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Should MG Road area be pedestrianized?

A peak into what the some of the authorities think about an issue that we have been discussing here at praja. We have been discussing a hypothetical test case to see how metro would work - say you come to MG road by metro then how do you move around the area then. say to commercial street, magrath road etc etc... So I thought it was exciting that some officials were discussing the same problem and with the same area as a test case.

Bangalore and Ribbon Development

Bangalore's peripheral areas all messed up? Blame it on Ribbon Development. Let me introduce you to a term very relevant to the congested sprawl that our city is witnessing. Simply put, Ribbon Development means building shops and houses along the roads radiating from a town. If you were to look at Bangalore from the skies and track recently laid or widened major arterial roads leading out of the city, you would notice that almost all big ticket construction/development happens solely along (rather right on top of) these roads.

Do me another favor. When on the periphery of Bangalore, try take a left or right out of any big radial road. This is most likely what you would see [pictures below]. Pathetic roads, poor quality of construction and even narrower streets if you were to venture into a "layout".

Its a Shrinking World

Even as working mothers at EC complain of not being able to spend time with their new borns, KA Govt's incessant, relentless attack on BMIC, gives a whole new meaning to the phrase "its a shrinking world".

If last week it was Global Infrastructure Consortium and its monorail, this week its, I'm kidding you not, Asian Infrastructure Consortium, headed by a Malaysian monorail company! Even before you can say Swiss Challenge, within one week, HDK's KA govt has come up with a whole new proposal and a whole new petition.

Do blogs also need to be marketed ?

With a horde of blogs competing with each other for attention, they need some kind of marketing. This is necessary not only for retention but also to attract new ideas from more people.

DLF to build a 'new Bangalore' at Bidadi !

Looks like DLF is all set to translate BMRDA's satellite town vision into reality. As per today's newspapers, BMRDA is going to award the contract for building a Knowledge City at Bidadi to DLF. The project involves an investment of Rs 60000 crores!! Here are some interesting snippets pulled out from the media reports this morning:

Bangalore Metro Phase 1 Extensions

The TOI is reporting that BMRC has decided to add another 8 kms to the existing 33 kms of phase 1 of Bangalore Metro.

The middle-class slums?

Literally no peace or silence. Hear it all loud and clear when any of your neighbors talk. So called 'individual' houses, most of them joined with one another at hips. No air or space between them. 8 to 10 feet wide roads (practically speaking), dotted with cars, and cobwebbed with cables of all sorts - tv, telephone and electricity in that order.

BMIC - Supreme Court questions notification inviting global bids

So, as was expected by most, Supreme Court questions BMIC notification inviting global bids:

"The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the Karnataka Government for issuing a notification inviting global bids for the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project when there was a specific direction issued in April 2006 to the State and to Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE) to complete the project expeditiously."

New airport - more aerial shots

For whatever it is worth, recently when a flight presented an opportunity, I tried some photos of the upcoming Bangalore Airport (BIAL). The results? Nothing too good, but here they are. And sorry, couldn't manage to shoot the approach roads. Next time and more aerial pics soon.

PRR Phase I

Work on the first phase of the Peripheral Ring Road (PRR), aimed to decongest Bangalore, would start in mid-October after STUP Consultants, the agency chosen to chalk out the design, submitted the detailed project report, said M.K. Shankaralinge Gowda, Commissioner, Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), here on Saturday.

BMIC Fresh Global Tenders

The ongoing tussle between the State Government and Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), promoters of the Bangalore-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, has taken a new turn with the Government floating global tenders to take over the controversial project under the ‘Swiss challenge’.

Choked Bangalore - Heart of the matter?

The best piece of news I have heard this month came last week. It goes "BBMP to book crook engineers". Its something we all know and suspect to be true for ever now, and the plan to break the so called 'nexus' is ambitious:

"BBMP will book the engineers of the erstwhile CMCs and TMC who have sanctioned projects on storm water drains, valleys, in agricultural lands etc. ... Taking a serious note of rampant violation of zoning regulations and building bylaws, the BBMP ... will trace these officials ... and recommend action against them ... In the wake of demolitions being carried out across the city, the BBMP has stumbled on several cases where engineers have encouraged encroachments in exchange for kickbacks running into lakhs of rupees."

Not that we haven't heard similar language before, but there is an interesting twist to BBMP's threat this time.

CDP: Anticipating Growth

With the new Comprehensive Development Plan - Master Plan 2015 - allowing commercial development in residential areas depending on road width, an area of 55 sqkm across the city has been earmarked for mixed land use. Residential areas with roads more than 60 feet wide will see commercial establishments emerging. While commercial space in some of these roads has already been developed, other connecting roads too will see hectic development shortly.

Major roads of more than 60 ft width in various localities in the city:

Banashankari: Kathriguppa Main Road, Puttana Chetty Road, Uttarahalli Main Road, Puttenahalli Main Road, Ittamadu Main Road, Pipeline Road, and Bugle Rock Road.

Benson Town: Millers Road, St John's Road, Mosque Road, and Coles Road.

Jayanagar: R V Road, Pattalamma Street, K R Road, Kanakapura Road, B P Wadia Road, Lalbagh Fort Road, and South End Road.

Questions about MRTS Bangalore

Hi! My letter to be sent to BMRCL is as follows - please review & advise your comments, thanks.
Pertaining to the Metro & Mono-Rail for Bangalore, I request you to please advise me on the following queries that I have under the RTI Act.

Don't just be the change, mass-produce it...

What does it mean to : "Be the Change, we want to see." Many of us grapple with this advice, so did Pranav (Silkboard) and I, when we recently met. Alex Steffen at worldchanging.com goes a step further and applies it to our present context: "If our world is really looking down the barrel of environmental catastrophe, how do I live my life right now?” asked an email I got recently.
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