JOIN USIt has been quite a fall from grace for Bengaluru. While initially it wore tags like 'pensioner's paradise' and 'garden city' proudly on its sleeve, it is now grappling with unflattering buzzwords like 'garbage', 'traffic', 'frothing lake' and 'congestion'. The recent rains and subsequent flooding highlighted all that was wrong with the city. Metrolife went around asking citizens what were the various ills plaguing Bengaluru and how these could be resolved.
Varun Hemachandran, founder of 'Talking Earth'
Rapid urbanisation has been the biggest problem. Traffic is a fallout of that; mobility in Bengaluru is a nightmare. You obviously can't stop people from moving into the city but there should be some regulation on simple things, like capping the number of registrations of cars. Around 1600-200 vehicles are registered on a daily basis in the city. The average speed of vehicles on the city's roads has come down drastically over the years. So we have very few resources and too many people competing for them.
Aarti Mohan, from Sattva Consulting
Rapid reduction of green cover is one of the biggest changes that Bengaluru has seen. The lack of open spaces is compounded by the fact that we are now actually constructing manmade parks and artificial lakes on top of natural greenery. Then there is the plastic menace, which is slowly bringing the city to a standstill, especially during the rains when the drains become choked up with plastic and water floods the streets. We should look at indigenous and sustainable ways of existing. People should reduce the use of plastic in their daily lives while businesses like restaurants can stop giving takeaways in plastic containers. These are small things that can be translated into big changes. It is happening in pockets but it has to become a mass movement.
Harish Sivaramakrishnan, design manager at Google and vocalist with 'Agam'
Water is a cause of concern in the city now. We have not been able to utilise rain water and most of it is being discharged out of the storm water drains and not put to use. Apartments should have better rainwater harvesting facilities so that can reduce their dependency on deep borewells and tankers. Also, people and housing complexes should think of minimising the amount of cement and concrete around their houses and buildings. Soil allows rain water to seep into the ground, thereby helping the depleting water table, which is another cause of concern for citizens now. Bengaluru has no perennial rivers nearby so we are dependent on the tanks and lakes, which need better protection from encroachments and dumping of garbage. Being a little more prudent in the way you protect them is necessary.
Shruthi Gowda, freelance professional
The way the city is expanding without a proper plan or blueprint is downright scary. The resources and facilities we have are not enough for the burgeoning population and the authorities are not doing their bit to keep pace with the changes. High-cost projects are being introduced and scrapped without any proper thought while the condition of existing roads and civic amenities is deplorable. Narrow spaces, potholes and un-asphalted stretches make commuting a bane. There should be a thrust on sustainable growth and not just on building more stuff. There should also be better coordination between the various civic agencies to ensure speedy implementation of projects and better resolution of public grievances.