'Everything SeemsOut Of Control'

When I moved to Bangalore from Bombay in 1971-72, it was a great city to livein. Roads would get deserted by 7 pm. One could reach areas like Basavanagudi, which isabout 10 km from my house in Malleswaram, in just 20 minutes and that too during peakhour. Today, it takes between 45 minutes and one hour. Slums have sprung up in almostevery locality. Roads and the local public transport have become grossly inadequate andthe piles of garbage an eyesore . The city’s infrastructure seems to be bucklingunder the pressure of the burgeoning population. Though Bangalore is gifted with pleasantweather, vehicles spewing out smoke have made it unbearable. Everything seems to be goingout of hand.

Thousands of people are literally living on the pavements. These people go indoors onlyto sleep or when they need some privacy, the rest of the day the entire family is out onthe streets. Most localities in the city have become mini-towns and include several slumpockets. Bangalore has become a mega-city of mini-towns and slums.

The same is the case with all major cities in the state, be it Belgaum or Mangalore,but the degrees may vary. In fact, I have been considering moving out of Bangalore once mydaughter’s education reaches a level when our presence would no longer be requiredhere. My wife and I frequently discuss how it is no longer tolerable to live in the city.I think the solution lies in Gandhiji’s "Back to the Villages" call. Thoughwe may not move to a rural place, a semi-rural town is very tempting.

Ironically, these developments were foreseen by the previous Janata Dal governmentheaded by Ramakrishna Hegde. I believe it would have been possible to handleBangalore’s growth if the plans made then had been implemented. But in the five yearsfrom 1989 when the Congress ruled the state, none of these plans were implemented. Allthree chief ministers— Veerendra Patil, Bangarappa and Veerappa Moily— failed topay attention to Bangalore. During those five years, the monsoon was good and the statefaced no shortages. But they never got down to administering the state and politicsovertook administration and governance. The result was that Bangalore has suffered a greatdeal.

It is not as if solutions don’t exist. Bombay was a bigger mess till the creationof New Bombay, which reduced the congestion there considerably. Even Bangalore needssatellite towns. In fact, four satellite towns were planned in the mid-’80s. But therich rushed to these areas and bought most of the available land. The middle and lowerclasses now cannot afford to shift there. People tend to inhabit a place which isaffordable and where civic amenities are provided. So with increasing migration, thepressure on localities within the city is tremendous and slums have come up.

Interestingly, my brother (Shankar Nag) and I in 1987 had proposed to solve the housingshortage in Bangalore. The project, based on Austrian technology, comprised theconstruction of small houses with pre-fabricated concrete blocks, which made the housesturdy, and fire and earthquake-proof. A house of about 800 sq ft then cost barely Rs50,000. But the project never really took off due to vested interests. The model houseswhich were constructed then still stand strong. I don’t think anyone has come up witha better solution to remove slums. All this talk of liberalisation and privatisation isjust that, talk.

Liberalisation,  surprisingly, has not brought in as many investors in theinfrastructure sector in India as those with an eye to the lucrative markets here. Outletslike Kentucky Fried Chicken come up in no time as business prospects are very attractive.So willy-nilly, it becomes the duty of the government to get things done. Though beset bya resoure crunch, it has to look for finances before undertaking infrastructuredevelopment.

And there isn’t much time. Unless the problems are taken up on a warfooting, thesituation will only worsen. Slums need to be removed and the people living thererelocated. This is not impossible, keeping in view the space available. Some time ago,slum-dwellers on Miller Road were relocated without a tear being shed or a lathi beingraised. But first we have to stop thinking about votes.

The housing shortage can be tackled by growing vertically — building high-riseapartments. But Kannadigas will always prefer an independent house to ana partment as theyare used to open spaces. We’ve bought a flat in Malleswaram but haven’t beenable to move in there as I cannot get used to the idea of living in an apartment. So, forthe people to have independent houses and to move away from the city, revolutionarychanges have to be brought in the public transport sector. Mobility is discouraged withthe public transport system in a bad shape. I am not hopeful of the Light Rail MRTSproject becoming a reality in my lifetime. Private operators must be allowed to runservices in the city. It is not possible for the state transport corporation or privateoperators to cater to Bangalore’s local transport needs individually. We need both.

Besides, the Ring Road has to be completed and flyovers are needed. The presentgovernment has shown its concern and there is a sudden surge of interest. But people alsoseem to realise they cannot depend solely on the government to solve their problems. Theyare beginning to organise themselves into groups. A few groups are already handlinggarbage clearance in some areas. While approvals have been given to new power projects,things can change only when these are handed over to large companies. It is our ill-luckthat the monsoons failed us this time. Dependence on the city corporation, the BDA or thePWD will only lead to stagnation. But, I am hopeful as we still have people with vision.

(The writer is an actor and an MLA representing  Malleswaram in Bangalore City)