Saturday, October 29, 2005

What is happening to Bangalore?

Bangalore has always remained my favorite city. Whenever I got an opportunity (professionally or otherwise), I always visited the city. My religious trips to Puttaparthi and Thirupathi always used to be via Bangalore.

Of late I am finding the city to face a unique problem. Most of the larger cities will probably face this problem in the future unless they take adequate precautions.

Look at a few actual examples:

a) An IT worker got robbed near Kempegowda circle (heart of the city towards Majestic) in the auto in which he was travelling. He made the mistake of boarding an auto near the ATM form which he withdrew some money.
b) My friend's brother (working in Intel) was returning home after work. He slowed down his vehicle near MG Road to take a left turn when a few people told him that his back door was open. He stopped only to find that four people got into his car and asked him to drive t the nearest ATM. Asked him to withdraw Rs.25000. Fortunately they did not take the laptop.
c) An IIM L alumni went to bangalore Railway station to drop his fiancee and her mother. While leaving the station, he showed the platform ticket to the TTC who immediately asked him "...what if I tell you that you did not produce the platform ticket..." He got robbed that day within Bangalore railway station by the TTEs, railway police protection force, etc.

There must be many more instances like that that do not come to our notice. People suffer in silence.

In all these examples, the victim is a non-Kannada speaking person who is rich and is an easy target for some of the local population who prefer to follow a get-rich-quick scheme. I have nothing against the peace-loving people of Karnataka. In fact I always say that the best of the people in India live in South India (and in particular Karnataka and in particular South Kanranaka). But of late the increasing gap in income between the haves and have-nots is creating a problem that must be addressed immediately before Bangalore becomes another city in Bihar.

The real estate prices are up. And the local non-IT people have to suffer (unless of course they have a land that has been rented or sold). The difference in the average income of the non-IT and the IT workiers in the city is too high and probably forces some of the anti-social elements to resort to steps like this.

It is not that anti-social elements were not there earlier. However, their modus-operandi has changed.

I have a few suggestions for the non-Kannaka speaking people living in Bangalore.

a) Do not flaunt your wealth. Behave like a normal person.
b) Whenever possible travel either in a bike or the BTS bus.
c) And most important, while entering Bangalore railway station, buy two platform tickets.





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