Mr CM...

Mr CM...
We present some of the suggestions from our readers, who responded in overwhelming numbers, on what Saturday’s meeting convened by CM B S Yeddyurappa should consider
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

City stakeholders get ready for summit
Bangalore: We set the ball rolling. You placed your wish-list to the government. Now Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa is all set to unveil a vision document to upgrade Bangalore’s infrastructure on Saturday when he chairs a development public consultation.
On Tuesday, the CM wrote to the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) that he would like to hold a public interface to bring out a vision document on making “Bangalore a more comfortable place to live”.
The agenda is clear — 13 stakeholders will participate along with 150 citizens comprising experts, representatives of trade bodies, industry captains, resident welfare associations, NGOs and builders who will be invited by the government to suggest implementable short-term solutions to improve the city’s infrastructure.
This summit follows a campaign by The Times of India which carried a 16-part series on the city’s problems and kicked off a lively debate among citizens. After the opening remarks by the CM, three presentations will be made — Dr K Kasturirangan on urban governance, RITES on Comprehensive Traffic and Transportation Plan and Ramesh Ramanathan of Janaagraha on Bangalore traffic.
Group discussions will be held on urban governance, civic services and basic infrastructure. After brainstorming, Yeddyurappa will present the Bangalore agenda. Stakeholders have already started preparing for the summit — identifying the problems, drawing up solutions and other announcements to be made. “The CM basically wants to listen to what people have to say, their needs and suggestions on city improvement. In every forum, we always hear the officials while the citizens are not given an opportunity. This is an event purely for the public and the chief minister has made this point very clear,’’ officials co-ordinating the event said.
PARTICIPATING STAKEHOLDERS
BBMP, BDA, BWSSB, BMTC, Bescom, Karnataka Housing Board, Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, BMRCL, KSIIDC, BMRDA, PWD, Department of Urban Land Transport and Forest depts
ON THE AGENDA
Stakeholders will submit their short-term, long-term workable plans Consultations with experts on viability of solutions Three presentations by experts CM to present a vision document on city infrastructure
Entry by invitation only, to be sent by the government
MAJOR GRIEVANCES
Roads, water supply, clogged drains, traffic, corruption
Better speed-breakers
There are far too many speed-breakers in the city, some unmarked. They not only damage cars and lead drivers to veer to the side to avoid them; the unmarked ones can cause accidents as drivers miss them. Unnecessary speed-breakers should be removed. The rest must be redone so that they conform to standard design. All speedbreakers must be marked and painted at regular intervals.
— Alok Kumar Mitra
Introduce shared autos
I have seen many autorickshaws heading in the same direction, probably even to the same destination, each of them with a lone passenger in it. This is one reason for the traffic clutter. Introduce sharing autos. Have them painted differently. It’s a simple win-win solution: while the autodriver gets the same amount, or even a bit more (as he would have if there was only one passenger), commuters need to pay less — more importantly, there will less choas on the roads.
— Jaisree Nair
Clear footpaths
1. Footpaths must be cleared for pedestrians.
Vendors occupy many footpaths in Russel
Market area, Malleswaram and Gandhi Bazar. 2. Pushcarts, cattle-driven carts and tempos
carrying pipes/rods must be banned from the
central business district. 3. Rather than collect fines, traffic police should
seize vehicles when rules are violated. 4. Illegal parking, especially on footpaths, must be banned. 5. There is a chicken-neck opposite a hospital on Cunningham Road. There is a bus stop and an unauthorized auto stand too. VIP vehicles and hospital visitors make passage for pedestrians difficult. — M G Dwarakanath
Parking lots needed
It is a good initiative to widen roads but its benefits are nullified as drivers park vehicles along the sides of main roads. Mere widening of roads won’t ease traffic congestion, dedicated parking lots are a must.
— Sharath Kumar P N