Shamim banu

 It was heartening to read that Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd ( BSWML ) is taking a citizen friendly initiative,  aimed at disposal of unwanted furniture, mattresses , old clothes , and such other items which are not picked up by the daily waste collector. Most of the time citizens are in a fix as to where and how to dispose of these things. So they get thrown here and there. A walk along many of the roads except perhaps those in CBD , greets us often  with abandoned mattresses , pillows , broken, torn sofas , old sanitary fittings like washbasins , cisterns , flush tanks etc strewn on footpaths, roadsides and even in corners of some parks. Citizens with a better degree  of civic sense are also in a quandary. How and where to dispose them? So they pile them up for some time in their houses and then call some informal waste collector and hand them over. Perhaps some of this material may also be finding its way on to pavements.    In this backgro...

 There was an article in one of the newspapers, penned by one of the retired top bureaucrats in Karnataka on Dubai, which pondered on whether Bangalore can adopt some of the good urban practices of Dubai. The author is also a well-known and respected expert on urban issues. The article highlighted the well maintained roads, pavements, street cleanliness and safety of the public and women in particular. The point that people can walk on the roads late at night without fear and traffic rule violators are strictly dealt with has been appreciated. As mentioned in the article,  Dubai is a rich country. Having huge monetary resources,  the rulers have put it to good use for making civic facilities world class. India, as a country,  and its states have many obligations due to the large population and income inequalities. The budgets of the states have to give priority to health, education, food security and other welfare schemes. Therefore it may be difficult to increase su...