A large number of civic and social organizations of Bengaluru are coming together to organize a unique ‘Beku Beda Santhe’ on October 15th, 2017 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Human Chain for the #steelflyoverbeda. That campaign saw a saw massive outpouring of citizens, democratically expressing their demand. The #SteelFlyoverBeda movement inspired citizens to come together and exercise their right to actively participate in governance.
The “Beku Beda Santhe” will serve as a platform for citizens from across Bengaluru to express what they want for their area and city (ಬೆೇಕು) and what they do not want for their area and city (ಬೆೇಡ.) The Santhe is unique due to the broad and diverse set of citizens groups coming together with a goal to make this event as inclusive and diverse as the city itself. Accordingly numerous RWAs, NGOs, slum rights groups, unorganized sector representatives, civic groups, think tanks, women’s groups and others are joining hands to co-host this event.
Tara Krishnaswamy, CfB said “The Santhe is an expression of citizens’ rights and indeed responsibilities to demand the governance they want, especially in the lead up to the elections. This signals to the political class, the government, opposition and aspiring candidates that citizens demands openly expressed, are ignored at their own peril”
D S Rajasekhar, President of Citizens’ Action Forum, appealed to all Bengalureans to come out in numbers to the santhe “All of us know the problems, we also know the solutions for many years, unless we show people power in large numbers, we cannot influence the politicians to prioritize the right things”
P Lakshapati, Executive Director of APSA (Association for Promoting Social Awareness) a rights based child centric, community development organization working in the city slums for the past 30 years said “While Bengaluru has transformed itself into a global city in the past 20 years, the slums have seen zero development and continue to stay in the margins without basic amenities for life and livelihood. We are joining the santhe to send a clear message to the government that it must deliver to all its citizens”, Rekha Chari of Malleswaram Swabhimana Initiative said. “#BekuBedaSanthe is an apt opportunity for RWAs, social and civic groups across the city to join hands and urge their neighborhoods to come out & vote in large numbers. We plan for Malleswara to participate wholeheartedly in this Santhe”
Srinivas Alavilli, CfB said “The #SteelFlyoverBeda movement showed that people are willing to get on the streets to save our city from further damage.I request everyone who joined hands for the human chain last year to show up once again for our city and send a strong signal that we, the citizens are united in our demand for better governance in our great city. We invite all Bengaluru organisations working for the rights of underprivileged, civic and governance issues to join us”.
A website http://bekubedasanthe.in has been launched for citizens to register their beku/beda