Whitefiel - Bengaluru: If you are reading this, you know it’s bad.    The good news is that the BBMP is about to launch an ambitious project to not just construct an underpass at Kundalahalli Gate, but also to make signal-free the entire road between Vallara Junction and Hope Farm.    Aha, great — you say. But what about the situation during construction? How do we get in and out of Whitefield when there’ll be a massive pit in the ground…

Speed bumps are the common name for a family of traffic-calming devices or designs that use vertical deflection to slow motor-vehicle traffic in order to improve safety conditions. Variations include the speed hump (or speed ramp), speed cushion, and speed table. Well - it sounds like a mission statement. But this is the purpose of the speed breakers or speed hump. These were discovered in 1906 and used in the US. Later in the late 70’s the British Transport and Research teams found that this was more suitable for private roads and not the public roads. However in Bengaluru, you…

Having to commute by bus from Malleshwaram to Citizen Matters office - on Sarjapur Road, Bengaluru, has been a true eye-opener to me. The major learning has been this: Own a vehicle, and learn to drive, even if you would be adding to the mess already on the road, against your consciousness. Sarjapur Road is an "upscale," developing area where you see a lot of tech companies and residential apartments coming up. However, if you love to take on the challenge of walking on the road amidst vehicles, yet manage to be alive, the stretch on Sarjapur main road, from…

  On April 25th 2014, BMTC announced a 15% hike in its bus fares. This announcement was the fifth of its kind in the past three years and for obvious reasons has generated public outrage. Several citizen groups across the city and commuters are up in arms, asking the BMTC to roll-back the fares, and in some cases, even asking the state government to step in. Some sections of society in Bengaluru would now have to spend around 15 to 20% of their incomes on commuting alone, implying that other necessary expenses such as health and education might have to…

Kasavanhalli Main Road(?)! Pic: Neetu Tandon Imagine travelling on a road that has potholes as deep as 2 feet. Just thinking of it sends shivers down the spine. This happens to be daily reality for 10,000+ people using the Kasavanhalli Main Road from Hindu Temple at the Kaikondrahalli Junction till Amrutha College. What is surprising is that the local authorities are not doing anything about it. So far, no action or steps have been taken to resolve the issues that plague the commuters travelling on this high vehicle density road, which connects Sarjapur road to Hosur road. The potholes are…

  The BMTC on its website states that its vision is to ‘Make BMTC sustainable, people-centered and (a) choice mode of travel for everyone’. But does it really follow through on its vision? With its recent announcement that bus fares are being increased by 15%, BMTC certainly stands a chance to remain sustainable, but its ability to be ‘people-centered’ and a ‘choice mode of travel for everyone’ remains questionable. In an article published on Citizen Matters in February 2014, the Bangalore Bus Prayaanikara Vedike (BBPV) stated that a pourakarmika who earned Rs. 5,000 a month, shelled out 15% of her…

The underside... The underside... The underside...I know that cars today come with all sorts of adornments and detailing, but yet found it strange that someone would want the underside of the car to be lit up like this! Is this common? Bangalore, 260414.