roads

As of 15 July 2019, the demolition of the Jayadeva Flyover, 11 years after it was built, has started, with the upper part (leading from Bannerghatta Road to Outer Ring Road) being closed to traffic. I am marking the date to see how long this changeover from road to road/Metro will take.

On the 24th of April, 2019, as I passed the IIM-B/HSBC junction in a bus, I found this elderly gentleman working very hard to direct traffic. He was working with a smile, which is not usual for any traffic policeman around that time of day, 9am, which is peak traffic and congestion time. I was definitely struck by his enthusiasm and cheerfulness, so I wondered if the Traffic Police are enlisting the help of volunteers? I would certainly like to know...and to thank this particular gentleman for stopping my bus driver, who was creeping forward, with a smile...whether or not…

Bannerghatta Road is already a mess, as one-third of the road is blocked for the work on the Metro. There is no transparency on how long the work will take, and no timeline for completion, though a vague time of 2020 AD has been given. Meanwhile, residences and hospitals as well as malls and offices bear the brunt of the noise, often unbearable at night. Pedestrians, who were finding the road hard enough to cross after the grade separation, are now finding it impossible to do so. No thought has been given to the hapless people-who-walk; they fight for their…

It says a lot for the wondrous variety of vehicles on our roads, that a silver chariot of the sun, drawn by seven horses (and, presumably a little more horsepower), with regulation headlights, does not make heads turn!

I've been going to R V (Rashtriya Vidyalaya) College of Physiotherapy for, well, physiotherapy, and as I came out, this was what the avenue leading to the Jain temple and the Jayanagar bus terminus looked like: What a lovely sight for someone who walks along roads increasingly bereft of greenery, shade or walking space! This seemed to take me to the past when most Bangalore roads were avenues. True that these trees (rain trees) originally came from South America...but when they've been around for 300 years, and have caused no environmental upheaval, they are surely good citizens of our city!

I've been going to R V (Rashtriya Vidyalaya) College of Physiotherapy for, well, physiotherapy, and as I came out, this was what the avenue leading to the Jain temple and the Jayanagar bus terminus looked like: What a lovely sight for someone who walks along roads increasingly bereft of greenery, shade or walking space! This seemed to take me to the past when most Bangalore roads were avenues. True that these trees (rain trees) originally came from South America...but when they've been around for 300 years, and have caused no environmental upheaval, they are surely good citizens of our city!

We have thousands of runners but no place to just walk from A to B. I can no longer walk the less-than-a-kilometre stretch from my home to that of a friend on Bannerghatta Road. The road has been dug up for widening ( though it quickly ends in a bottleneck at an immoveable temple opposite a newly- minted mall), and leave alone the demise of several young trees, there is no footpath any more, nor is there likely to be, for the foreseeable future. Critically endangered species: the Common Pedestrian. Update: My friend Shiv Sastry tells me that there is…

We have thousands of runners but no place to just walk from A to B. I can no longer walk the less-than-a-kilometre stretch from my home to that of a friend on Bannerghatta Road. The road has been dug up for widening ( though it quickly ends in a bottleneck at an immoveable temple opposite a newly- minted mall), and leave alone the demise of several young trees, there is no footpath any more, nor is there likely to be, for the foreseeable future. Critically endangered species: the Common Pedestrian. Update: My friend Shiv Sastry tells me that there is…

Some time ago, I documented a project by this name, where Jaaga and a team of volunteers made a determined attempt to beautify the space under Hebbal flyover. I was told that they'd also painted some other flyovers, such as the one on Richmond Circle. Here is another team, called the Ugly Indian, taking the initiative to beautify the area under other flyovers. The day I attended, we had a motley crowd of people.. from the local bigwigs, to the transgenders, to the police constables on duty... everyone had a say on how the space could be used, and everyone…

Some time ago, I documented a project by this name, where Jaaga and a team of volunteers made a determined attempt to beautify the space under Hebbal flyover. I was told that they'd also painted some other flyovers, such as the one on Richmond Circle. Here is another team, called the Ugly Indian, taking the initiative to beautify the area under other flyovers. The day I attended, we had a motley crowd of people.. from the local bigwigs, to the transgenders, to the police constables on duty... everyone had a say on how the space could be used, and everyone…