The axe is falling on all the basement shops in HSR Layout, following directions by the Karnataka High Court. Until yesterday, all the 70 basement shops on 27th Main that were issued notices are shutdown. The next couple of days will see shops on 24th Main facing the axe. According to BBMP officials, they will … Read more
With the increasing traffic congestion, and the failed plan of the BMTC to have shuttle buses in HSR Layout due to lack of proper planning, the residents are now asking the transport department why all the buses plying between Sarjapur Road and Whitefield don’t enter HSR Layout.
If this happens, people will find it more convenient to use public transport. Clearly, the BMTC needs to have the right people to plan bus stops in strategic places where most people will find it convenient.
Says Sharad Holani and echoed by the Whitefield Rising group: “Why are there no buses going inside HSR Layout and Sarjapura. All buses on Outer Ring Road only go straight towards Silk Board. Why will people use buses when they don’t go anywhere near people’s home?” Tweeting this to the BMTC, he is only one of the many people who have knocked on the doors of the BMTC for efficient public transport.
Burning garbage is a punishable offence by law. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is supposed to uphold the law and penalise those who don’t. However, what do you say when their own people indulge in garbage burning? This is the question being asked by several residents across Bangalore and outside.
Here is a case of one such BBMP worker burning dry waste and plastic on 3rd Cross in Muneshwara Layout, Hosapalya. Says software engineer Uday Shankaran, a resident of Kudlu who caught him in the act: “Thrice a week, they are burning plastic, twigs, dry waste, and thermocol. I always used to smell it, but today, I caught the pourakarmika (sweeper) red-handed. When I confronted him, he was not showing his face, which means the pourakarmika knows that burning is wrong.”
Uday adds that burning garbage is a common practice of BBMP workers in this area. “It’s easier for them to burn rather than use the garbage vehicle. Today, after he had burnt the garbage, I saw the collection vehicle pass by.”
After years of allowing traffic congestion due to illegal basement shops meant for parking, the BBMP is finally implementing the law that is around for decades now due to a recent order by the Karnataka High Court. This legal intervention prompted BBMP Commissioner Manjunatha Prasad to instruct all the zonal joint commissioners to implement the court verdict.
Two weeks ago, the HSR BBMP officials issued notices to over 70 basement shops on all the main roads. And last night, the basement shops on one side of 27th Main in Sector 1 and 2 were shutdown – nearly 20 of them and counting. The onus is now on the landlords to demolish the shops and make way for parking. “We locked some of the shops ourselves while the others were locked by the shopkeepers themselves,” said Vinodh GM, health inspector, BBMP.
This drive will go on until all the basement shops are replaced with parking lots. Says Dr A Soujanya, Joint Commissioner, BBMP (Bommanahalli): “Only one third of the citizens are aware of this illegality. The tenants are the ones who are hit now. The next one month will be devoted to this operation.”
Yesterday, the BBMP shutdown shops on one side of 27th Main. Today, they will do the other side and move on to the other roads. For every zone, like Bommanahalli, there is a nodal officer who is overseeing this operation. A time table is plotted out for everybody who is part of this shutdown drive, including the police, health inspectors and engineers.
Road cutting by new buildings is rampant, with or without BBMP’s permission. This stretch of the busy 27th Main-22nd Cross Road junction was dug up allegedly by the building owner of Motonation shop on 27th Main Road. Clearly, this is in violation as road cuttings are not allowed on roads that were tarred only a year ago. When the residents complained to the BBMP, the civic agency closed the complaint without resolving it, irking the citizens even more.
“The road and the foothpath in front of the Motonation shop was damaged on December 22, and no one has fixed it yet,” says resident Kamesh Rastogi who has complained on the BBMP app and to the authorities on social media. “They are closing the complaint after a few days and I have reopened it on three occasions so far.”
Amazed that there is a tree park right around HSR Layout? Well, there is one near Freedom International School in Sector 4. But did you know that one local NGO has been keeping it clean for the last three years?
Only last week, it was cleaned yet again by Kaagaz Foundation. “It gets filled with garbage due to BBMP’s secondary collection point,” says trustee Kavitha Reddy. Almost every three months, we get it cleaned. In the next tree plantation season, we should be adding 30 more saplings.”
The quarterly cleanup sometimes has volunteers, but it’s mostly done with the help of labourers.
On January 22, at around 3.45pm, 30-year-old Sudarshan Raghunath was shocked to find his Lenovo laptop, two bank cards and his passport missing from his car seat.
He had parked his Hyundai Asset car at 3.45pm last Tuesday in front of CPWD quarters on 27th Main Road to shop at Health & Glow. However, when he came back at 4.45pm, the front passenger window was broken and his laptop bag with his belongings was nowhere to be seen.
The resident of of Somasundrapalya has learnt a bitter lesson not to keep his belongings in the car while stepping out. The thieves are watching out for such belongings to steal.
SECTOR 6 WAS NEXT TWO DAYS LATER
Two days later, Balchandra Bandi, a 38-year-old engineer and a resident of Murugeshpalya was the next victim. He had parked his car on 16th Cross, Sector 6, in front of Syndicate Bank at around 8pm on Thursday, January 24. By the time he came back at 9pm, the thief or thieves had employed the same modus operandi as the previous incident. They had broken the front side passenger window and stolen his laptop bag containing his HP Elite laptop.
WHAT HAPPENED ON JANUARY 20?
Two diners learnt a lesson the hard way when they stepped out to have dinner at two different locations in HSR Layout only to find their car belongings missing when they returned after their sumptuous experience.
Two months after it was reported, the broken divider on 27th Main Road is yet to be fixed by the BBMP and the traffic police. When the BBMP does not do its job, the traffic department is supposed to act, particularly to enforse one-way on a busy thoroughfare.
However, the it is status quo at this divider near Rockview restarant in Sector 2. Agreed that they are the responsibilities the BBMP’s traffic engineering cell. But two months is just too long a time to excuse themselves for being ‘busy’. That’s the excuse they have been giving the traffic police all this while.
The truth is also that though the dividers were put back a week after it was first broken, some miscreants removed it again (residents suspect auto drivers). After that, the divider has remained broken and the case is in suspended animation ever since. It is more than 60 days but there is no resolution to this problem.
There is some confusion over BBMP’s rule of 10 kilos or 50 units rule. Some apartment owners in Somasundrapalya are saying that they are using a commercial service provider even though they are less than 20 units. BBMP sources in HSR Ward say that such cases are happening in the neighbouring 190 ward of MG Palya.
Resident activist Kavitha Reddy believes that this idea of having separate vendors for commercial and domestic users by the BBMP is a money-making racket to inflate costs of waste collection. “It’s a totally stupid idea. My point is if two vehicles are coming on the same road, one to collect from houses and another to collect from apartments, it sounds silly.”
“We have to wait and see the final proposal,” says resident S Sankar. “Earlier, it was considered as 50 units and above. But again at ward wise, 20 units and above is given to an exclusive vendor by the corporator. I am not sure if this will be continued or do we have to opt for approved vendors from BBMP. If that’s the case, the apartment owners might have to pay more.”
“In HSR, apartments that are close to 40 or above units are categorised as commercial if the garbage generated is above 10 kilos every day,” said HSR health inspector Vinodh GM. “This is only where the entire building is owned by one person as the garbage generated will be considered bulk. However, we do take garbage from flats independently owned by people.”
Apartments like 60-flat Aakruthi Silverline in Sector 2 are giving the waste to Hasiru Dala as they are categorised as bulk generators. Many more surrounding apartments like Mahaveer, Manar, and DSR Rainbow are also handing their waste to commercial garbage vendors, and have had no problems with them.
However, there is still some issue with the neighbouring Ward 190. “In apartments, no daily collection happens anyway. The wet waste and reject waste collection is only once in 2-3 days and dry waste is once a week,” says Sankar. “Sometimes, all goes together in the same vehicle. This is the state for the last one year. Much discussion was done and supervisor Vasu said that it’s corporator’s decision to have different vendors for 20 units and above. Either go with that or go with BBMP-approved vendor which is expensive. This is the state in many of the wards, and there is nothing new.”
BBMP officials say that if certain apartments are being categorised as commercial, it could also be because the segregation has not happened. “Commercial vendors take non-segregated waste and apartments find them more convenient,” said a BBMP official.
BIOGAS AND FERTILISERS
Is the commercial vendor sending the waste to Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC)? No, they send it to Carbon Masters, a city-based waste to energy startup in Doddaballapur & Malur. The Malur plant was shutdown due to some political interference, but it should re-open soon, according to our sources. “We send 5 tonnes of garbage every day from Ward 174 to the Doddaballapur unit,” says Vinodh.
The water purification unit installed at Agara Govt School
Biocon, B.PAC (Bangalore Political Action Committee) and HSR Layout’s Kaagaz Foundation have paid and installed water purification units in six government schools in and around HSR Layout. Only a few days ago, the sixth one was installed at the Agara Government School. All the logistics and planning was done by the HSR-based non-profit group.
A month ago, the units were installed in Govt PU College and Govt Degree College in HSR Layout. In the last week, the other schools got them too – Somasundrapalya Govt School, Bandepalya Govt School, Ellukunte Govt School and Agara Govt School. Each unit costed Rs 60,000, taking up the total cost of the installation to Rs 3.6 lakh.
There is quite a mixed reaction from people about the state government’s proposal for an elevated corridor in the city. While some advocate it vociferously, the others decry the proposal for being a crony capitalism model.
“The answer plainly is efficient public transport,” said one resident. “And, in that ‘the bus’, the most versatile of the modes, is today incapacitated by the archaic Contract Carriage Act, disallowing the genuine public (as different from the “public sector”) to come up with solutions – ZipGo being just one. Agreed civic activist Mukunda N: “Yes, it is right that the archaic contract carriage act is one of the main culprits. Because this commuter unfriendly act has a mafia that has developed under it. The bus owners are paying a hefty hafta to the transport department and the traffic police. These agencies have virtually formed a nefarious cartel leading to traffic hazards on a daily basis. BBMP cannot plan for a bus stand for these buses because it is illegal and therefore officially non-existent. This has been going on for more than a few decades. Needs cleaning up fast.”
Resident Radhakrishnan chimed in: “Most countries with an efficient public transport system also have an excellent road network. It is a pleasure to drive on those roads. However, the public transport is so good that one chooses to take it. One big factor that works in its favour is good last mile connectivity. So u can’t and should not curtail car usage. Instead make public transport the obvious choice. And at the same time ensuring a good and efficient road network for those choosing to use it. For me that is the way forward.”
Koramangala resident activist Nitin Seshadri had this to say: “Totally agree. Bangalore has about 1/3 of the road network it needs. Which means, we need roads and we need them quick. And since we can’t get them by widening unless we are prepared to acquire, demolish and inflict misery all around, the only choice is to go vertical. It’s not that the 35000 cr elevated roads we are talking about will be a silver bullet. But it’s a start. An important step forward. And it’s a step we should support.”
Nitin does not stop there. “We also have too many people reading from American and European hymnsheets,” he says. “Which is why the words like ‘induced demand’ and ‘car driven model’ get bandied about. We don’t have a single study showing induced demand in India. We don’t have a car driven model. At best we have a motor cycle model. (but as I said that sounds less sexy and won’t win invitations to seminars in New York, so our academics don’t want to go there !).”
HSR Layout’s civic activist RS Murthy says that the project conceived over a decade ago should be understood in the right perspective: “Activists must realise the advantages accruing in implementation of this project. All right-thinking Bangaloreans should welcome this decision of the state government. Posterity will remember this. Everyone of us have experienced the inconvenience due to chaotic traffic all over the city’s roads. I strongly feel that technical and design suggestions and changes can be resolved with the government across the table. The project must ensure safety and smooth traffic across Bangalore.”
Pushpa S has a divergent view on this: “Why not regulate the petrol guzzling, pollution compounding and traffic jamming private vehicles on our roads? Yes, we need roads for so many categories of road vehicles – including buses – but the elevated roads will only cater to the private car owners because of the very nature of their construction! Of course, speedy improvement in public transport – Metro, Surburban Trains, Regular and Dependable Bus Service – are the projects that must be prioritized. After which, as in the other countries, people will prefer to use public transport because it will be less nerve-racking, more comfortable and more convenient and, finally, less expensive, too! That’s the way to go, but it doesn’t mean that those who are aged and infirm will be prevented from using their personal vehicles at all. It’ll just mean that the numbers of pollution-producing vehicles will be brought down, and the resultant air pollution levels will allow us to live reasonably disease-free lives.”
But R Ravindra disputes this: “On what basis do you say that only pvt vehicles will use the elevated roads? On the elevated road to electronics city, on Hosur road, all categories of vehicles except for autorickshaws use this road. Do only private cars fuel guzzle fuel or cause pollution? If that is a valid argument, then all vehicles, public or private should be drastically reduced on our roads. But that’s obviously not possible. Helicopters as private vehicles are a soft target, hence they are relentlessly hammered. But they are hardly the elephant in the room! Incidentally, taxis and autorickshaws are also public transport. In Bangalore, Ola and Uber – to name just the biggies – contribute hugely to public transport.”
There is news that buses which have a carrying capacity of about 16 times (average) that of a private car cannot use these corridors. But nothing is concrete yet. Says Ravindra: “There have been suggestions that buses be allowed on these elevated roads, with appropriate bus bays/ stops, with access to grade level below. Its improbable that there will be kilometres-long elevated roads in both the axes of the city and buses not be allowed on them. It will be hugely unpopular and governments are populist if nothing else. I think it is but fair to let the Karnataka government unveil its detailed plans for improvement of road infrastructure, examine its pros and cons in a pramatic manner before making pronouncements.”
But architect Naresh Narasimhan doesn’t think buses will be allowed on this corridor. “Buses need to stop every 1.5-2 kms (like metro), but that means a up/down ramp or an ugly elevated station( a la Metro)… it will never happen,” he says.
Gayatri Kapur had another take on this: “Buses from point to point on elevated roads is not a bad thing … if we can get from Silk Board to Hebbal in 30 min by bus, many would gladly use it instead of the car, but if the bus stops every 1.5-2km on the corridor, and it takes 1.5-2 hours, then how many will drop private cars?” And this is precisely why some residents feel that buses should not be allowed to have so many stops on the corridor, if they are allowed at all.
Nitin says, “This thought process of #beda (saying ‘no’) all the way is regressive. Build the infra. Stop further IT parks and large buildings in Bangalore. Build public transport and then disincentivize.”
Ravindra agrees to this by saying, “Absolutely. Go the Mysuru way – they didn’t become Bangalore’s clone and hence Mysuru is still a livable city.”
With arguments coming both in favour and against the elevated corridor project, the residents are asking the government to thrash out the differences, get the best experts from both sides and have a neutral jury to give their verdict on this proposal. Suffice it to say that the venerable Indian Institute of Science has questioned the usefullness of the project. Not to mention, the environmental impact of erecting a 102-kilometre six-lane elevated corridor criss-crossing the city. The argument continues while the people suffer from traffic chaos and ‘moderate’ pollution levels across the city.
UPDATE, Feb 21, 2020: After more than a year of sitting over this issue, and a change in government, the elevated corridor project is again being talked about in the corridors of power. And again, the same argument continues. According to the IISc study, extending the Metro is more feasible than the elevated corridor as it will lose its value within five years with the increase in its carrying capacity, if 6.67% traffic growth rate is taken into account.
The other day, HSR resident Suresh Bhaskaran’s car was damaged due to an errant auto driver. Captured on CCTV, it clearly shows him colliding with his white car neatly parked in front of his house. His wife is also seen in the video. Before she could raise a voice, the auto driver takes a U-turn and flees.
Says Suresh: “The auto rickshaw fellow was probably looking into his mobile navigation and crashed into our parked car. Sensing that only my wife was there, he just drove away.” He has also lodged a police complaint. However, even though the act was captured on CCTVs, the number plate was not traceable due to the sun’s reflection. “The police officials advise that the moment such guys crash into your vehicles, you should take off their ignition key. I don’t think it’s practical with their rough behaviour. All I would say is that it is a thin line to be human, legal and ethical.”
