Commute

The dug footpath with tree trunks at the Sunkadakatte main road leaves no space for pedestrians. Pic: Bosky Khanna For Bhavya K, a resident of Sunkadakatte, Magadi Road, travelling on a mere 2-km stretch till Sumanahalli flyover takes around 45 minutes. The reason: the road is dug by the civic agencies for widening and laying pipelines. This is not all - the road is also filled with potholes and resembles nothing less than a death trap. She was even more shocked on Thursday, June 13, 2013, when she saw three big trees cut to the stump and logs piled up…

In 2011, the United Nations launched the Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020) and urged all countries to organise programmes in the name of "UN Road Safety Week" from 6th-12th May. The theme selected for this year’s campaign is "pedestrian safety" with the aim of creating awareness around the world for the safety of youth on the road. It is dedicated to the memory of Zenani Mandela, the great granddaughter of Winnie Madzikela and Nelson Mandela who was killed in a road accident on 11th June 2010. This campaign aims to spread awareness on pedestrian rights and safety which…

As always, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has come under fire this time too, from Comptroller Auditor General (CAG) of India. One of the reasons is the incomplete underpass at the C N Rao Circle in Bangalore, which was to be completed by March 2009. Even after five years and escalated project costs, the underpass is yet to be completed. RELATEDCAG's indictment of HDK and Yeddy is gory in detail It is difficult not to notice the underpass construction at the C N Rao Circle near prestigious Indian Institute of Science. The work that was supposed to be completed five…

The bus fare increases are irrational, and unnecessary. There are at least three things which are wrong, and if these are fixed the bus service could be a lot better without needing to over-charge the poor. a) The government needs to recognise, in its budget, that bus service is a public service that needs subsidy. All over the world public transport is subsidised, because it is well-known that the positive values that result - lower congestion, for example - are far in excess of the subsidy itself. For some reason, the Karnataka government has steadfastly refused to subsidise the BMTC.…

Metro Phase-I has not completed, but the plans for Phase-II have already begun. File Pic. The new alignment near Jayadeva Hospital has caused panic among residents that many residential properties and commercial buildings on Bannerghatta Road would be demolished. Here are some thoughts on this. Why public consultation with residents, experts,users ,metro officials and elected representatives is not being held on pros and cons, alternative routes etc, like the public consultation held by Additional Chief Secretary regarding Signal-free corridor of Koramangala? The project was scrapped unanimously by all stakeholders on direction of the High Court, based on the PIL filed…

After the sudden threat posed by the propsed re-alignment of the Metro Rail track along Bannerghatta Road, homeowners suddenly were threatened with the destruction of their homes.  When it was a matter of road-widening, we were able to protest at the chopping down of trees and the increase in traffic; but now, the Government can say that it is developing public transportation and this is for our own good.   After a storm of protests, the proposed re-alignment has been halted...for the time being. But there is no guarantee that our Government will not suddenly start the process again, and…

Pavan, a Bangalore-based sales professional in a company working as regional manager for India, needs to travel frequently to other cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Pune. If he has to catch the early morning flight to Delhi, he needs to reach the airport at 5.15am, which is not easy. There are limited number of buses at that hour; waiting for them is not a wise thing. Pavan has an easy solution: Book a cab to the airport the previous day. Shekhar Mahadev, a software engineer working in Bangalore, says, “I have to keep making a lot of trips to…

“Everyone should claim the city. What’s happening today is an outcome of many interactions between citizens. We need a collective and shared understanding of things” said Dr H S Sudhira, referring to the present situation of ‘commons’ in Bangalore in the Public Discussion Series organised by Hasiru Usiru, at the Alternative Law Forum on 18 May 2013. The talk titled 'Re-imagining Bangalore: Transcending the ‘Tragedy of Commons’ was moderated by Vinay K Sreenivas, Researcher, Alternative Law Forum and a volunteer for Hasiru Usiru. The audience voicing out their opinions. Pic: Nalme Nachiyar In the process of its evolution, the city has…

Amarjyothi layout, Domlur is supposed to be a very posh locality situated in one of the most busy parts of Bengaluru. There are over 500 sites spread almost equally on either side of the intermediate Ring Road from Indira Nagar to Koramangala south of the old Airport Road. Both the east and west wings of the layout are also neighbouring some of the most sought after landmarks in Bangalore. The east wing is surrounded by the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) and Royal Orchid hotel on one side and the Embassy Golf Links Business Park that houses some of the world's…

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…