Governance

Did you notice that someone fixed that black spot on your way to work and it now looks nice with a little bench and simple art that makes the place walkable and pleasant on the eyes? Did you come across pictures on social media of people sweating it out and cleaning lakes on a Sunday morning? Do you know someone that teaches and helps out in the local government school? Did you notice there was a massive protest to save trees on Jayamahal road and a thousand people got on the streets? Did you know local residents were filing RTIs,…

Did you notice that someone fixed that black spot on your way to work and it now looks nice with a little bench and simple art that makes the place walkable and pleasant on the eyes? Did you come across pictures on social media of people sweating it out and cleaning lakes on a Sunday morning? Do you know someone that teaches and helps out in the local government school? Did you notice there was a massive protest to save trees on Jayamahal road and a thousand people got on the streets? Did you know local residents were filing RTIs,…

Manidip Mandal shows how it's more expensive to travel from Majestic (Kempegowda Bus Station) bus terminus to Hulimavu (15 km) than to travel from Mysuru to Bengaluru (148 km).     BMTC has become an exploitative and expensive organization, and urban commuters have no choice. I only use public transport, and as a general commuter and a woman citizen, I generally find the drivers and conductors very rude, harassing passengers.

Manidip Mandal shows how it's more expensive to travel from Majestic (Kempegowda Bus Station) bus terminus to Hulimavu (15 km) than to travel from Mysuru to Bengaluru (148 km).     BMTC has become an exploitative and expensive organization, and urban commuters have no choice. I only use public transport, and as a general commuter and a woman citizen, I generally find the drivers and conductors very rude, harassing passengers.

BBMP's proposal to begin charging people to park on the streets can seem like a long-overdue scheme. But while the principle of charging for public space seems reasonable, we should do more than that. We should set targets for what we hope to achieve by charging parking fees. One direct result will be revenues to the BBMP. Each of the 85 streets on which parking charges will be introduced should produce several lakhs in income to the municipal corporation each month. But are there other results we wish to see? And if yes, can we connect those results too to…

BBMP's proposal to begin charging people to park on the streets can seem like a long-overdue scheme. But while the principle of charging for public space seems reasonable, we should do more than that. We should set targets for what we hope to achieve by charging parking fees. One direct result will be revenues to the BBMP. Each of the 85 streets on which parking charges will be introduced should produce several lakhs in income to the municipal corporation each month. But are there other results we wish to see? And if yes, can we connect those results too to…

BBMP likes to create regular, small contracts. This system is informally known as 'hale kallu, hosa billu', and is well understood by all the stakeholders !! Take the example of shoulder drains. To begin with, it is common sense that a drain that collects rain water from the road should be built adjacent to the road and not to the property walls. But what we do is the exact opposite. Thereafter, to connect utilities like water and sewage to the properties, we run pipes across the drains, and these pipes becomes obstacles that collect various things thrown into the drain. As…

BBMP likes to create regular, small contracts. This system is informally known as 'hale kallu, hosa billu', and is well understood by all the stakeholders !! Take the example of shoulder drains. To begin with, it is common sense that a drain that collects rain water from the road should be built adjacent to the road and not to the property walls. But what we do is the exact opposite. Thereafter, to connect utilities like water and sewage to the properties, we run pipes across the drains, and these pipes becomes obstacles that collect various things thrown into the drain. As…

On Sunday morning, we did a walk in the Basavanagudi neighbourhood. It was not an “early morning walk” but a walk that started only at 9am after breakfast was done. Just to make it a little easier for everyone. It was a walk conducted for my students in a course I'm teaching this semester on the Everyday City at the Azim Premji University. The open courses at APU are elective courses offered once a week over the semester for students in the Masters Programs in Development / Education / Public Policy & Governance. The focus of the Everyday City course…

On Sunday morning, we did a walk in the Basavanagudi neighbourhood. It was not an “early morning walk” but a walk that started only at 9am after breakfast was done. Just to make it a little easier for everyone. It was a walk conducted for my students in a course I'm teaching this semester on the Everyday City at the Azim Premji University. The open courses at APU are elective courses offered once a week over the semester for students in the Masters Programs in Development / Education / Public Policy & Governance. The focus of the Everyday City course…