Whitefield residents hit the streets in massive protest against poor infrastructure
Bengaluru: Whitefield turned into a sea of black on Monday as commuters and residents hit the streets protesting against BBMP for turning a deaf ear to their pleas for better civic amenities, efficient traffic management and more transport facilities.
‘My tax and my vote have failed’ shouted the protesters, who were close to 10,000. They included techies, residents, children and even the elderly who made no secret of their anger and anguish over the pathetic infrastructure in Whitefield. Around 5,000 people gathered in ITPL alone to extend support to the protest.
Many techies took half day’s leave from work to participate in the rally. An IT professional said, “We paid Rs 28,000 crore in taxes, it is a shame that we do not even have basic infrastructure in place. When as a diligent citizen, I am paying my taxes on time, I want better roads.”
Rituparna Maji, a resident of Whitefield pointed out, “When a 75-yr-old senior citizen walks 2.5 kms and stands for 1.5 hours in a protest against crumbling infrastructure, one can guess how serious the problem is. I am proud of my father, Manoj Maji, for doing his bit to save Whitefield.”
Voicing a similar opinion, Zibi from Whitefield Rising said, “A woman stopped me and asked if I was one of the organisers and said this protest was too peaceful. She said the next time we protest, we should break into Vidhana Soudha. This is the kind of frustration a mother experiences when her hungry child takes 3-4 hours to reach home after school.” People assembled at seven locations for the protest which culminated at ITPL.
As the campaign of #Save Whitefield started gaining momentum, BBMP officials took to the streets to fill the potholes but yet again a temporary solution and a shoddy job. Commuting to and fro Whitefield is definitely not a trip that anybody will enjoy considering it takes one hour to travel a kilometer, on an average. While roads and footpaths are not in place, infrastructure projects like commuter rail have not received any boost and those approved have been going at a snail pace.
The pool of people that gathered in ITPL on Monday is testimony to the growing frustration of common people and the apathy of civic agencies. Monisha K, a resident of Whitefield says, “My child travels in school every day. He is either reaching late to school or late to home after school due to the increasing traffic chaos. This has impacted not only his studies but also his health. I am worried for my child and that is why I am at ITPL to voice my anger against the authorities.”
Voicing a similar opinion Deba D, an IT professional said, “I prefer taking my two-wheeler and coming to office but I stopped doing so as I developed severe back pain due to the road. It is high time BBMP should wake up from their long sleep.”
While Kshiti Patil, an IT professional points out, “By no means should this protest be end of this story. This is just a start and our voice should grow louder and louder till the job is done. Our politician and authorities are insanely thick skinned so these types of protests are required to wake them up from their slumber.”
The gravity of the issue can be understood from the fact that the protest witnessed children and elderly too holding placards and standing for such a long time. There were children holding placard that stated-‘Help me find a road to school’, ‘Why am I being punished for your mistakes’. The atmosphere at ITPL was electrifying with techies coming out from their offices and joining in the protest.
‘Need to Create more access points’
Apparently due to the ongoing traffic situation, most of the companies take an exit from their current location when their lease term is over. The government failed to think about road connectivity while giving away these lands. Now experts like V. Ravi Chandar have suggested that multiple access points be created at these IT parks and access be allowed to private vehicles so that pressure on main roads can be reduced.
Ravi Chandar adds, “Whitefield and Outer Ring Road has large campus allotted and a result street grid is absent today in those localities. On any given day, from Eco-Space to reach Outer Ring Road, it takes 20-30 minutes. The same route is being used by the 70,000 working in the eco-space as well as those using the road any way and this builds up the traffic pressure. If more access is created, the pressure from the other roads can be reduced. Thus the IT companies then just have to think in terms of building security.”
Currently, not a single tech parks provide access to private vehicles through their campuses. In fact, there are many tech parks at various places of Bengaluru that connects two roads. As far as Whitefield is concerned urban expert R K Mishra says, “In Whitefield except Kalyani Tech Park there is no other tech park that joins two roads. If private vehicles are access through this IT park, pressure on Graphite India can be reduced.”
However, it is the government that has to do a proper survey as to creating multiple access points through these IT parks and also check as to which are the IT parks that can give access to private vehicles with immediate effect.
It has been said that the government has decided to formulate guidelines to ask tech parks to open up their campuses. The Urban Development Department is presently working on the guidelines, which will be notified after consultations with the tech parks and other tech firms.
Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.
