Once every month this BWSSB truck comes in and cleans out the septic tanks in the area. All the dirt and the grime are cleaned out and put on the road in a heap. It is then the work of the BBMP cleaners to clear that mess. This has led to many showdowns between the two, the latest being this morning when the two almost came to blows.

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"

The Hindu carried an interesting story today.

Says K.C. Ramamurthy, Inspector-General of Police and Additional Police Commissioner, “Someone plans the road width, someone sanctions building plans. The traffic implications are dealt by us”.

There was an absolute necessity to involve traffic police at the planning stage itself. Ameen to that. Some more

... About 35 per cent of an entire road length in the city was occupied for parking. “With the number of vehicles growing exponentially, we still have not thought of adequate parking space,” he said. Mr. Ramamurthy said that a person must be able to provide proof that he could afford to and owned the space to park his vehicle. “Only then must he be allowed to own a vehicle,” he said. Government offices where the public did not visit often could be shifted away from the centre of the city, schools could be started early so that traffic burden was eased and building of new truck terminals could be considered as solutions, Mr. Ramamurthy added.