Citizens rage at callous govt agencies

Citizens rage at callous govt agencies
The Times of India

Bangalore: All civic officials are to blame for Bangalore coming to a standstill when it rains. That’s the near-unanimous verdict of those who participated in overwhelming numbers in the Times Phone-in on Thursday. As Nandini N. Swamy says, “Apathetic citizens, indifferent bureaucrats and non-caring corporators are responsible.”

George T. Koshy says, “Without exception, all officials, from the chief minister down, are callous, insensitive and feathering their own nests. They need to be thrown out. The people must now rise up in protest, stage dharnas and not rest till concrete action is taken.”

But as H.K. Vasuki points out, “There is absolutely no point in blaming the CM, mayor or the commissioner. People do not follow civic sense dumping waste in the trenches outside their houses thus blocking movement of rain water.”

So, what needs to be done? “There should be a law which makes it mandatory for corporators to inspect infrastructure and submit reports. These should be made public so that people know the contribution of local representatives,” suggests S. Sundara.

“Lack of accountability in BCC is the main cause. The solution lies in curbing corruption,” says Ravindra Kumar. A thought echoed by E. Madhavan: “Create awareness among people. This alone will move the government.”

People too must do their bit according to Raj Sathgunam: “We need powerful public participation in demanding what they deserve.” Perhaps then we can turn Bangalore into Singapore. Until then, “Let us learn from Singapore”, says Shobha Somnath.