On the location of the Cantonment Metro Station

I got this from a few people:

https://www.change.org/p/1-shri-s-siddaramaiah-the-hon-ble-chief-minister-the-metro-will-kill-us-metro-will-run-through-my-house-thousands-will-be-homeless
My reply
Re the Cantonment station metro and how its going to destroy a few houses. As far as I know, from a friend who lost his factory to the phase 1 - they give you 2.5x of BBMP rate so its market rate after taxes plus enough to cover expenses of moving. So no financial loss.
Unfortunately where ever you put it, its thru Shivaji nagar and other parts of a full city, so there are going to be displacements. I would think it would be less if via Queens Road ... a wife road?
Also see
https://www.change.org/p/cpronammametro-bmrcl-namma-metro-with-namma-consultations/

40,000 people have signed this petition regarding the Cantonment Metro station location. Not sure who is more correct. The original plan till May of this year was to have at Cantonment station parking. Few 100 people, including me, protested when it was announced by BMRCL to move it to the BBMP playground. I do not like it cause if you go on any day after 3pm will see 100s of kids and adults playing there. They are poor people, who cant afford expensive gyms or paid play areas and there is no other park or playground in that area.
40,000 people have signed that petition. Besides the playground some people have doubts that the walk way will ever be built or maintained.

Might have read how Yesvantpur metro and railway station integration is not great even now. Even though close by its not easy to go in crowded time from one to another. Small lift, many people with suitcases... See https://goo.gl/aVi1jT and https://goo.gl/y3EDp4 for some of the difficulties when lifts are full in Yesvantpur metro to the station.

So I hope you read both and then decide where you stand. Personally I'm not sure of the cost benefit of having it near the station. It will help commuters, especially those who use the new suburban trains. Railways is even planning a new platform in Cantonment in some empty space so that we can have more trains stopping here.
That will mean more people will use metro if its close by. Think about if the walkway does not come up and instead so many more people use own vehicles, autos and taxis.

At least I would use less for short distances if the time to go directly is much less.

In the end do some math and decide vs 800 crores saved and better integration.

Vs a playground being taken over and kids having no outlet for energy...to better integration for suburban, and other train users.

If you can, I urge you to go to Abdul Bari's High School Ground https://goo.gl/JSo3By see how narrows the roads are, not sure how homes wont be destroyed if it has to come here?

So metro station being near Jayamahal, Vasant nagar, spacious road in front of Cantonment station (and as far as I was told all the land belongs to the Indian railways and they are giving it to us free for the namma metro station as they know how important it is for public that has been clarified)

So I do not know if money savings or better integration will win. But I pray :
If we have to build it in the playground I at least hope we only take up 45% of land and leave rest for kids to play. And if we are really going to save so much money how about making a
multi-storey building with three floors 30 foot high so its a play area for cricket, football, etc a 365 day a year usable place with additional 4 floors for shops to recover the costs and give amenities in the area?

From another citizen who is in touch with experts: my heart bleeds for the residents , but this is a little reactive and may not be a fully researched piece- Many  of us concerned citizens have taken time and trouble via experts to locate alternative solutions for the Metro vent n shaft so that this home displacement doesn’t happen. So it’s already work in progress  & surveys that have been done there. The Blr Metro has ignored all these alternatives presented, choosing to continue an opaque POV and a panic button., . Sadly, what BMCL has cleverly done is use us  poor residents to create a fear factor of getting us and the large public  to believe that they have only one option- and  the ONLY choice  is between putting the Cantonment Metro at Bamboo Bazaar rather than at Cantonment - a slipshod, hasty recent option , which has already been dismissed by experts and public consultation  !
So the many alternatives ( from what I recall ) include  a slight change in curvature in one or two spots , shifting the shaft site to an empty plot diagonally opposite , request a small portion of Para Regiment Land nearly , slightly reduce the length to under 1500 mts . BTW, both Bby and Delhi Metros have 1700 and 2000 meters without a ventilator shaft, so why is this 1610 meter one causing an issue ?
And Rock blasting ? This was done at DPR Time when they knew what was there and the same blasting happened in Majestic area , perhaps with some additional work but was managed alright  .

Permanent Voting Centers

TIL you can petition the indian parliment

My petition :

Want permanent voting centers.
 Vote for MLAs, local bodies, over 2 weeks so more voters, vote % 70% or more, no holiday needed, just come and vote between 630am and 10:30pm. Two shifts.
No disruption to schools and teachers! More jobs. More representation.

 Permanent employees. Rest of time have votes on local things. Example: Bangalore Cantonment station metro station location.
Option 1 : have in parking lot near by- 1000 Cr more cost, but only 100 meters away from railway station

OR option 2 : 1.2 km away and destroy a play ground in a over crowded area, used by kids who are not well off?

Or option 3 save the 1,000 Cr but make a gymnasium fo the kids with 30 Cr multi storey in part of the grounds, so they end up with more playing space + can use it 365 days of the year + good PR for the government (50% central 50% Karnataka).

This vote should be for everyone in Bangalore district - max users of the station.

Other similar votes for your area's local issues. can have more than 1 subject open to voting, but with smart options. Not just yes/ no. some thought has to go to the options too.
-Tushar Kapila, Bangalore . https://twitter.com/Tushar_Kapila
Source :
https://www.reddit.com/r/india/comments/79flwd/til_you_can_petition_the_indian_parliment/
http://www.prsindia.org/theprsblog/?p=484

Touchy press!

Happened in a group. Not sure if sharing here is a crime. but since hardly anyone reads this blog i think should be okay. will ask a lawyer. Never know with our rules! Click each photo to see big version. UI is not good, need to press back/ open in a new tab

m2

m3

m4

(there is no m5)

m6

m7

 If this is how touchy they are, wonder how much news is ignored or under reported or mis-reported cause they did not like the person! But what mde it worse were my enligthened activists, running to placate them. Great team spirit! (sarcasm)

Rent receipt template with landlord address and pan, India

Solid Waste

Dear Mr. K J George,
MLA- Sarvagna Nagar, Minister for Bengaluru Development and State Town Planning Gov't. of Karnataka.

It was great to hear you speak yesterday about our Solid Waste Management issues. Hope you will come out with soon with dates and have regular updates about city wide activities.

* Look forward to seeing all our pourakarmikas on government rolls.
* A good attendance system over looked by good BBMP officers so they are pourakarmikas fairly and on time every time. I work for a salary, and in 1999 when my then company was late paying us, we were tired of working in 3 days! Am glad these people have more patience and continue cleaning up our mess.
* I hope to see your personally going to a few chosen people's homes in Blr who have been composting for more than a year and taking pictures and video with them (with press coverage). We need regular reminders and pats on the backs for these people. If more people see what they are doing, living in small indpendant homes and flats, they might start the same to?
* Also look forward to reading about BBMP officers and police officers taking part in koint drives every week. We have to keep the tempo up. We need reports on hours spent on field and how many people checked, besides what violations made.
* Look forward to Vidhan Soudha to shun plastic bottles in favour of steel glasses and jugs. Steel looks good. Though plastic is fine too if ministers are fine with it. But should be reused for a few months at lesat.
Better than the small plastic bottles that are not banned but still are solid waste that can be avoided.

Thank you for taking time to address us. Looking forward to regular meetings like this every 2 months at least. Need to make course corrections, thank volunteers.

Thank-you

Jai Karnataka, Jai Hind.


A timeless story on conservation and reuse:
A disciple of Buddha, said, "Oh Master! I have a request to make."

Buddha: "What is it; tell me?"

Disciple: "My robe is worn out. It is no longer decent enough to wear.Please, may I have a new one?"

Buddha looked at the disciple's attire and found that the garment was absolutely in tatters and really needed replacement. So he asked the store-keeper to give a new robe to this disciple.

The disciple offered obeisance to the great master and left the room.

Buddha kept thinking about the incident and felt that he had perhaps missed an opportunity to teach a valuable lesson to the disciple. So he went to the disciple's quarters to talk to him.

Buddha: Are you comfortable in your new robe? Do you need anything else?

Disciple: Thank you Master. I am very comfortable and do not need anything else.

Buddha: Now that you have a new one, what have you done with the old one?

Disciple: I have used it to replace my worn out bedspread.

Buddha: What did you do with the old bedspread?

Disciple: Master, I am using it as a curtain on my window.

Buddha: Did you discard your old window curtain?

Disciple: Master, I tore it into four pieces and am using them as napkins to handle the hot pots and pans in the kitchen.

Buddha: What about the old kitchen napkins?

Disciple: We are using them as mops to wash and wipe the floor.

Buddha: Where is the old mop?

Disciple: Lord, the old mop was so tattered that the best we could do was to take all the threads apart and make wicks for your oil lamp. One of them is presently lit in your room."

Buddha was content. He was happy that His disciples realized that nothing is useless. We can find a use for everything, if only we want to! Nothing should be wasted; not even time!

If all of us were to practice the habit of thrift, we can preserve the non renewable resources for our children, our grandchildren and our great grand children as our forefathers so thoughtfully did for us.

Let us vow together to leave at least one monument for our children: The Earth!

The real measure of a man's wealth is what he has invested in eternity.

In today's world we need to compost food waste. So we produce less wet waste that has to be handled by our local villages that are already reeling under the stink and health risks. Even if you do not have space to compost 100% of food waste, separate it from other waste and do a part of it. Rest give in separate bins.

Regards
Tushar Kapila

Wibmo

Where do you work son? Wibmo. Eh? Wireless Internet Banking and Money. Ah. We do financial services for HDFC and 25 other banks in India and 10 abroad. HDFC ? Yes heard of them.

Signs for Park

 

 Bangalore

To

Jayamahal Park

Dear Park in-charge,

Sub : signs on traffic safety, civic good and animail rigths

Heard on a whatsapp group of street dogs being hit with sticks. Also I notice that many in the park, get unneccessarily scared of the 2-3 street dogs. Would be good to have a 2-3 sign boards on animal rights and dog behaviour.

Message:

* Harming animals is a crime under Article 51A(g), . IPC Sections 428 and 429 . Don’t harm cats, dogs and other street animals. Also 11 (1) (a) to (o) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

* Don’t run from a dog, it sees that as playful behaviour. It can run much faster than us. Best to stay still for a few seonds, walk slowly and don’t look at them directly in the eyes.

11 (1) (a) to (o) of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 http://www.dhyanfoundation.com/causes/animal-laws.php and http://www.thebetterindia.com/46721/humane-society-india-animal-laws-prevention-of-cruelty-act/ 

Next weekend I plan to collate information from :

http://www.thewayofslowtravel.com/2013/12/28/5-non-violent-tricks-to-deal-with-stray-dogs/

and http://www.wikihow.com/Protect-Yourself-from-a-Stray-Dog to make a few A3 posters on flexi board, then find 2-3 places to put them up.

Traffic safety : can see a few designs here https://goo.gl/Fp8MBo and see the ones I have brought along. Can we please put these up in the park?

More messages:

• Give way to pedestrians crossing the road. 50% of accidents involve pedestrians.
• Pedestrians : cross the road in a straight line. Diagonal crossing means tuffer for traffic to avoid you. Use foot paths and skywalks, where available, even if its more effort. Better than days suffering in hospital.

I will sponsor the work but do not want any credit/ name, besides this URL to a website on traffic safety http://lp5.in/

Generic messages: Kids falling ill? Wipe mobile phone, door knobs with mild soap/ salt water to disinfectant. Wash hands before eating.

When the revolution comes ...

I have this sentence stuck in my head. "When the revolution comes, you will do as your told". I think it came from an article I read in the Reader's Digest in the early 1990s. What a good magazine that is, except for the silly marketing of winning sweep stakes etc, put us off it with the misleading statements. Its marketing was the opposite of most of the articles it had. Gave a very "do as I say, not as I do", maybe that is what living in the over crowded, over used world today is. There are many good things, but in the end practical living is not on a predefined path used by someone else. Might not fit, most probably has changed a lot since it was experienced and written by.


Going to back the revolution. A lot of people want good change but seem to be able to focus on one or two big things only. They call that effective and what is possible by a small group. Maybe they are right about being quickly effective. But still makes me think about this statement and wonder.

In the story the revolutionary speaks about what they  are going to change and how things will be later. One common man says "But I do not want that, I want ..." to which the revolutionary says "When the revolution comes, you will do as your told!"

So besides one size does not fit all, seems the big revolutionaries can't cater to, too much choice, or to little even, as it makes everything complex and you have other wise faithful questioning the fairness and workability of the new system.

On the other hand, sometimes the way things are, are o unsustainable that change is needed. I hope the efforts of Citizens for Bangalore change for adding more buses, is fruitul and that in a year, we have fewer private vhecles taking people to office, instead using buses and other mass transport.

For that we need our tax money to subsidize bus rides, add 6,000 more buses, improve routes, have a few mini buses ... have drivers who stop at stops, not 15 feet out on the road, at least stop and not just pass by stops. More on this at Citizens for Bangaluru, their twitter and at facebook group citizens for bengaluru