The Hindu : Karnataka News : ‘Rail mass transit system is a must’

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Friday, Sep 14, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka

‘Rail mass transit system is a must’

Staff Reporter

Bangalore should not go the Bangkok way, cautions expert

BANGALORE: The divide between the rich and the poor in terms of mobility in Bangalore is stark and compelling. While the rich travel by personalised modes of transport, the poor have no option but overcrowded Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation buses.

This is in nutshell a case study of Bangalore on “Mobility for Development” prepared by The Energy and Resources Institute, Bangalore, for the World Business Council for Sustainable Development Toyota Motor Corporation and Renault.

What did the Government, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the civil society do to bridge this gap? Very little, said the former BBMP Commissioner, K. Jairaj. According to him, the response of all the three actors to this critical issue has been “dismal.”

He was speaking at a plenary session on “Addressing the Mobility divide in Bangalore” at a “Stakeholders’ Dialogue on Mobility for Development: Bangalore Case Study” organised jointly by TERI, Toyota Motors and Renault here on Wednesday.

Little effort

The Government has done very little to bridge the gap, except recently launching work on the Metro Rail. “However, who will benefit from the Metro Rail — the middle and affluent classes replacing their personalised transport or the poor?” Attempts by the Government to address the divide were bad. “No one, including me, has worked either to ban truck movement in the central business district or accord priority to pedestrians,” Mr. Jairaj conceded.

— Photos: Sampath Kumar G.P. and K. Murali Kumar

THE RECKLESS PACE OF GROWTH: The different modes of transportation — personalised vehicles (left) and the crowded public buses — reflect the widening rich-poor gap in Bangalore.

Similarly, BBMP’s role in creating physical infrastructure — roads, flyovers, bus bays and underpasses — is a topic of discussion. The civic body has failed to enforce the building bylaws with regard to parking, Mr. Jairaj said.

Society’s apathy towards physical quality of life as well as the disregard to rules and regulations have also contributed to the widening gap, he added.

Rail network

In his special presentation during the inaugural session, Y. Hayashi, Dean of Graduates School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Japan, cautioned Bangalore should not go the Bangkok way.

Too much emphasis on personalised modes of transport was dangerous, he said and added that rail-based mass transit system should be in place for any metropolis.

BMTC’s Assistant Traffic Manager N.A. Khan, in his presentation, said the mobility divide had been due to ego. “Bigger the ego, bigger the mode of personalised mode of transport, ranging from two-wheeler to posh four-wheelers,” he said. Mr. Khan said the corporation has introduced air-conditioned Volvo buses to accommodate these “egos” in public transport system.

The World Business Council has felt that business can sustain only when society survives and mobility has been the essential condition for society’s survival. TERI Chairman Arcot Ramachandran and Director Annapurna Vancheswaran were present.

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