BANGALORE: I couldn’t make it to the Walk organized by Hasiru Usiru last Sunday, but friends who participated had a lot of good things to say about it. For starters, the agenda was not politically hijacked despite the presence of a local politician or two. And the participants in the Walk were as diverse as the causes they espoused. These included:
* A differently-abled man who wanted a little space and consideration for his wheelchair on the city’s roads.
* Bicyclists with a similar desire and an encapsulated message of conservation and minimalism.
* Tree-lovers who remind us that timber is the result of decades being sawed off. This group included a manager of a super-luxury hotel that recently lost a beloved banyan tree.
* Citizens with complaints of landencroachment by government bodies.
* Traders, especially those from CMH Road, who’re facing ruin and relocation due to the construction activities of the Namma Metro.
* Oldies, youngsters and even kids who’re liking the idea of carrying people power beyond the ballot box.
* NGO workers and those who breathe non-mainstream thoughts.
All put together, around 800 citizens walked from the Lalbagh West Gate to the Town Hall, protesting against the alleged highhandedness of the BBMP — the chief tree-felling outfit — and the apathy of present and past governments.
It being a Sunday, the protest did not cause any traffic jams, nor did it, I daresay, unsettle any bureaucrat or politician worth his bribe. After a brief exchange of opinions and slogans, the participants dispersed on the steps of the Town Hall, perhaps acutely aware that the movement needs a multi-fold growth in numbers to get a favourable political response.
Nevertheless, it’s nice to see such forums making their presence felt. It’s a sign that Bangalore is stirring — after all, public opinion has mattered so little in this city, never mind its unofficial status as the NGO capital of the country.
So at this stage, Walks, demonstrations, petitions and charters of demands are all great for the city. These tools could become stepping stones to a more participatory form of governance.
But one hopes that the strategies will be markedly different for the long haul.
Take for instance Hasiru Usiru’s observations about the Namma Metro — that it would cover only 5% of the population in the next 5 years, that it needs to be integrated with the bus services (which are the most cost-effective mode of transportation anyway), that the Metro could be placed who llyunder ground for a marginal increase in cost etc. While some of these ideas can be incorporated into future plans, it’s perhaps too late to consider others. So the focus of these groups must be on the former — the doable changes. Focusing on the latter will only push them further into the fringes. Also, each of these viable suggestions must be backed with concrete and detailed implementation plans — otherwise, it becomes so easy for the state machinery to ignore the suggestions. Simultaneously, the groups must Brand themselves such that the larger public will absorb their ideas and come to own them.
I know that my suggestions sound corporate, but I’ve learnt the hard way that those who follow their hearts must have precise minds.
Some proactive follow-ups in FM stations, catchy phrases in sponsored hoardings, a generous use of the Right to Information Act, a solid presence in online city forums and similar mechanisms should help. Pamphlets that provide thought-provoking, counterintuitive revelations such as “Widening roads will further aggravate the traffic situation” will only help so much. These should be distilled into simple messages (maybe something like More Road = More Traffic), something the aam udugas and udugis can latch on to.
But overall, it’s time to feel upbeat.
We’ve kissed the moon. The winter flowers are blossoming. And we’re on our way to make the city better.
They say that God is dead! No wonder we’ve not received the bill for solar power, wind energy, oxygenated air, tidal waves, fertile soil, rain water...
By Eshwar Sundaresan The writer is a full-time writer and author of Bangalored: The Expat story.This column is on things about Bangalore that gel, things that jar and everything in between eshwars@vsnl.net