Bangalore- A citizen's critical view..

Tank Bund breached

After several decades of standing strong the bund on M G Road (now called a boulevard/ promenade) is coming down to make way for the piers to support the overhead tracks of the upcoming Bangalore Metro.

While it is hoped that the Metro will help ease Bangalore's traffic congestion slightly, what will be lost is a monument of Bangalore's history.

The bund according to history was constructed to separate the adjacent lake from the then South Parade. This bund flourished over the years with added vegetation and trees that acted as a carbon sink as well as an area that helped rain water seep through the earth to recharge the ground water table. Once the Metro towers over this area and though the bund maybe reconstructed in an albeit smaller form, it will be hidden from above by a huge concrete structure radiating heat and the loss of trees will only aid in increasing the ambient temperature in surrounding areas. Also chances of rainwater seeping into the earth in that area will be much reduced. Need the reader be reminded that the water table level in Bangalore in some areas is reducing at the rate of a meter a month!

Unfortunately the cries of anguish from the public that have just awakened are too late, as they come to realise that one more green monument of Bangalore is biting the dust. The only reminder that a tank bund existed in the vicinity will be the name of a shop on the commercial side of M G Road- Lakeview.

Plans are afoot to cut down more trees along major roads- around 300 trees in all. Will protests come once more after they are gone?

Labels: bangalore, BMRC, bougainvillea, boulevard, bund, lake, M G Road, metro, mgroad, promenade

posted by Sunil Pichamuthu @ 2:32 AM
View Profile | View Main Page | View Photos | Go to Top 9 comments

Dog Bytes

Amid the rising heat comes news of dogs running wild, and turning their canines to bear on tender human flesh amid the lanes and bylanes of Bangalore.

Opportunisitic NGOs and people come out in defence of stray dogs or against them.

Amid claims that mass killing of dogs will not help, it is clear that the ABC in its current form atleast hasn't worked in the dog's favour nor to the citizen's advantage.

Clipping the ears is said to be proof of a stray dog having undergone a birth control operation. Though one can only verify that by physically examining the dog. That doesn't prevent a dog from attacking a human though they claim the aggressiveness of a dog is reduced after the operation.

What has been observed is that the door to door garbage collectors encourage dogs to follow them around as they go around the city collecting garbage. Also humans who wouldn't put their own children out of their home, prefer to feed dogs outside their home and encourage strays in this manner.

Tall claims that they help prevent crime by being watchdogs indicates the Bangalorean nature to look out for cheap alternatives to fight crime. The end result of such an attitude is another human has to pay for it at some other time and place maybe with their own life.

Labels: bangalore, dogs, heat, rabid, stray, summer

posted by Sunil Pichamuthu @ 10:39 PM
View Profile | View Main Page | View Photos | Go to Top 2 comments