Simplified Laws Guide to Taxation and Legal Concern Having spent the first two decades of my life in a village, I consider myself a village boy. Since 1991, I have been living in Bangalore, so I call myself an Old Bangalorean too. This way I am blessed to have the experience of both rural and urban worlds.
Today I happened to rewind my memories of Bangalore life and noticed a few significant differences between old Bangalore and the present-day city. Thought of sharing the glaring contrasts!
If you are living in Bangalore (or for that matter any city maybe), whether on the 10th floor of a lavish apartment complex or a posh bungalow, you will realize how much dust gets accumulated in your balconies, railings or grills. Especially during summer, we will see loads of dust particles everywhere coupled with unbearable heat!
Air quality – Forget about what the reports say; if you just walk around for 2 hours; you will notice how heavy the air feels! Whenever I am back from a brief trip to Coorg, I can easily make out a stark contrast! Is it not obvious when we have 90 lakh vehicles commuting in the city every single day!
Water – The major source of water to Bangalore is from Cauvery River water stored in KRS Dam in Mysore. Due to inadequate rainfall last year, the storage in the dam is much less than the requirements. The water distribution is done by an authority, which just orders the distribution of water between Karnataka and neighbouring states based on the sharing formula. So, whatever is left in the dam can’t be used fully for only Bangalore’s water needs.
As of now, it appears that we Bangaloreans have to face water crises till July 2024. What if the next monsoon fails? If that happens, next year we will have a water crisis for at least 7 months, a good part of the year.
What do we have now? We have fancy buildings, wealthy people, fat earnings, shops and offices of the world’s best brands, swanky cars and whatnot.
What is missing? Potable water, clean air and dust-free environment.
While this may be the plight of many cities, Jumbo city Bangalore’s challenges are amplified due to its huge 1.40 Crore population.
Urban growth is undoubtedly fascinating but personally, I prefer the Old Bangalore with a canopy of trees on all roads, two-way movement of vehicles, clean water and good air with fewer people, than the glass and granite offices, high income or fancy cars! The irony is that we embrace Artificial Intelligence on the one hand while neglecting Natural essentials like clean air and water.
Wait! I am not here to complain or blame any Government. We are collectively responsible for this mess. I am just expressing my views, or rather voicing my frustration about Growth sans the basic facilities.
If you are the one who is not having any of these problems, consider yourself lucky!
