Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
The seamier side
|
Let's also look at what ails Bangalore, says S.P. Sundaram, a globetrotter who has now settled in the city
|
LEELA RAO (in the previous Sound Off! column, December 20) is right in her assessment of Bangalore and its unique heartbeat. There is, however, another side to Bangalore that leaves much to be desired.
Unlike Leela Rao, I am a first-time resident here after living abroad for nearly 60 years. And I am struck by the lack of sensitivity, trust and decency, which is tolerated by my compatriots. In the days of old, (in Bangalore, as well as elsewhere), one's word was sacrosanct and respect to one another was the air we breathed. Let's not make an excuse of being a poor country, since Thailand and Rumania are also poor, but know better.
Take, for example, the practice of demanding 10 months' rent as a deposit (returnable, no doubt, but without interest) when you lease a piece of property. The reason adduced is that the landlord cannot trust the tenant, a few of whom (probably less than one per cent) default in their rent dues. To penalise the bulk of tenants for the fault of a few is scandalous. Another thing, if a defaulter fails for two consecutive months and if the landlord cannot correct the situation, how does extending the agony for 10 months offer redress? What happens after the 10 months have expired? If this extortion is sanctioned by law, the law should be repealed, and if, on the other hand, the practice is illegal anyhow, then the law should take action to punish the perpetrators. One tenant, single-handedly, cannot do it himself. But if the tenants join together or if a tenants' association (if there is any) acts, something can be achieved.
Having lived in or visited 93 countries, I have never come across such anarchy. One month's deposit is the usual safeguard, and in some cases, two months' deposit is taken, mainly to compensate for any damages to the property. And a month's rent as commission to the broker, who merely introduces you to the landlord, is also daylight robbery. No wonder, every Tom, Dick and Harry is a real estate broker here!
Sound Off! Is your space. Feel strongly about some thing? Mail us at bangaloremetro@thehindu.co.in and who knows, you might be featured in this column.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
|
