Vasanth - your post ‘Using Technology the Right Way’ made good reading.

We can come up with umpteen reasons for the chaos that traffic is, but simply put, there is just one real core issue – the city is trying to cope with traffic loads for which it’s road network certainly was never designed nor envisaged. Despite having lost the battle time & again, all efforts so far have been to satisfy the ‘Car lobbies’, even at the expense of pedestrians, bicyclists & public transport users. Planning & Construction of the Metro rail is the only exception.Plans, policies & procedures that involve a multi-dimensional approach to seek long-term & permanent solutions have never materialized, though efforts have been made.

 

Arkavathi had origins in the Nandi Hills. After a journey of 190 kms around Bangalore it joined the Cauvery at the Sangama in Kanakapura district. Vrushbhavathi was a tributary of the Arkavathi. Arkvathi had a catchment area of 4351 sq. kms from where it collected water.

Both Doddaballapura and Ramanagara depend on Arkavathi, not to mention numerous villages. In 1894 Bangalore first ran out of water from within its boundaries. Then they built two reservoirs on the Arkavathi - the Hesaraghatta reservoir(1894) and the Thippagondanahalli reservoir(1933). Even to this day Arkavathy supplies 20% of Bangalore's water supply.

Like the rest of the peninsular rivers, Arkavathy was never a Brahmaputra. During summers, Arkavathy would reduce to a trickle. Yet was a time when, even in summers, you could get water at 4 meters below ground in any of the 30000 wells in its basin. Now there is no river even in the rainy season. But now, Arkavathy is dead. Maybe not, but Arkavathi is atleast in coma.