Citizens band together for a better Bangalore

Join the ‘Citizens for Bengaluru’ Facebook group and do your bit

By NIRMALA G

A group of civic activists and members of residents welfare associations have teamed up to form Citizens for Bengaluru (CfB). The CfB volunteers went to the BBMP council last month to hand over the citizens’ manifesto and interact with several corporators. “The manifesto was received positively by most of them, some were highly appreciative of our work and assured that our inputs are critical to them and will be considered for the party manifesto,” says Srinivas Alavilli of CfB. “One of the corporators wasn’t too happy that we stopped the steel flyover and refused to accept our manifesto.” Another not so happy corporator said, “We have our own manifesto, why do we need yours?”

One of the female corporators appreciated the demand to “stop MLA interference” and said that is one of the biggest issues they are facing. “We believe in grassroots democracy and feel that Corporators must play a major role in shaping the agenda for the city and hence this political outreach is very important,” says Alavilli. “Let’s get our political class to pay attention to citizens’ demands and be aware that our vote will depend on their response.”

That’s not all. On May 5th, a public meet is being held at Town Hall to send a strong message that “voters will make this election about the issues faced by Bengaluru and the agenda for Bengaluru, not petty politics.” Added Alavilli: “The basic concept of the event is a mock poll where voters will exercise their right to vote. We expect to see long lines waiting to cast their ballot and this is our primary work to mobilise thousands to come there.”

The group is also enlisting celebrities to help create awareness. The idea is to bring many different civic organisations on a common platform and hold this as a citizen event by all.

Join their Facebook Page
If you believe a citizens’ movement like CfB is worth contributing to and more and more people should become part of something like this, join the ‘Citizens for Bengaluru’ Facebook group.

CfB volunteers discovered over the last 18 months (since #SteelFlyoverBeda) that they can make a dent in governance by showing up in large numbers. “Whether at the human chain or rail yatra or at BBMP council or party office, numbers matter,” says Alavilli. “We need numbers going into the last few weeks before the election, so citizens’ voice can become the front and centre of this election, not the usual divisive agendas and unproductive discussions that make no difference to our city and state.”