- At the outset, let’s make no mistake in acknowledging that the Silicon Valley of India, the Garden City of India, the pensioner’s paradise, and the startup capital of India, Bengaluru, is literally bursting at the seams vis-à-vis provisioning civic amenities and basic infrastructure expected from an inspirational city. Known for its salubrious weather, pleasant surroundings, lush green cover, dotted with lakes, and extremely friendly people, the city gladly welcomes whoever wishes to call the city their home with open arms. The information technology/biotechnology boom ensured Bengaluru and Karnataka gained name and fame within the country and established a permanent reference internationally. We were proud of what’s happened with Bengaluru, yet far. Or is it?
PC: LinkedIn
- However, the unabated, unplanned, and unprecedented growth/developments witnessed in the city’s demography/topography, with the mushrooming of IT/BT-related establishments, the pressure on the infrastructure is becoming increasingly untenable. The civic agencies tasked to ensure the basic amenities like clean air, potable drinking water, motorable roads, efficient law and order, security and safety aspects, and a friendly atmosphere attracting a myriad of investors/people have failed to live up to the expectations. Try as it may, the erstwhile BBMP has spectacularly failed to provide succour for the citizens when it mattered most. We are not asking for the moon, but has the administration ensured a decent motorable road for commuting?
PC: Deccan Herald
- The answer will be a resounding no. Agreed, the city is bursting at the seams with the perpetual influx of people thronging the city in search of greener pastures. Several globally renowned Big Tech and business conglomerates have called Bengaluru their home in the last few decades. The economy is bound to head north when investors make a beeline for the city, thereby also attracting the best of the talents to beseech. Unfortunately, while the economy appears to be sound, the commensurate amenities to ensure the honest tax-paying public are provided with some basic amenities, like motorable roads, are missing. The round-the-year torture of commuting on potholed roads has become a norm rather than an exception.
PC: The Indian Express
No wonder, the citizens of Bengaluru have become so cynical that any promises forthcoming from the political leaders will be sneered at. Of course, the political class is most adept at indulging in the blame game, but none of it is palatable to the commoners, who are becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of action on the ground. The woes of commuters become even more accentuated when the rain gods decide to arrive with full force. Water choking, flooding, and general chaos from even moderate rains mean the city comes to a standstill. The less said, the better about the traffic snarls, amid nonexistent roads compounded by the rains. Will the administration at least provide us with safe commutable roads? Is it asking for too much????
