BENGALURU : Bengaluru has always been an ideal city. There is nothing to complain about. The city has the perfect weather, food and people. When it comes to drawbacks, every city is flawed. Six months ago, if I had to list out problem points in the city, I would have spoken about its traffic or pollution. But as a small silver lining of the pandemic, these issues have been sorted. The residents are currently breathing fresh air, traffic is under control and people are taking care of the cleanliness also, since it is need of the hour.
However, there are small things that I wish could have changed. I see a lot of illegal constructions. I don’t necessarily mean encroachment on a big scale but even small things like constructing houses that have more than three floors or even constructing 15-17 storey buildings can affect the demography and temperature of the city. Earlier, everyone had a small garden for themselves but now, most houses are constructed end-to-end. People should understand that these are the reasons why the city is being termed a concrete city.
Another thing I have seen is that people have a huge problem following rules. Though traffic rules have started getting stricter, which is a good thing, the traffic police must maintain the same enthusiasm throughout the year, not just in phases. For example, I recently paid a fine for breaking a traffic rule unintentionally. The incident happened in 2018 and I had almost forgotten it. Traffic police should be prompt in closing cases and not let them pile on.
SOLUTION: I have seen, mostly among Indians, that we like to be spoon fed, we should leave that attitude and take ownership. For example, Silk Board is an infamous traffic signal in the city. There is always a traffic cop standing to guide the traffic but the moment he is not there, people start jumping signals. People should follow rules because they are not supposed to be broken. We must follow the rules for our own safety, not because somebody is watching us.
Let your mixed feelings about Bengaluru get stirred up, as an influential person talks about things nice and nasty about the city in this weekly column