Infrastructure

Just like Kunti who had Karna on one side and five sons on the other, Mother Kaveri, in the wildlife sanctuary that I visit, flows with Tamil Nadu on one bank, and Karnataka on the other. How does the mother feel, when she sees her children at war with each other? Is it water that flows, or a torrent of tears, for the inability of siblings to get along with each other?

As I walked to and from my daughter's home (J P Nagar 3rd Phase to and fromJayanagar 4th T Block) I noticed the following good citizens of the city and state: Several young men on two-wheelers with yellow-and-red Karnataka flags, yelling, "bEkE bEku! nyAyA bEku!" They stopped near me to re-group. I talked to one of them (indeed, a foolhardy thing to do)...and asked, "nyAyA (justice) for what?" The young man said, "We've been told to go around the area, saying this." Not even the pretence of understanding what the issue is. A group of men sitting under the Karnataka…

As I walked to and from my daughter's home (J P Nagar 3rd Phase to and fromJayanagar 4th T Block) I noticed the following good citizens of the city and state: Several young men on two-wheelers with yellow-and-red Karnataka flags, yelling, "bEkE bEku! nyAyA bEku!" They stopped near me to re-group. I talked to one of them (indeed, a foolhardy thing to do)...and asked, "nyAyA (justice) for what?" The young man said, "We've been told to go around the area, saying this." Not even the pretence of understanding what the issue is. A group of men sitting under the Karnataka…

In any riparian dispute, the contending parties each try to 'win', through a decision that is favourable to them. This is understandable - we all want victory on our part of the river (upstream or downstream), and politicians want to show that their side is winning. In Maharashtra, we see this happening within the state itself. But this kind of stance distracts the attention of both sides from the real long-term solutions that they can pursue TOGETHER, in ways that BOTH WILL BENEFIT. That is the key to the solution. In my view there are four things that can be…

In any riparian dispute, the contending parties each try to 'win', through a decision that is favourable to them. This is understandable - we all want victory on our part of the river (upstream or downstream), and politicians want to show that their side is winning. In Maharashtra, we see this happening within the state itself. But this kind of stance distracts the attention of both sides from the real long-term solutions that they can pursue TOGETHER, in ways that BOTH WILL BENEFIT. That is the key to the solution. In my view there are four things that can be…

I’ve been thinking a lot about garbage. Every day I find myself pondering about Bengaluru’s garbage plight. If you don’t live here, here’s a quick summary: there is a lot of garbage on the streets, sometimes so much it looks like a miniature landfill is just hanging out, uninvited, on your street corner. There aren’t public garbage bins because in 2000 they were banned in favor of an entirely different approach to waste management. The Ugly Indian explained it well in an article: “[Chief Minister SM Krishna] banned the street dustbin, and set up a door-to-door garbage collection system –…

Can Bengaluru work towards getting back to its openwells? This is the story of a community (Adarsh Palm Retreat near Devarabeesanahalli Lake) near a lake that is looking to use an open well as one of its sources of water. Do watch the video Bengaluru (and other growing cities) are increasingly dependent on groundwater. In current time, borewells, are a very important source of water. Bengaluru now needs to manage its grounwater sustainably. While the city suffers from drying and dying borewells there are also pockets where water tables are shallow. We need to understand this and become stewards of…

I’ve been thinking a lot about garbage. Every day I find myself pondering about Bengaluru’s garbage plight. If you don’t live here, here’s a quick summary: there is a lot of garbage on the streets, sometimes so much it looks like a miniature landfill is just hanging out, uninvited, on your street corner. There aren’t public garbage bins because in 2000 they were banned in favor of an entirely different approach to waste management. The Ugly Indian explained it well in an article: “[Chief Minister SM Krishna] banned the street dustbin, and set up a door-to-door garbage collection system –…

Can Bengaluru work towards getting back to its openwells? This is the story of a community (Adarsh Palm Retreat near Devarabeesanahalli Lake) near a lake that is looking to use an open well as one of its sources of water. Do watch the video Bengaluru (and other growing cities) are increasingly dependent on groundwater. In current time, borewells, are a very important source of water. Bengaluru now needs to manage its grounwater sustainably. While the city suffers from drying and dying borewells there are also pockets where water tables are shallow. We need to understand this and become stewards of…

Over the last few days, it was reported that Metro stations at Silk Board and K R Puram will be developed as transit points, so that in the future we could have a line running on Outer Ring Road, connecting to these two ends, and linking to other Metro lines in the city.. This was greeted in the media as 'Metro to run on IT corridor' along with the claim this will significantly decongest traffic in the high-employment zone. Friends of the government, in particular, touted this as an important step for Bangalore. In reality, it is nothing of that…