City groups come together on poor infrastructure

Monsoon misery s silver lining
City groups come together on poor infrastructure
Vijay Times

Bangalore: The rain-related misery that residents of the City had to endure till just a fortnight back has not been without its positive fallout.

Bangaloreans are now gradually undergoing a mass awakening to the importance of collectively tackling the problems that have hounded the country’s "Silicon Valley" in the aftermath of the monsoon fury , which rendered thousands homeless.

Various residents’ groups and trade bodies are increasingly giving voice to the feeling that the focus on the City’s poor infrastructure, initiated by the IT sector , should be taken up by all Bangaloreans. Consumer activists emphasise that citizens are after all consumers of civic services and that "if taxes are paid by the people, then they have the unquestioned right to proper and adequate infrastructure." "Y es. Bangaloreans are waking up to the problems faced by the City .

Something is happening," says V K Somashekhar, Managing T rustee, Grahak Shakti, a consumer rights body . According to a member of the Swabhimana Initiative in Malleswaram, "Hasty implementation of jerk-knee decisions should not and will not be tolerated." This paper’s interaction with various groups reveals that the issues ’targeted’ by them to pressurise the government through well-planned protests include the metro rail project, the pathetic condition of most City roads and the proliferation of flyovers. "Gradually , the awakening could spread to even target perennial issues like corruption," hopes one activist.

M E Imtiyaz, member of the CMH Road T raders Association which is fighting the metro rail project alignment that threatens to affect residents and businesses in the area, says, "People are waking up now . They cannot continue lying low . W e have to be awake all the time, especially when the government behaves in a selfish manner."