Infrastructure

Walking on the streets of namma Bengaluru is an adventure in itself. Not a road left untouched and footpaths non-existent or in disarray; all in the name of development. On March 6th, 2022, to highlight the multiple problems residents are facing because of the unending work on their roads and other infrastructure for months and years, residents of Ward 45, Malleswaram took to the streets to conduct a peaceful walk called #SAAKU walk. The half kilometre walk was from Malleswaram bus stand at 18th cross to 11th cross, 4th Main. Here is what the residents of Malleswaram did: The problem…

In January 2013, the BBMP forcibly evicted over 5,000 people from Ejipura slum, near Koramangala. Those who protested faced police action and detention. The residents, who were paying rent of Rs 1,000-1,500 for the tin sheds there were too poor to afford rent elsewhere. They also felt cheated - in the mid-2000s, the BBMP Council had passed a resolution that they would be provided flats, and had issued them 'guruthina cheetis' (ID cards). After their eviction, these people were left to fend for themselves. Some lived on the pavements, some left the city, some found accommodation elsewhere, and a few…

In Mumbai, land is a priceless commodity involving very high stakes. Encroachments and illegal structures have been a part of Mumbai’s exponential growth for decades now. The fact that it continues to happen is no secret. But proving it in a court of law, and getting legal sanction for their demolition, has been difficult for lack of sufficient documentation. An attempt is being made now to rectify that using modern technology. By mid-2022, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to introduce a Geographic Information System (GIS) to identify and act against illegal encroachments in Mumbai. Rs 11.20 crores have been approved and…

It was just in January that a Government Order was issued for the construction of three new flyovers for the city at a cost of Rs. 335 crores. Now, Chennai’s new mayor Ms. Priya Rajan has signalled the administration’s intent to focus on a new batch of flyover projects as part of a roster of key civic solutions. Flyovers are touted to be essential infrastructure to decongest traffic snarls, but whether the benefits are commensurate with the steep price tags is a matter of some debate. Flyovers did not add much extra capacity A 2016 piece in The Hindu states…

As Indian cities move towards electric vehicles (EV) for public and private transport, the question of easy and convenient electric vehicle charging in cities becomes paramount. The latest union budget has chipped in to hasten this by announcing a battery swapping policy and interoperability standards. The policy is to ensure all EV manufacturers use standardised, removable/disposable batteries while reducing the cost of EV ownership by negating the need to purchase a new battery, the most expensive component of an EV. This, it is hoped, will incentivise improving electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure across the country. Currently, India is the world’s fifth…

Chin-Chin is 46 years old and neurodivergent. To her and her family, a simple restaurant visit can be an arduous journey navigating through an inhospitable space. The lights are too bright, the chairs are hard-edged, and there is too much happening all the time. It’s almost as if she’s been dropped in the middle of a battlefield with all the bullets aimed at her. Chin-Chin’s story isn’t unique. Both children and adults who are neurodivergent, or to use the medical term in the ‘neurodivergent spectrum’, experience a world designed for the neuro-typical in a very different way. “When I take…

N Krishna remembers it was precisely 4.49 pm on November 9th, 2003, when the block next to his government-allotted flat in Ejipura collapsed. It was just moments ago that Krishna had been inside the block, built for the economically weaker sections (EWS) in the 1990s, along with a photographer and BBMP engineer whom he had invited to inspect the damaged building. "People outside saw the block collapsing and shouted at us to come out, so we escaped," he said. (Some residents have lost their lives in similar collapses.) Krishna and his family had happily moved into the newly built EWS…

The children used to come every evening after school, armed with cricket bats and balls, badminton racquets and footballs. They would descend upon the Chennai Corporation playground at RA Puram in droves, challenging one another to earnest matches. Anyone driving past on RK Mutt road or Brodies Castle road could see the children at play, occasionally catching thrilling glimpses of solemn contests, joyous victory, or bitter defeat. The kids have all but disappeared today, for CMRL has taken over the playground to undertake work relating to Phase 2 Corridor 3 of the metro expansion plans. The walking tracks in Panagal Park,…

St. Francis Pakhady, a 200 year-old gaothan in Vile Parle, is no stranger to change. What began as a village of close-knit farmers on Salsette Island in British Bombay is now threatened by concrete development. Bullock carts would ply the Milan subway to get from east to west. Train tracks were laid along one side, leading to a level crossing. The opening of Vile Parle station, and its subsequent increase in lines, trimmed and pushed back the goathan. The upcoming sixth railway corridor between Mumbai Central and Borivali will eat 4.5 metres into Veer Ghanekar road, a stretch currently occupied…

‘Citizens Waterway Project,’ a part of Bengaluru Mission 2022, was launched in December 2020 by Karnataka’s Former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa to upgrade the city’s infrastructure given its growing population and vehicles. ‘Citizens Waterway Project’, also known as Beautification of K-100 Rajakaluve, aims to develop the city’s storm water drains from KR market to Bellandur Lake. But the project raises multiple questions as it does not follow the Karnataka High Court and NGT orders on the protection of Rajakaluves (major stormwater drains) and lakes of Bangalore. Can beautification of K-100 improve the condition of the storm water drains? The proposed…