[na_agrawal]

1414 pages of rants and still counting at increasing pace!

I don't know what my friends in BLR say or will say, this is enough evidence for me and a lot others who are not in BLR to stay away from this city.

The weather may be good, but only from your balcony/verandah!

Cheers
-NA

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by na_agrawal

The weather may be good, but only from your balcony/verandah!

Cheers
-NA

Don't worry. being in PNQ, you aren't missing much

[SoumenD]

Originally Posted by na_agrawal

1414 pages of rants and still counting at increasing pace!

I don't know what my friends in BLR say or will say, this is enough evidence for me and a lot others who are not in BLR to stay away from this city.

The weather may be good, but only from your balcony/verandah!

Cheers
-NA

Lol, have spent good amount of time living & driving/riding in pune, mumbai, hyderabad, kolkata etc and can assure you its more or less similar.

Bangalore works for IT professionals because of plethora of job options primarily. It still outnumbers opportunities by a huge margin in the field. Weather is just an added bonus, not primary factor IMHO.

[mayukh42]

Originally Posted by am1m

Seriously, how long is it going to take for these IT companies to realize that the commute in Bangalore really doesn't make sense anymore? For jobs that can be done remote

Oh they realize it just fine. They simply don't care about employee well-being. The higher management needs to report to their colonial overlords that office population is "back to normal" in India.

Meanwhile, expect emails from HR about better health and well-being, Doctor on call, etc. The one thing that could actually improve employee health will not be considered at all.

(Not generalizing, I know at least a few companies who actually give a damn).

Originally Posted by sachinpk

How many employees in IT Industry (including people who are Kannadigas or otherwise) will have the courage to inform their superiors that they are boycotting work as they are participating in the Bandh !? Instead of that all would meekly say that they will work from home.

The whole working model, models of recruitment, salary etc are not condusive for union-ised workforce.

Not just IT. There is an apartment construction next door. Workers are not participating in the strike and building the columns in full swing. A Blue Dart parcel truck just went by. I can hear several vehicles plying. Tuesday was quieter.

I don't think this city is too keen about bandhs, IT or not. Unlike my native town Kolkata

[capnemo]

Originally Posted by aniyo

Do you by chance stay at Sandeep Square or any of the prestige properties on Bhoghanhalli road. I echo your thoughts. The traffic is a mess owing to uncontrolled construction all the time

Yes, hello fellow BHPian !

Second order effect of all this mess are that instances of road rage, rash driving and carelessnes when it comes to margin for error (tail-gating) have gone up considerably, even on off-days. Perhaps drivers are not used to empty roads.

When I'd come back after the first 2 waves of the pandemic and the roads were relatively empty, I used to witness one accident a week on the back roads leading up to Embassy, mainly involving bikers.

Today during the bandh, I had to step out for a medical visit. Witnessed an accident where a biker rear-ended a Honda City and almost somersaulted, on the flyover beside Advaith Hyundai ORR. The biker probably was riding too close behind and the City driver must have slowed abruptly due to one of the patchwork expansion joints on the flyover. Thankfully the biker was wearing a helmet and escaped with a few bruises.

[Samegoodkid]

I woke up to the news a little late but I feel bad for people stuck in the jam. It is more or less similar in Other big cities as well.
And we were discussing "Congestion Tax" for Bengaluru on a different thread. As if the threat of paying extra money would deter people from moving out. If that was the case, it should have already worked out well for Bengaluru by now as the city has highest tax rates for 4 wheelers and 2 wheelers in the county.

[sam_rnc]

Originally Posted by aniyo

Do you by chance stay at Sandeep Square or any of the prestige properties on Bhoghanhalli road. I echo your thoughts. The traffic is a mess owing to uncontrolled construction all the time

I stay in the same vicinity in one of the prestige properties and its becoming a nightmare. Also the cab, office buses and autos parked on either side of the roads leads to further bottle necks getting created

I commute daily on the infamous Bellandur lake road between Kadubeesanahalli & Yemalur and more often than not its the educated folks working in MNCs/Corporate setup who dont follow the rules/lane discipline leading to even more chaos. Staying in their lane is something majority of people dont believe in.

[Sandy Damodaran]

Sad as bangalore traffic plight is, and Pune being only slightly better, id be willing to bet, most of the vehicles in the jam were cars with solo drivers working in the IT

Till the time India moves to public transport or 2 wheelers, this is just going to get worse.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Sandy Damodaran

Sad as bangalore traffic plight is, and Pune being only slightly better, id be willing to bet, most of the vehicles in the jam were cars with solo drivers working in the IT
Till the time India moves to public transport or 2 wheelers, this is just going to get worse.

Its very easy to blame IT engineers for every problem out there. Unless public transport improves in punctuality, quantity, quality & safety - cars are here to stay & its an owner's choice to drive solo. Nobody can blame her or him.

The independence, safety & privacy that a car gives, is unmatched. There is no need to blame solo car drivers - more so specifically IT employees. They aren't the problem, they are suffering the MOST in this city while paying extremely high taxes and getting nothing (including public transport) in return to speak of. Remember - without the IT employees - the economy of Pune city would be a fraction of what it is today. A large proportion of them are going to office against their will - because the government authorities and eventually their employers are forcing them to go to office, as without them the local micro-economies will collapse to 0. Its rather absurd to then call out IT engineers for creating traffic.

Give the IT employees actual usable public transport without horrible compromises and most of us will jump out of our cars. Already in places where metro trains have been activated - I know hundreds of people personally who have opted for metro - even taking a hop into rikshaw/PMP bus for last mile connectivity.

If a blame is to be levelled - level it on the authorities who have intentionally kept away public transport from places where millions of IT employees actually work - because they have vested interests in local property market, townships and transport businesses. Its clear as air.

Disclaimer - I'm a regular carpooler and always take 2-3 people along with me in my own car via whatsapp groups or SRide.

[Sandy Damodaran]

Im not blaming anyone, or atleast that wasnt the intention.
Im from the same industry, albeit in Pune.

The intention was to recognize the fact that a large workforce, intent on using independent cars for whatever be the reason, will only aggrevate an already creaky infrastructure.

Pune in addition to issues blr has, also has a very low opinion of using public transport. Thats probably a topic for another day.

[Red Liner]

With the free women's pass on buses in Bangalore, I now see all buses packed at least with 75% women. These comprise of women from almost all economic means. Fantastic.

I have recently begun taking buses myself and avoid cabs/autos as long as I don't have to do connections.

No am not taking the bus because there are more women on it lol!

[Pseud]

I too was one of the many who were stuck that day. Took 4.5 hrs from Tin Factory to my home in Sarjapur road (around 15kms). I was surprised to find very low instances of road rage or accidents.

While it was by far the longest I was stuck in Bangalore (I have been here from 2000), I have had equally bad experiences in Mumbai (from Nariman point to Airport) and in NCR from Noida to airport both in evening peak hours and missing flights.

I need to seriously relook at the suburban train (even though it has crappy timings) but I suppose I will save a lot of back pain and heartburn.

I dont think having bicycle lanes is a solution to already reduced lanes, even bus lanes didnt make sense. The metro is probably the only hope but I have for phase 3 by which time I wont be a working professional

[Raghuwire]

Thankfully, I was in Ranchi, on this ill fated day. But as luck would have it, my wife had to go to office. From Bellandur to Kudlu gate, she took 4 hours to reach in a Taxi. She left at 4, and reached at 8.15 at home. She even walked around 1-1.5 kms out of the 14 kms. Meanwhile, my nanny had to leave by 6. so, she waited till 6.30, and then we arranged my 4 year son to be with the neighbors house. It was an absolute nightmare, worried and helpless at the same time.

My Opinion on where the Govt has failed:

1. Public transport - This is the biggest bane of Bangalore. e-city to silk board metro construction was started in 2016-17 IMO, and this is 2023, still no sign of start of operations. Meanwhile, i got married, had a kid, kid started school. When will the damn thing start!

2. Where are the footpaths & cycle lanes - I used to cycle once a week to Whitefield for work. Now with the metro, the risk profile has skyrocketed, and with a kid now, my risk taking ability has plummeted. People with 1-2 km commute also use cars/bikes. This is a fail. Why allow unrestricted parking on footpaths. Entire HSR, RR Nagar is screwed up with this mess, no place to walk.

3. Policy: Everyone knows that export oriented/low skill jobs need to be at places with competitive advantages. But Bommanahalli to Jalahalli to surroundings of e-city, it is filled with garment workers. While entire northern Karnataka is filled with job seekers, lazy policies and lazy industries have not ensured their movement to cheaper real estate. It is costing us our competitiveness and export market share. Why are more SEZs in and around Bangalore, break the industrial inertia with definitive policy.

4. Finally cars and bikes - Increase the parking charges in CBD, companies to offer bigger cabs/ pooled cabs for tech parks. I know scores of IT companies, providing cab services in Etios/Innovas with only 3-4 occupancies.

Sorry for the rant, but the title of the thread says this is for rants!

[vimalvittaladas]

Originally Posted by sachinpk

The auto rickshaw gangs of Bangalore have been a menace even 15-20 years back, and it has been more of a 'tradition'. These people (most of them youth) to put it quite bluntly come from the very lowest strata of the KA society. Mostly from slums in the city or in its vicinity. They also do not have very high hopes on improving their future or any thing like 'career planning' or 'business acumen'. Some money to buy gadgets like cell phones, may be some decent dresses, daily quota of booze is what their ultimate aim is. So they usually take a few trips to meet their daily target. These are also the folks who have the maximum band width for any rowdy activities as they have lot of spare time. Politicians of all parties also put the 'Kannada Pride' morale booster to them and they become a good lethal criminal gang available at ready notice. Political parties are smart in identifying such characters and also providing help to buy auto rickshaws.


I had a short stint in Mumbai in year 2003 (for around 11 months), and actually was surprised to see how the city went on. Movies like Satya released a few years back had over-hyped the Underworld shoot outs, but that was not the reality. I liked the whole 'business like' mentality. We used to travel from Bandra to Lower Parel in a shared taxi (drivers from UP, Bihar side). The rate is fixed, and few also came by the 'meter' (and a card with which they calculate the fares). The bus stands were close to suburban stations, so that hopping from train to bus was quite easy. Mumbai I always felt was an 'evolved' city, where as Bangalore is more of an 'upstart' city. No one in Mumbai seems to have time to argue.

Totally endorse. I was in Mumbai in 2009-2012. Now again back due to my official commitments. Me and wife love this city due to its culture. People from all walks are welcome here and greeted well. Now my office is at Nariman Point and I am staying at Seawoods, Navi Mumbai. A mere 2 mins walk to local station, catch the train, reach CST , catch the bus(in good frequencies) and reach office. Return also same route
but other way around.

Well managed I believe and most importantly all are well used to it. So I don't mind staying at 35 kms away from office in a city like Mumbai.

[WhiteKnight]

Originally Posted by na_agrawal

I don't know what my friends in BLR say or will say, this is enough evidence for me and a lot others who are not in BLR to stay away from this city.
-NA

There are a lot of issues on the ORR stretch from KR puram to Silk board+ the land "island" called Whitefield. That is because of the unusual high density of IT infrastructure, which was unplanned from town planning perspective, and, again, uncontrolled housing real estate. Top it with encroachments to storm water drains, and filing up lakes.
Currently, the arterial roads are affected with Metro rail constructions too

With the above, these areas are bound to have issues. The people there, both commercial and residential, need to realise and start making adjustments. Government already made adjustments for you, due to which these buildings came into existence

However, generalising the above area as Bengaluru is incorrect. It is true that lot of social media action happens from these areas. Bengaluru city is way much more that the above areas, which I find mostly unaffected. For example, I do regular trips from far south Bengaluru to Airport which is far north. I drive straight through the heart of the city. I don't see a marked increase in traffic, which is outgrowing the infrastructure. I don't see any improvement in road infrastructure either, which means, no planning is happening either. I hope the well connected metro in those areas covers for future growth.