'More needs to be done for development’

More needs to be done for development’
By George Huang
The Times of India

Icame to this city in March 2005, and was quite aware of the city’s software prowess that has made it famous across the globe, through my colleagues and the media. I had envisioned a wellplanned city with a blend of tradition and modernity, with efficient transport system, steel and glass structures, clean air, and cosmopolitan people, as it was also home to many multinationals.
I have spent 18 months here and am a little disappointed with the actual conditions. This city of 7 million people has been one of the fastest growing cities in entire Asia, and also has catapulted the Indian IT industry to global recognition, but is handicapped by various infrastructural and civic issues. However, I have also witnessed active campaign by the citizens and efforts by the government in improving the situation. There are positive signs of development and I wish that they will continue.
Bangalore is still a favourite city for many foreigners like me for its pleasant climate, friendliness of its people, besides the other advantages that it offers from a business point of view — good talent pool, large number of engineering institutes, and growth potential.
Planning: Every city needs a long-term vision and a corresponding plan to efficiently achieve its vision. Many have observed that Bangalore has had unplanned and haphazard growth leading to several problems that have besieged the city. However, it is not too late to fix some of them. I hear that the government has proposed a Greater Bangalore to accommodate the growing needs of the city. It is important to have an efficient and aesthetic town planning to create organised growth and at the same time preserving the charm and natural environment of this historic city. The plan for Greater Bangalore should also include decongesting the existing areas of the city and converting or regaining the zones for better civic amenities.
One important requirement for distribution of growth to the outskirts and satellite towns is civic infrastructure and amenities. The government needs to provide good connectivity, drinking water, power, transport system, schools and hospitals in these areas to encourage the industry to shift their focus and expansions away from this bursting city.
Chinese municipal governments pay more attention to their city’s infrastructure and environment. This is considered as one of the most important performance indexes for a mayor. The Chinese government invests a lot of money to build infrastructure, by attracting investment from private sector and individual bonds.
P u bl i c Transport: A lot needs to be done on this front in terms of sufficient buses, mass transport systems, traffic discipline and pollution. If you have visited China recently, you will observe that most of the big cities are very neat, beautiful and orderly. What’s the reason? The municipal governments take great effort to build footbridges, high speedways, broaden the streets, and grow more trees. Most of the big cities have metros. Underpasses and over bridges can also make people walk safely, and walk flow can also be controlled. This will be especially helpful to reduce traffic congestion in central business district.
A city with high growth potential needs long-term public transport solutions such as mass transits systems, an efficient feeder system to supplement it. Widening of the existing roads and adding more ring roads is a necessity. Shanghai and Beijing have six ring roads each, and the traffic flows smoothly in spite of larger number of cars. Ring roads in Bangalore have not served the purpose of smooth traffic flow, as you find traffic signals on ring roads every few metres. Long-term traffic growth has not been considered while planning the flyovers and ring roads. In my opinion, foreign companies who have the technical expertise in planning and construction of flyovers and expressways in bigger cities would have definitely added value. The city also has inadequate traffic police staff to monitor the traffic. In Nanjing, the city I come from, Electronic monitoring system was implemented, and that brought down traffic violations and indiscipline to a large extent. Every main street should have this system. Electronic monitoring system and effective implementation of zebra crossing and traffic signal are very helpful in making the roads safer.
Cleanliness: Compared with many other Indian cities, Bangalore is cleaner in most parts; however, it is not very encouraging to find overflowing drains and garbage just as you step outside swanky malls and posh hotels. The garden city needs more attention on potholes, dusty roads, and uneven footpaths.
Garbage should be classified and recycled to save natural resource. In China, many dustmen are employed to clean the streets from morning till evening. They also wash the streets regularly using water machines.
We should try to protect the heritage, landscape, make the city cleaner and convenient to attract more tourism. This will really stimulate economic growth and service industry.
(The author is COO, Huawei
Technologies India)