For a liveable Bengaluru

Known Unknowns

I am a 1968-vintage Bengalurean. Growing up in Sadashivanagar was a beautiful experience. Children on the street, a tiny triangular park to play in, the Sankey Tank lake in the backdrop, the Stella Maris School (a girl’s school which admitted boys for Primary School) a five-minute walk away, the Panipuri vendor at Bhashyam Circle, a library down Vyalikaval road, the Shetty store for small needs, the Komati store for major groceries, and Cauvery theatre for the weekly movie nights – this was my life. Later came the swimming pool beside Sankey Tank and the Chowdiah Memorial Hall beside Stella Maris School. Going to Middle and High School at St Joseph’s Indian High School meant a bus ride travelling by Palace Grounds, the grand Windsor Manor, and the Bangalore Golf Course. St Joseph’s was in the near vicinity of Cubbon Park, the Visvesvaraya Museum, Koshy’s Bakery, and was not far from Brigade Road, M G Road, Church Street…Bengaluru was clean and temperature-controlled!

We later moved to Indiranagar, a then up-and-coming area on the other side of M G Road. From Indiranagar, I commuted to Joseph’s PU College and then to RV College of Engineering. The commute to RVCE on Mysore Road was arduous, by bus through City Market, or by motorbike, manoeuvring between the trucks and the buses. I was already experiencing Bengaluru’s growth.

I spent 12 years from 1990 in the US. I was learning, growing, and enjoying myself. However, Bengaluru was missed every bit. Every year, I made my way back to Bengaluru, like Dracula needing to bury himself in his home soil. I moved back in 2002 to Whitefield, which was conventionally not considered part of Bengaluru. The initial years living and working in Whitefield, with my kids also in school in Whitefield, seemed idyllic. The traffic at Marathahalli just kept increasing beyond the choke point of the small bridge it had connecting Whitefield to the rest of Bengaluru. The Marathahalli bridge became world (in)famous, with all the foreign visitors to Whitefield locations getting stuck on the bridge at some point in time.

Over the years, Bengaluru developed, grew, and became even more interesting. The sleepy town woke up to pubs, start-ups, cultural activities, and an even more diverse citizenry. I sometimes yearn for the sleepy 100 Feet Road where we strolled encountering only the occasional vehicle. I get nostalgic about the clean air that I recollect from my occasional walks all the way from Joseph’s to Sadashivanagar, having spent the bus fare on tasty treats.

Bengaluru has grown well on many parameters, -- jobs, schools, dining options, cultural hubs. Overdue attention from the government and citizens will make it sustainable and one of the most liveable cities in the world.

In no order of priority, we need to get serious on completing the Metro and a hub-and-spoke mobility solution. The occasional earth mover with 10 supervisors and two workers will not get the work done in our lifetimes.

We need to double the grid power available to industries and homes. The chest-beating that we are power-surplus flies in the face of data, power cuts, and smoke-spouting diesel gensets. Solar can be part of the mix, but we need central GW-scale power.

Our sewer water needs to be 100% treated, as opposed to the current 50% treated, and 50% directly emptied into our lakes. Again, cleaning sewer water needs energy. Water recycling needs to be mandated and lakes need to be cleaned. The lakes can be made tourist attractions. We need more breathing spaces and playgrounds which can be created around our massive lakes, such as the Bellandur, Varthur and Hebbal lakes.

Our museums need to be upgraded to include global artifacts. This can be accomplished even with touring exhibits from world museums, sponsored by citizens. National research programmes such as on the Indus culture and script need to be part of our museum programmes. We need to provide public access WiFi. And that without needing an OTP!

We need to scale the Sadashivanagar model of opportunities to live, work, and school in proximity.

That’s it. And oh…we need to do something about the mosquitoes!

(The author is the former CTO of Tata Group and founder of AI company Myelin Foundry is driven to peel off known facts to discover unknown layers.)