Know your neighbour: Transforming Bellandur is her mission

By Zahid H Javali

Kishori Mudaliar is a changemaker wearing many hats. She is the founder of Bellandur Jothege Foundation, a civil society organisation focussed on developing Bellandur, particularly pedestrianization. A communications and PR consultant by profession, Kishori is an electronics engineer by qualification, besides being a summertime Bharatanatyam dance teacher. Born in Mumbai, she was exposed to diverse experiences and mentors. “From then to now, a positive, outcome-based approach to life— one step at a time—is the bedrock of my personal philosophy,” she says. 

The roots of social change

From communications and PR to a changemaker, the transition was triggered when she lost her father at 14. “I was sensitized to circumstance, privilege, choice and necessity quite early in life,” says Kishori. “It taught me to take charge of my destiny and effect the outcomes I desired. The human will is a powerful thing. That event set me on the path to lead change with empathy, in small and big ways. Perhaps that was why I started my career as a journalist, leveraging my skills while telling real-life stories of impact on human lives.”

Pedestrian deaths catalysed her movement

What then led her to form Bellandur Jothege? “I believe each one of us is a change-maker in the realm of our neighbourhood,” she says. “As was I, when time allowed, while balancing work and home.”

What propelled her into championing for pedestrian safety was the death of a teenaged security guard, Sanjay Giri, while crossing the pedestrian unfriendly Outer Ring Road (ORR) outside her apartment. “By the time we took a U-turn to reach the hospital just 1km away (inaccessible on foot for lack of a skywalk) Sanjay had breathed his last,” she recalls. “He had just peeked over the median bushes to check if it was safe to cross, and was hit by a speeding cab.”

Overnight, the women of Akme Harmony and neighbouring apartments rallied together. They exhorted Kishori to take the lead in pressuring civic authorities to remedy the situation before more people died. “Just that August, I had conducted a Freedom2WalkSkywalk Poster Contest to highlight pedestrian safety concerns to our corporator,” she remembers. “It had been an accident waiting to happen. Every skywalk in this city is tainted with at least one pedestrian’s blood.”

Skywalk Beku campaign

After a mega Skywalk Beku campaign rally, supported by RWAs from across Bellandur, HSR Layout, and Koramangala, Bellandur Jothege (BJ) was founded on Dec 6, 2017. The Sanjay Giri Skywalk at Akme Harmony apartments was subsequently inaugurated on Feb 1, 2019 after a year’s relentless followup and meetings with Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP), Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL), interventions by MP PC Mohan and MLA Arvind Limbavali, and a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from BMRCL’s then MD Mahendra Jain. This paved the way for five more life-saving skywalks on ORR. BJ has since grown and now works on three pillars for social welfare: livability, inclusion and environment betterment. 

The USPs of Bellandur Jothege

According to Kishori, BJ’s key strengths are credibility, collaborative approach with stakeholders, and a structured “projects” style of functioning. “We are humbled and proud to have put pedestrians’ right of way on the city’s mobility and infrastructure agenda,” she says. “Today, we work with the Karnataka government, BBMP, BTP and our elected representatives on walkability, ward development and green mobility programs.”

Kishori’s success mantra is to have data-driven planning, strategic and focused efforts, collaborative dialogues, and good teamwork. Can change happen if she were an elected representative instead? “You can be a change-maker wherever you are,” she says. “All you have to be is in the position to influence.”

The latest campaign

While BellandurWalks, a community-sourced design and map, comprising a pilot pedestrian loop to decongest traffic to/from the SEZ cluster is BJ’s key project, walkability is their main goal. “We wish to encourage non-motorized, sustainable mobility systems in our ward, conducive to walking, over all else,” emphasizes Kishori. “Only the political powers that be can bring us walkability infrastructure. Unfortunately, non-motorised transport (NMT) projects in Bellandur simply do not get the required attention. I hope this changes. We don’t need just skywalks and footpaths. We need connected multi-modal mass transport systems.” 

Besides BellandurWalks, BJ is busy with its iMaskUp and iDisposeRight campaigns. The NGO also partners on demand with Janaagraha, CIVIC, Citizens for Bengaluru and Whitefield Rising.

The fight continues…

A sense of purpose drives most of us. For Kishori, that sense of purpose has manifested in the founding of Bellandur Jothege. “Bellandur, a ward of contrasts, can truly be transformed from a ‘halli’ to a ‘planned, developed’ ward if there is political will,” says Kishori. Besides that, she advocates citizen participative governance through ward committees.

When not working, Kishori loves reading and travelling with family and friends. She has begun balcony gardening to her dog’s delight. “He is making salad days a weekly special, grazing on sprouts and herbs,” she laughs.