Ushering in change

Strong resolve

Even though everyone loves their city for various reasons, they are also critical of some of the issues it faces. While they may not be able to solve them all by themselves, each step in the right direction takes one closer to the achievement of the ultimate goal.

As the New Year dawns upon us, a few City folks tell us about how they plan to contribute in their own small way towards making Bengaluru a better place.

With traffic being a never-ending menace in the City, some have come up with ways to tackle it this year. “A lot of accidents happen because of lack of patience and short temper. I have noticed that every time I thank someone for giving me right of way, they smile back. So I plan to infect everyone I meet on the road, while driving, with a smile,” says Movin Jain, an entrepreneur.

Avers Arvind Singh, “As much as the government and other civic bodies have their role to play in the up keep of the city, we citizens too play a major role. In London, I loved their traffic rule of ‘yield to traffic on the right’ — this prevents deadlocks at unmanned junctions. I am going to follow this practice and would urge others to try it out as well.”

For many, carpooling seems to be a viable and smart solution. As professional Vinay Arakali Nagaraj puts it, “Every time I spend countless hours stuck in a traffic pile-up and look at other ‘one-person-in-a-car’ cars around me, I actively steel myself to zone out. But this new year, I am going to start carpooling!  It is an eco-friendly approach.”

Of late, following untoward incidents, questions have also been raised over the safety of women in the City. While security measures definitely need to be tightened, a lot many women also feel that each of them needs to raise their voice against crime.

Says Vaishnavi Dabi, a student of Christ University, “What Bengaluru needs is a louder voice. I’m not a timid person but the moment I’m out in the City, I’m an insecure and naive girl. The stares, the eve-teasing and stalking have been blatantly ignored by me until now. But come 2016, I am going to be stronger, louder and wiser. I’m not going to hold back and ‘let it be’ or ‘just ignore.”

Some like Mehnaz Fatima, a final-year journalism student of Mount Carmel College, are aiming at something different this year to contribute their bit. She says, “With the changing times, we all struggle to make our city a better place, however, we fail to discuss the importance of animals in our environment. So my small bit to contribute to the betterment of my surroundings would be to provide drinking water pots for stray animals and birds in my locality. Though it might not be possible to feed all of them, it is well within our reach to make a small difference!”