Bangalore, buck up

Bangalore, buck up
The TImes of India


Like any city, Bangalore has its plus and minus points. First the plus points: the city's pleasant weather, parks, politeness of the people and its cosmopolitan character. Barring IT, much of the business industry's transaction/communication has increased in Kannada. Hence, I feel Kannada is not in danger of relegation.

Now the minus points: Bangalore's decline has been in terms of a near-total failure in the past three years to develop new infrastructure, which would have substantially met the challenges of (a) huge expansion of traffic (b) sanitation and, perhaps, water supply. Roads are hopelessly inadequate, given the city's vast expansion in space and economic activity — from around a length of 2,000 km in 1988 to about 4,400 km now. What adds to the slow movement of vehicles is the large number of road junctions — about 38,000!

These roads have to carry nearly 23.5 lakh vehicles with 1.5 lakh new registrations every year. Two-wheelers account for 16 lakh of all vehicles. Added to this is over 1 lakh autorickshaws along with trucks and buses in poor condition, which give rise to heavy pollution.

The way out? A mix of public transport, but that will have to be super-efficient if private vehicles should be seen by their owners as unnecessary. Metro Rail is an obvious choice as everyone, except a few in the government and behind it, have recognised its potential.

I also feel regularisation of illegal construction of commercial buildings is unpardonable. The only motive is profit. Why should the law condone this? In any number of such buildings, even basements — specifically meant for parking — are being blatantly misused.

Most importantly, right-thinking citizens want all those engineers of BMP and BDA who are hand-in-glove with such illegal constructions over the last, say, 15-20 years, should be given stringent punishment. The Supreme Court has, in specific terms, directed such punishment.

If readers are wondering what was my contribution to make Bangalore beautiful, it is restoration of the park in Banashankari. This was possible with the help of local residents.