Big namaskara to BMP

Big namaskara to BMP
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: Salutations to the august civic body of Bangalore, Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP). Dodda namaskara. I am a faceless motorist struggling to make a living in Silicon City, with no political contacts or friends in high offices. As the new mayor has prioritised her tasks - better roads and a cleaner administration - I wish to see her and share my daily agony of riding on potholed roads and dealing with BMP officials without bribing them. So I set out at 11 AM to visit her office. I ride on my two-wheeler for a minute and my spine takes a beating on the jerky ride. Then I am bullied by the cars and buses in choc-a-bloc traffic and I am pushed to edges of the road. I take half an hour to cover 2 km on arterial roads and I begin feeling that no one wants me on the road.

Too much of idling of machines leading to suffocating levels of vehicular exhaust gases and the deafening noise heighten my frustration with bad roads. Newspapers tell me that every year the BMP spends hundreds of crores collected from pockets of people like me to make better roads. But how come roads look the same, and sometimes worse, every year? I wonder. I begin to question the credibility of the BMP, and worse, even the newspapers. My bike trips on a manhole that is above road level and it shocks me out of my reverie. I thank my lucky stars I did not skid under the lorry that just passed by. As the lorry overtakes, a stench fills my senses and I see that it is a BMP garbage truck carrying all sorts of waste dumped haphazardly.

I am told the BMP separates garbage for segregated transport without causing nuisance. It is noon now and I am passing through the central business district. My tired eyes are now captivated by the beauties on hoardings trying sell me everything from a flat to a pair of jeans and I lose my concentration and almost jump a signal but for the policeman’s whistle.

There has been lot of hype on pulling down unauthorised hoardings and making the central parts of the city hoarding free. I decide to share a few words with the new mayor on this. I arrive at the BMP office by 12.30 PM and after giving satisfactory explanations to the security men, am allowed in. But the mayor’s personal department tells me that the new incumbent, a 24X7 mayor, has not come in yet. She is expected on Friday, I am told. I return home tired, my face grimy with dust and smoke. That should not be a problem as I am a faceless motorist anyway.