A SINKING FEELING FOR 'BRAND BENGALURU'

Little thought is being given to the problems that arose from the city's 'growth'

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For long-time residents of Bengaluru, it is beginning to feel like there is too much happening all at once. There are talks of extending Namma Metro to neighbouring cities. Work has started for a suburban rail network. The State government is busy pushing for a contentious network of tunnel roads to connect traffic-choked ends. And the civic body, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), is being split into multiple corporations with the hope that they will manage the city better.

Ironically, while these projects are being planned keeping the city's future in mind, there is little thought being given to existing problems, which arose out of Bengaluru's “growth”.

All it takes is for the sky to open up a few times for all that lies beneath the shine of ‘Brand Bengaluru’ to be exposed. For the motorists caught on dangerously waterlogged roads, the residents of layouts that are inundated after a few spells of rain, and the families of those who lost their lives in a flooded underpass or a tree fall, the statements of ministers promising removal of encroachments only provide a sense of déjà vu.