Rains sink Bengaluru while the govt counts pennies, time for rebellion

If the struggles of everyday life in Bengaluru aren't bad enough with garbage, roads, electricity and public health, the large-scale disruption caused by a city inadequately prepared for heavy rains makes life even more challenging for lakhs of residents of our city.

Scenes of dinghies and submerged cars should be enough to make even the most thick-skinned and insensitive in the administration and government cringe in shame.

Long-suffering residents and commuters took to social media and made the hashtag #CitizenStranded trend with messages like “Awkward moment when Google maps show walking is the fastest mode to reach your destination in Bangalore“; “Can someone from Karnataka Govt tell us where did all those trillions of rupees BBMP spent, go?“

Many are predictably angry. I am angry too with more reason to be because I have repeatedly warned against the looming threat of our city becoming unlivable that it is very probable that a Chennai like disaster, which incidentally was referred to as a government-made disaster last year, is waiting to happen to Bengaluru.

Rampant construction on wetlands and illegal encroachment of storm water channels along with underinvested underground drainage system pose serious threats to lives, homes, environment, water table, health of residents of a rapidly growing Bengaluru ­ with a population that has grown by 30 lakh in the last decade alone.

I have for long highlighted and fought about the structural issues that are driving our city's decline ­ the deliberate lack of planning, rampant corruption, lack of accountability of public money and a general lack of accountability to the people of Bengaluru by the government and administration.

These are the real issues that are causing repeated crises and challenges to the people who call our city home. And as many vision groups or cosmetic road make-overs the government may have ­ the mal-governance and corruption needs addressing if we are to restore and protect our city from a terminal, irrecoverable decline.

Why the government prefers cozy vision groups

The last few days cap a long record of dismal and pathetic governance failures on the part of this government. That the present government is demonstrating bad faith towards Bengaluru is no longer in dispute. They took months to notify the implementation of the new strict guidelines by National Green Tribunal for construction around lakes and wetlands.

Misplaced priorities and lack of accountability towards citizens is a rule rather than exception. The constitutionally mandated Metropolitan Planning committee was formed only after pressure.

This piece first appeared in Bangalore Mirror. The author is a Rajya Sabha MP

 Rajeev Chandrasekhar is the chairman of Jupiter Capital, which has investments in Asianet News Network Private Limited that publishes  Asianet Newsable.