Cycling on verge of extinction in India

asj - 26-DEC-2007

The West is promoting cycling increasingly but in India many small cities like Pune and Banglore are making it extinct.
The picture below says it all.

SEC's muddle

murali772 - 12-DEC-2007

Isn't it time that as important a task as preparation and maintenance of the electoral roles (and issuance of EPID cards), on which the success of the entire governance system rests, is out-sourced to professional agencies?

Better Bussing For A Green Bangalore

murali772 - 12-DEC-2007

There's no denying that the tree cover in Bangalore is being lost largely due to road widening. Road widening is necessitated due to unchecked growth and usage of private vehicles. To address this problem, you have to have excellent public transport services. METRO may be a solution. But, it is extremely expensive, and at best a solution in the long-term. BMTC cannot cope up with the needs, however much they may appear to have become efficient, which they are not and cannot be, as long as they continue to enjoy a monopoly status. The simple answer is to facilitate the entry of TVS kind of companies (my first exposure to TVS was as a bus service provider in the city of Madurai) into the fray. The present rules do not provide for that. It facilitates only the 'Sharma' kind of operations, which in turn only helps provide fodder for the die-hard opponents of the private sector.

Black City, Bangalore

tsubba - 9-DEC-2007

In traffic jargon a black spot is a locations in the city where accidents happen with regular frequency. The areas around such black spots are called black areas. A study by Sudhir and Akbar of Secon Pvt Ltd., reveals why Bangalore is a black city. Excerpts from that study ...

Better driving for Indians

admin123 - 19-OCT-2007

We at praja have been discussing a lot of topics related to traffic management and infrastructure. However, all said and done, with all the systems and infrastructure in place, the most critical aspect of road safety is still about everyone on the road driving responsibly. In a world where Indian driving has been notorious and even a matter of ridicule, there are still some folks out there who believe that the future can be improved by developing adequate awareness among the people.

We take pleasure in introducing you to one such commendable effort by Dr. Adhiraj Joglekar who has been developing educational videos on how to drive better and safe.

Bangalore and Ribbon Development

silkboard - 7-OCT-2007

Bangalore's peripheral areas all messed up? Blame it on Ribbon Development. Let me introduce you to a term very relevant to the congested sprawl that our city is witnessing. Simply put, Ribbon Development means building shops and houses along the roads radiating from a town. If you were to look at Bangalore from the skies and track recently laid or widened major arterial roads leading out of the city, you would notice that almost all big ticket construction/development happens solely along (rather right on top of) these roads.

Do me another favor. When on the periphery of Bangalore, try take a left or right out of any big radial road. This is most likely what you would see [pictures below]. Pathetic roads, poor quality of construction and even narrower streets if you were to venture into a "layout".

Questions about MRTS Bangalore

Naveen - 21-SEP-2007

Hi! My letter to be sent to BMRCL is as follows - please review & advise your comments, thanks.
Pertaining to the Metro & Mono-Rail for Bangalore, I request you to please advise me on the following queries that I have under the RTI Act.

Monorail as a solution for narrow roads

blrsri - 19-SEP-2007

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SydneyMonorail2_gobeirne.jpg Notice the pillar that the rail is built on..and the rails itself..its neat and the best solution for narrow roads like what we have in bangalore!

Whitefield and connectivity

silkboard - 9-AUG-2007

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When Marathahalli bridge construction work was in full swing (it still is), and we were struggling to cross the run-down work site, I was thinking about connectivity problems of this east-of-Bangalore suburb. When I say Whitefield, I mean the whole Mahadevpura, Hoody, ITPL, Whitefield, RG Halli, Brookfields, Kundalahalli region.

Lanes, Are They Useful?

tsubba - 2-AUG-2007

Can lane discipline really reduce traffic jams? Are lanes of any use? Given how things are, not as they are designed, and not unless they put some thought to it.