Editor’s Note

Where is the accountability from BBMP?

Physician, heal thyself

Bangalore has been in the news lately, for all the wrong reasons. The incessant rains leading to flooding of low-lying localities has brought the focus back on the abysmal state of the city’s storm water drainage system. Crores of rupees of the honest taxpayers’ hard-earned money are supposedly spent on infrastructure every year by BBMP, and yet there seems to be no improvement. Which brings me to yet another pet peeve. While the government is quick to slap fines on citizens for every small issue – from not masking up, not wearing helmet, not using seat belt to a myriad other small things on the part of the common man, yet when it comes to taking accountability for its own pathetic infrastructure failures, there seems to be zero accountability. More than helmets, what will save people are proper roads without a gazillion potholes to be manoeuvred around. And proper pavements where one can actually walk without spraining a foot or getting down on the road after every few steps. Instead of announcing grandiose plans for new flyovers, first the authorities need to complete the many half-constructed ones languishing for years around town. Like the Koramangala flyover which has been in ruins since over a decade, with trees growing out of the debris, blocking the road space and an eyesore to boot. Point is, before pointing fingers at the public and penalising them for the smallest oversight, BBMP needs to first get its own house in order, pull up its socks and show some responsibility towards the people and the job they have been entrusted with. If the government takes accountability for their actions and nonactions, the citizens will automatically fall in line. A case of – Physician, heal thyself before trying to heal others.

SMITI JAIN NARAYAN

Consultant Editor

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