Rising population in Bangalore strains creaky infrastructure

A recent study by the Institute of Social and Economic Change (ISEC) showed that Bangalore’s population grew by 48% in the past 10 years. The demographic changes showed that while there was an increase in the city’s population, the rate of change in literacy has not been significant, indicating a rise in the population of migrant labourers.

According to Dr KS James of ISEC, this should have typically moved the city’s population to the outskirts, but this is not happening, thus aggravating the pressure on a city that was not planned to have such a dense population. “Although Bangalore is the fifth largest city, what makes it different from other cities such as Delhi and Mumbai is that in these cities, the growth is in the periphery. But in Bangalore, the central parts are where the population is concentrated.” He attributes a number of reasons for this. The most important being the lack of accessibility. “Travelling from the outskirts to the city for work is hectic and expensive. A much easier option would be to live within the city, however poor the condition.”

James feels the resulting congestion can have a number of changes, even with regard to the behaviour of people. “Living in a congested city is stressful. Instances of road-rage, accidents and even crime will only increase. There is also a tendency to attribute the crimes to a migrant population, to the outsider.” Civic experts say there are numerous signs of decay as the city is not able to handle the pressure on its infrastructure. Civic activist J Srinivasan says that among the issues faced by the city, the “one that hits you in the face” is the traffic congestion. He lists water shortage as another major problem, though he points out that we realise it only when we personally face it.

Muralidhar Rao, Loksatta party member and president of Research Analysis and Advocacy Group of Praja, a blog that deals with various civic issues faced by the city, adds: “The gen-set market in Bangalore is a Rs2,000-crore industry, whereas in Mumbai, whose population is 10 times that of Bangalore, it is about Rs10 crore. What does that say for the power distribution in the city?,” he says.

Civic experts say the problem is lack of planning. “The growth of the city is currently arbitrary, with expansion being done as and when required. Nobody has a vision as to what the city needs to be or what is required, how much the infrastructure can handle,” Rao says.

Srinivasan adds that, satellite townships need to be set up on the city’s outskirts. “Satellite townships will take some of the population off the city centre. But it is important that there is more than one of these townships so that this too does not get congested. It is also important to ensure that there is adequate transport facility into the city centre.”  Chandrashekar Hariharan, who heads Biodiversity Conservation India, advocates scientific management of waste in a localised manner. “The BBMP spends Rs400 crore on truck contracts. Why waste this kind of money if by decentralising it you can mange waste in a more efficient manner,” he asks.

Hariharan is of the view that extensive use of energy efficient lights will also conserve energy. He feel strict implementation of rainwater harvesting in  hotels, hospitals, homes and offices will reduce wastage of resources.