It has been a rather uneasy transition for Bangalore from “pensioner’s paradise” or “garden city” to the information technology capital of India.
Longtime residents often complain of immigrants from other parts of the country ruining their paradise. Such complaints have been common in Mumbai, which has witnessed waves of immigration since the 1950s, but Bangalore old-timers tend to blame the city’s problems on the “IT fellows”.
It’s fair to say the city’s infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with the growing population. Traffic jams, as everywhere in the world, are incredibly annoying and travelling in Bangalore makes one wonder what exactly inspired Thomas Friedman to sing praises of this city in “The World is Flat”.
The much-maligned metro rail project is blamed for turning the city into an ugly mess. Gone are many of the broad tree-lined avenues and pretty neighbourhoods that gave the city a small town feel.
But isn’t the very existence of a metro system going to help people avoid the traffic in the future? Residents of Bangkok used to complain about the construction work on the sky rail and the elevated roads. Now, the toll roads and the sky rail are the pride and joy of Thailand’s capital.
In its zeal to become a global city, Bangalore should look eastwards. Kuala Lumpur, for example, has changed beyond recognition in the last ten years. This was a city which had a major problem with cockroaches before its makeover.
Auto drivers in Bangalore tend to overcharge and many of them have tampered meters. But there is a new air-conditioned bus service that connects many parts of the city to its centre.
There are also some good taxi operators offering air- conditioned cabs. But one would never know it by talking to the residents.
Bangalore’s problem could just be the impatience of its residents or maybe their whining nature. The city is polluted and congested but surely India’s other metros are as bad, if not worse. I for one would love to have a “quit complaining” movement in this city.
For years, everybody grumbled about how bad, ugly and outdated the airport was. And then came the new and modern airport (which some say paid more attention to the needs of retailers than passengers) — one that was spacious and visually appealing.
But this being Bangalore, the whining brigade started complaining about how far the airport is from the city.
[PHOTO: Women walk past an elevated highway under construction in Bangalore in this May 8, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Arko Datta/Files]
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I have lived in Bangalore for 20 years and I can vouch for the fact that anti-outsider sentiment is nothing new. (It doesn’t mean I don’t like the place or the people)
The complaints used to be against the Tamils and Muslims who “came here in droves” and as the IT industry set up shop, the focus primarily shifted to North Indians. Anybody who is from the north of Karnataka is classified as a North Indian.
Expnsion, development and the outsourcing industry are here to stay. Those who miss the quiet place with the nice weather can shift to Coorg or the Nilgiris.
- Posted by LalbaghEveryone loves their City and it is quite understandable that Bangalore denizens are upset about their city’s present state of affairs. But going by some of the reader comments, one begins to wonder their real cause of discontentment. Which factor worries them the most? Are they upset about the creaking infrastructure or the influx of immigrants? Just blaming the immigrants or “foreigners” for all the ills will not solve any problems. London and Paris have attracted far wider variety of immigrants (including many Indians) than Bangalore. But still, those cities’ infrastructure has not collapsed. Instead they have become better. A case in point: London’s population is about 14 million and its density is 4,761 people per square kilometre. Paris houses about 12 million people and its population density is 25,360 per square kilometre. And the population continues to rise in those cities. In comparison Bangalore’s population is 6.5 million and its density is 8,321 per square kilometre. Paris is denser than Bangalore, yet it is regarded as the most beautiful city in the world. I understand that Bangalore was never a “metro”. But it is not a village either. I also understand that both London and Paris too have issues with immigrants. But in their case immigrants are actual foreigners — i.e., people from Africa and South Asia. A typical Londoner will not call someone from Warwickshire an immigrant. Whereas here in this blog, some of the commentators have chosen to describe their fellow Indians hailing from other parts of India as “immigrants”. Is it because they speak a different language? If that is the case then what happened to our nation’s proud motto of “Unity in Diversity”? India is a mosaic of diverse cultures, languages, customs and beliefs, and we all need to appreciate this cultural conglomeration. What we need is a strong government with a world-class vision, which can meticulously plan and execute infrastructure projects. We don’t lack in money but we lack in vision. Instead of blaming each other for our present sorry state of affairs, let us all put our heads together and figure out how to save this beautiful city from collapsing totally.
- Posted by skspWho cares if someone complains about something ? this is india. If you wanna live stay calm and live or else leave the place or the country nothing is going to change because someone doesnt like something.
- Posted by SrikanthIf the residents of Bangalore have to brave the metro construction, the least that can be done is planned detours to make traffic woes bearable.
At this time, the traffic is allowed to \’flow\’ anywhere, including having to deal with cranes and forklifts to/from the construction sites. This is just one example of man-made \’obstructionism\’ that compounds Bangalore traffic.
Normally we take everything in our stride. It is unfair to call us Bangaloreans whiners — this time, we cant see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Perhaps the author can make suggestions to ease the current situation instead of pointing at pies in the sky?
- Posted by MC