Blogs

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’.

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.

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.

Recently, on the BMRC website, they have posted a feasibility study of extension of Metro rail from RV Road to Banashankari Bus Station. Will this be helpful in anyway?

It is the season of big plans, UP has announced a staggering 1000kms of 8 lanes expressway running the entire length of the state from east to west. Not to be outdone, inspired by a CII proposal for a Mumbai-Bangalore-Chennai high speed freight corridor, the KA state government has tossed in the idea for a high speed passenger corridor in KA, that'll do Bangalore-Hubli in 2 hours, Bangalore-Mysore in 40 minutes. This, apparently, is the "Just In Time" concept to de-congest Bangalore.

With BIAL well on its way, here is a look at what to expect. Some images and walkthroughs.

How interesting to see different media houses use varying headlines to describe one same PriceWaterhouseCooper (PWC) survey on Bangalore city and governance.

- "We're to blame for city's woes" says Times of India Bangalore

- "Bangaloreans rue city governance" goes NDTV

- "B'lore citizens seek better urban governance" went the source at PTI

Here are some interesting notings from this PWC survey:

You must have missed this ad BBMP put in newspapers 2 weeks ago. It is an aggressive sounding notice talking about unauthorized hoardings and signboards:

"As per the rules ... exhibitors of illegal advertisements ... banners ... are punishable. Action will be taken against ... by lodging FIR at ... police stations"