Bruised & battered, Bangalore looks to the New Year with hope

Bruised & battered, Bangalore looks to the New Year with hope
The TImes of India

Phew! Bangaloreans feel relieved on seeing the back of 2005. For, in the year gone by, they went through misery. Infrastructure collapsed, rains played havoc, citizens fretted and fumed, the IT sector revolted, politicians resorted to a blame-game and played the rural vs urban and language cards to divert attention, a BPO woman employee was raped and killed, sending a scare across the city, and finally terror struck. Brand Bangalore suffered a big dent.

The citizens wish to leave all these behind and look to the New Year with renewed hope. They feel that two wake-up calls at the fag end of 2005 may act as catalysts:

WAKE-UP CALL 1: TERROR ATTACK ON IISc CAMPUS

The December 28 terrorist attack on IISc shattered Bangalore’s ‘safe city’ image. The government and the police were caught unawares. Fortunately, the casualties were not high, considering the highly sophisticated weapons and grenades that were used. But the terrorists achieved their purpose — spread panic. Their message: We will hit you where it hurts the most. For long, Bangalore had been on their hit list, considering it’s home to top IT companies, science institutes, defence installations and PSUs. The attack sent a chill down the spines of Bangaloreans.

Sadly, the security agencies, who knew all along that Bangalore was a soft target, didn’t take adequate measures. Take the case of IISc. Eight months ago, when the Chinese Premier visited the institution, a protester breached the security barrier, shouted slogans and threw pamphlets. After a thorough inquiry, 10 suggestions were put across to the institute and the police to prevent such untoward incidents. The institute ignored them and the police didn’t bother to follow up. Result: The Dec 28 attack.

Once again, there is hectic activity. Inquiries are on and fresh suggestions on security being made. But, after a few days, when the panic abates, all will be forgotten till the next incident. Remember the dreaded Veerappan? Whenever he struck, killing policemen or kidnapping celebrities for ransom, the government would make brave statements and announce action plans to nab or eliminate him, only to forget them and go back to sleep till he struck again. Why do authorities or security agencies only react, and not act? Had the suggestions for security at IISc been implemented, the tragedy of December 28 could have been averted.

It is still not too late. The police must get expert advice on how to deal with terrorist activity. Go in for force modernisation. Strengthen the intelligence network. Procure sophisticated weapons and gadgets. You cannot counter terrorists’ AK-47s or AK-56s with outdated .303 rifles. Ask companies and institutions, both government and private, to put in place their own high security arrangements. Provide them help and expertise when they ask for it. Create awareness among citizens. Take the help of resident associations to nab suspicious elements. Let Bangalore get back the tag of safe city. The IISc episode is a wake-up call.

WAKE-UP CALL 2: A SHOCKER FROM THE PANCHAYAT VOTER

Upsetting all calculations, the voters in the recently held panchayat elections have sent out a clear message to all political parties. Stop paying lip sympathy to the rural populace, end empty rhetoric on social justice, shun caste politics, concentrate on development and provide good governance. Exactly the way the Bihar voters did. Deve Gowda, the self-proclaimed messiah of the rural masses, suffered the most. His JD(S) failed badly at the hustings. Blueeyed boy turned rebel Siddaramaiah ate into his vote bank. Coalition partner Congress, which bore the brunt of Gowda’s daily dose of pinpricks, walked away with a huge majority. The BJP, considered an urban party, opened its account in the rural areas. All at the cost of the JD(S).

It’s clearly a vote against Gowda’s brand of politics. A wake-up call for him as well as other politicians. Hopefully, he will do some soulsearching. He will have to find answers to several questions. Was Siddaramaiah’s ouster a big mistake? Should he take the party out of family control and give more powers to the likes of M P Prakash and P G R Sindhia? Did his anti-S M Krishna obsession boomerang? Was he right in berating the IT sector and humiliating IT icon Narayana Murthy? Shouldn’t he now stop remote-controlling the government and let CM Dharam Singh breathe free?

For Dharam Singh, more than the Congress victory, the poor show put up by the JD(S) is a godsend. He will do well to distance himself from Gowda, get closer to his own partymen, give priority to governance, encourage privatepublic partnership, and put all development activities on the fast track. Not only will he then win the confidence of the people but keep off aspirants for his coveted post.


Our wish list
Some New Year resolutions which citizens would like to hear:

Deve Gowda: I’ll desist from being a stumbling block.
Dharam Singh: I won’t dance to Gowda’s tune.
BMP engineers & contractors: We’ll do quality work and stop swindling the taxpayers.
MPs & legislators: We’ll take good care of our constituencies, and not take bribes to get work done.
Police: We’ll make Bangalore a safe city.
IT sector: We’ll contribute to the upkeep of Bangalore.