Infrastructure

Pedestrians, as we know, are the most vulnerable road users. Over the past three years, Bengaluru has consistently seen the third highest number of pedestrian deaths among major Indian cities. Between 2010 and 2018, more than 3000 pedestrians have been killed in traffic crashes in the city, and four times as many have been injured. Many of these deaths could have been prevented had corrective measures been taken in a conscious and timely manner. But, beyond just the size of the problem, what do we know about pedestrian crashes happening in our city? Why and when do these crashes occur,…

Shortlisted for the National Smart Cities Mission in 2017, Dehradun, capital of Himalayan state of Uttarakhand, inaugurated its most ambitious smart city project on December 25th, 2019. The Doon Integrated Control & Command Centre (DICCC), built at a cost of Rs. 294.41 crore, will be the nerve centre coordinating all the smart city projects and work towards unification and ease of delivery of civic and urban services. Dr Ashish Kumar Srivastava (IAS), Chief Executive Officer of the smart city mission in the city, is piloting the different smart city projects that include schemes like Smart Water ATMs (Rs 1.98 cr),…

Everyone in Bengaluru would have seen and been disgusted by mounds of garbage on the roads. Everyone heaves a sigh of relief when the BBMP carts off waste upon receiving complaints from frustrated residents. But where does the garbage go? Government has come up with a quick fix solution for Bengaluru's garbage woes - five Waste to Energy (WtE) plants with a combined capacity to manage 2100 tonnes of waste per day. Many people may think - wow, Waste to Energy! That’s a brilliant concept! Solves two crises in one go! Absolutely wrong. Here are five reasons why: WtE plants…

This is the second video of our series, "Oora Therinjukitten Ulagam Purinjukitten with Raaghav" that deals with common problems faced by citizens and ways to solve them. If you have ever lost your wallet or misplaced your driving licence, the once-daunting process of acquiring a duplicate has now been simplified. In a few short steps you can get a duplicate licence within days. The steps can be completed online followed by a visit to the RTO at your convenience. Watch this video to find out how. https://youtu.be/QtQkCOMq2Po

Unplanned commercialisation is the reason behind the traffic congestion on GST Road, a national highway and a crucial road connecting the suburbs to the city. Accountability here rests with the Pallavaram Municipality, which issues licences to the builders but fails to prevent or penalise irregularities in construction or deviations from rule. Has the outlet allocated space for parking? Is the drainage system proper? What about rainwater harvesting? -- Vital parameters such as these remain unchecked by municipal officials. Incidentally, these have a lot to do with the traffic nightmare that this road has become. Shortcuts and violations In the entire…

It has been a season of ideas - some new, some old - for decongesting Bengaluru roads. The #Cycletowork Fridays was the most recent one. Of course the most talked about idea was the bus priority lane announced by the government in an effort to popularise public transport. The fulcrum here was time-saving for road users - we give you dedicated space so you are not stuck in traffic for hours or have to deal with driving stress. However there is another important element that needs to be worked on, to make public transport more attractive - cost. BMTC fares…

Jagraon, a small township about 50 kilometres from Ludhiana Railway Terminus, has nothing much to distinguish it from other such towns on National Highway 5, except for an infamous, but very important bridge named after it. Till July 14 2016, when it was barred for traffic by the Railways, the original British-built Jagraon bridge, along with a parallel single lane bridge built in 1970 to accommodate the increasing traffic, was the lifeline for commuters in Ludhiana, Punjab's largest city and industrial hub, which once led to the city being bestowed with the title, Manchester of the East. Built as simple…

There is huge variation in how Bengalureans source water and how much we pay for it. Older parts of the city get piped supply from BWSSB, supplemented by individual borewells, while the periphery is largely dependent on borewells and private tanker water supply. While BWSSB charges per kilolitre range from Rs 7 (for individual residences) to Rs 22 (for apartments), private suppliers can charge anywhere upwards of Rs 100 a KL. To get a better sense of the city’s water situation, we are conducting a survey on where you are sourcing water from, and what you are paying for it.…

In the last few years, most borewells in our apartment in east Bengaluru, off Outer Ring Road, went dry with the depletion of groundwater levels. Our water expenses skyrocketed and we had to regularly keep increasing maintenance charges to cover the cost. We are a mid-range 10-year-old apartment community with 171 flats spread across four blocks, having a swimming pool, a small clubhouse and a gym.  Early last year, we implemented three measures to reduce water use. The outcome was that our water use and costs reduced by 52 percent in a year!  Water meters for accountability Most apartments don’t…

Did you know that apartments are at higher risk of fire hazard than factories producing combustible materials like firecrackers? Twenty nine percent higher risk, to be precise. And most of us live in apartment complexes. The fire tragedy at Carlton Towers nine years ago, brought to the forefront the perils of fire in high rise buildings dotting the Bengaluru skyline. To mark the ninth anniversary, Beyond Carlton, a group of citizens working towards fire safety in Bangalore, has partnered with the Bangalore Apartments Federation (BAF) to do a fire risk assessment of registered apartments in the city absolutely free. Cheryl…