Forget the ground reality. Let’s fly

Forget the ground reality. Let’s fly


Ravi S JoshiFirst Published : 21 Sep 2009 04:48:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 21 Sep 2009 08:51:13 AM IST
The city of my dreams now has a brand spanking new airport. Refurbished at a cost of over Rs 60 crore, it looks pretty much like the Bangalore International airport, albeit a bit smaller. Now, Mysore is connected to Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and maybe even Delhi, we are told. Smaller aircraft like the ATRs can land here and in the second phase of expansion, Mysore will be ready to receive larger aircraft like the Airbuses or Boeings.
Mysore has a new airport, but here in the IT capital of the world, children are still getting washed away in open drains. The mammoth search for 4-year-old Abhishek’s body did not hold any lessons for our civic corporation. Imagine the pain of the parents when they could not even give a decent burial to their son. Is life so cheap in India that we do not even get dignity in death? The case seems to be so. Last week, 18-month-old Vijay fell victim to BBMP’s callousness.
The body has not been found which tells a telling tale of the state of our drains.
Mysore has a new airport, but the IT capital of the world gets gridlocked after just 90 minutes of rain.
KH Road (supposedly the pride of Bangalore because it is named after Kengel Hanumanthiah), Bannerghatta Road (which houses some of the finest hospitals, shopping malls and multi-national IT companies), BTM Layout, VV Puram and several other areas that are considered the arteries of the city were choked with traffic after the downpour. It was just 3 cm of rain, mind you. And the IT capital was inundated. You can very well imagine the state of our drains and our preparedness to tackle exigencies.
Mysore has a new airport but in the IT capital of the world, two persons were electrocuted on Friday last after the heavy downpour. While one died in Kalasipalya, the other one lost his life in Kadugodi. Anybody who has taken a walk in Bangalore is aware of the risk the dangling wires hold, except for our officials.
It is a disaster waiting to happen. And yet, when the disaster happens, there is only blame-game till the next time.
Mysore has a new airport but here in the IT capital of the world, people regularly stumble and fall because of broken and encroached footpaths. Two-wheeler riders regularly break their legs – and four-wheeler drivers their axles – because nobody bothers about the potholes in the middle of the road. If you have been a regular reader of The New Indian Express, you would have seen the size of them.
Mysore has a new airport but in Bijapur, little Kanchana had to lose her life because nobody is bothered about open borewells or public safety.
Mysore has a new airport. So let’s go and build some more airports around Karnataka for the world to see.
What about lesser mortals losing their lives every day, you ask? The authorities can ask the parents to be more careful.