BBMP

See potholes everywhere after the rains for a week or two? Let's remember that we spent Rs.300 crores tarring the roads just before the elections. That's literally being washed away. There is a way to deal with potholes, but BBMP doesn't want to do that. As long as that doesn't change, we can't expect better roads. In most cities around the world, the local government has a small amount of internal capacity too. I.e. they don't outsource the 100% of their engineering work. About 10% is kept in-house. This means that they have a budget for some materials, a few…

Restoration work at the Munnekolala Lake in the AECS Layout near Marathahalli began about three months ago, but not before several months of pursuing the BBMP, the custodian of the lake, to save it. The AECS Layout actually has a set of three lakes, known to residents as the “Chinnappanahalli lakes”. The Munnekolala Lake, at 15.38 acres is the largest of them. The smaller 11.33 acre Chinnappanahalli Lake (located behind CMRIT College) was already restored by the BBMP in around 2010 and is currently being looked after by the Chinnappanahalli Lake Development Trust. The third lake, according to area residents…

Restoration work at the Munnekolala Lake in the AECS Layout near Marathahalli began about three months ago, but not before several months of pursuing the BBMP, the custodian of the lake, to save it. The AECS Layout actually has a set of three lakes, known to residents as the “Chinnappanahalli lakes”. The Munnekolala Lake, at 15.38 acres is the largest of them. The smaller 11.33 acre Chinnappanahalli Lake (located behind CMRIT College) was already restored by the BBMP in around 2010 and is currently being looked after by the Chinnappanahalli Lake Development Trust. The third lake, according to area residents…

A lot of infrastructure that we have in the city is deliberately bad. Take the example of shoulder drains on roads. More than 200 years have passed since it was scientifically proven that water flows better in a cylindrical container than in a rectangular container (and it was known, empirically, even before the proof). So why do our 'engineers' in the city - with various titles - keep building rectangular shoulder drains?Simple - because the cronies of the corporators who hijack these contracts are not competent enough to build anything else. All they know is to pour cement (and by…

A lot of infrastructure that we have in the city is deliberately bad. Take the example of shoulder drains on roads. More than 200 years have passed since it was scientifically proven that water flows better in a cylindrical container than in a rectangular container (and it was known, empirically, even before the proof). So why do our 'engineers' in the city - with various titles - keep building rectangular shoulder drains?Simple - because the cronies of the corporators who hijack these contracts are not competent enough to build anything else. All they know is to pour cement (and by…

The proposal to widen six roads - actually, just small segments of these roads - lacks everything we would wish for in urban design. It's not part of an overall strategy of mobility in the city; it's not clear what goals are expected to be achieved; it's not being done as per the KTCP Act which requires these projects to be carried out through town planning schemes, and it doesn't even copy the best of such efforts from other parts of India. First, they are not proposing to actually widen roads, but only some stretches of the roads. Widening Bannerghatta…

The proposal to widen six roads - actually, just small segments of these roads - lacks everything we would wish for in urban design. It's not part of an overall strategy of mobility in the city; it's not clear what goals are expected to be achieved; it's not being done as per the KTCP Act which requires these projects to be carried out through town planning schemes, and it doesn't even copy the best of such efforts from other parts of India. First, they are not proposing to actually widen roads, but only some stretches of the roads. Widening Bannerghatta…

Click here for the website of an NGO called Sarvodaya. They help Bangalore citizens with issues regarding stray dogs, and implement the ABC (Animal Birth Control) process instead of killing the dogs.The mobile no. is 91 98801 19900The landline is 080- 65340127Email: info@strays.in There is no political will in Bangalore to permanently solve the issue of stray dogs; though every now and then, there are instances of feral dogs attacking, and sometimes killing, children, BBMP has not taken a single step to curb this menace. Hence, citizens have to look towards NGO's like this for help.    ⊕

Click here for the website of an NGO called Sarvodaya. They help Bangalore citizens with issues regarding stray dogs, and implement the ABC (Animal Birth Control) process instead of killing the dogs.The mobile no. is 91 98801 19900The landline is 080- 65340127Email: info@strays.in There is no political will in Bangalore to permanently solve the issue of stray dogs; though every now and then, there are instances of feral dogs attacking, and sometimes killing, children, BBMP has not taken a single step to curb this menace. Hence, citizens have to look towards NGO's like this for help.    ⊕

In a democracy, the minimum that we should be able to expect is HOLDING ELECTIONS ON TIME. But it seems now that even this basic threshold is not guaranteed in Karnataka. Yesterday, the legislature passed a law - with all parties agreeing - that the State Election Commission cannot schedule elections to local bodies (like BBMP and other city governments) without its 'consent'. I.e. if the state government feels the time is not right for holding elections, that's the way it will be. The Election Commission of India controls only Parliament and Assembly elections, and those are constitutionally anchored. Elections…