Infrastructure

As our cities witness a construction explosion, find comprehensive reportage and analysis on the latest infrastructure developments, policy updates, and sustainable practices in urban planning. Read deep diving pieces on development and maintenance of roads and flyovers, public transit systems and housing projects. The articles highlight the challenges of unchecked urbanisation and growth in built-up areas, and connect the dots with ecological damage, traffic congestion, and issues of water supply and waste disposal.

"It is close to four years now and there has not been a single repair work of the road," says Anil Kumar, but the RTI activist is not complaining! "It is strong, inspite of the many floods since 2008 when it was laid" says Kumar. A conversation with Kumar makes it apparent that it is not just the roads themselves but the monitoring of the entire process that residents need to be aware of in order to ensure that a good road is laid. In 1995, Ejipura was a new ward that lacked many basic civic amenities. A group of…

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Did you know that:* Over 300 million Indian citizens have no access to electricity?* Over one third of India's rural population lack electricity as do 6% of the urban population* We produce only 25% fuel of our total requirementThis is alarming. We complain when there is no power for even 1 or 2 hours - imagine the plight of villages which lack electricity.On 16th January, the Children's Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA) members of the United Dudes civic club of Delhi Public School, Bangalore South, conducted the "One Watt Project - Let's Save a Billion Watts" campaign to urge their…

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When 900 families of Ejipura slum were thrown out last month, it was chaos for the families. While most have dispersed across the city, trying to find housing, about 55 families have moved into a Slum Board quarters in Kudlu, along Hosa Road (off Sarjapur Road). About 80 families (450-500 people) remain in the footpath near the Ejipura site as they could not afford alternate housing. Many families stayed out for days initially, even though most flats in the complex were vacant. Pic: Navya P K Most of those who are in the Kudlu quarters, reached here by accident. They…

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The entire city coming together on the issue of garbage... unimaginable till even a few months ago... But there has been a visible change of climate over the last 6 months; and the last week in particular has been noteworthy. Wake Up Clean Up Bangalore - a 7 day expo at Freedom Park on managing waste - that brought together a variety of stakeholders on a single platform, recently concluded amidst significant media coverage and public promises. On each of the seven days, members of the industry, Corporate leaders, elected representatives, several city schools, hospitals, hotel association and various other…

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I often wonder whether we are doing justice to our youngsters -- all open spaces are being ornamentally ‘gardened', ‘fountained', 'ticketed' and enclosed with barbed wires that are inaccessable to children. To give one or two concrete examples, there was a nice open space behind the HOPCOMS in Sadashivanagar that is surrounded by houses. There is also a nursery school in that area. I have been a resident in this neighbourhood the past 30 years and it pains me to see all the open spaces being taken away for either allotment to VIPs or converted into ornamental parks with tickets.…

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When dirt hits home

In the last few weeks, we have started segregating waste in our apartment complex. Valuable lessons have been learnt on the problems created by thoughtless waste disposal, while understanding how resistant residents can be to change, even if it is for ‘greater good.'But what I did not expect is - insights into gender equation in households. Before you accuse me of bringing in feminist agenda into waste management, hear me out, I do have a point.Firstly, when the entire city was stinking up and grappling with how to dispose garbage safely, it was the women in the apartment who mooted…

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After several months of uncleared garbage raising a stink in the city, Bangalore seems to be having a brief respite from it. The new Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner H Siddaiah has been working to find a solution to the issue that has been affecting the city. However, the Commissioner is well aware that the respite is only temporary and that the Palike cannot rest easy till more permanent solutions are found to manage the estimated 3,500 tonne waste generated in the city. He was speaking at a symposium titled "Solutions to impending public health crisis through governance in…

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The tin sheet shacks in Ejipura EWS (Economically Weaker Section) quarters are lined up so close to each other, that it is not easy to tell one house from the next. Outside the shacks, little girls and boys are seen carrying small pots of water which they have collected from somewhere. In one of the houses stays Aisha (name changed), with her husband, four children, and parents-in-law. Like most families here, this family of eight also does not get water to their house. Aisha, 38, spends a lot of her time standing in queue in front of public taps. Children…

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Even as the Mandur landfill region is threatening to erupt into yet another conflict zone, the AP-headquartered Lok Satta political party has organised a walk 'Dumping SAAKU' on Saturday, December 22nd. Lok Satta party cartoon released for the walk. Lok Satta party, active in Bengaluru politics since 2010, has organised the walk from Mandur village (north east of the city) to Bengaluru to raise awareness in Bangaloreans about incessant dumping of garbage at rural-area landfill sites outside the city. The party does not have an elected representative in the state yet.Mandur is located in the northeastern rural fringe of Bengaluru,…

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Saroja, a domestic worker staying in Ambedkar slum in Ejipura, spends much of her time waiting near a public tap every day. There is no individual water connection to her house, and the only sources are two public taps nearby. The tap gives water for 2.5 hours everyday, but this could be at any time during the day. Saroja checks up on the tap every now and then to collect this water, even though she knows that it is mixed with sewage. Both she and her 24-year-old daughter Mangala, are responsible for collecting water for the household. This story is…

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