Around this time last year, a citizen’s movement took birth to oppose a proposal from the State government to build a steel flyover on Ballari Road to ease commute to the international airport. The ‘Steel Flyover Beda’ movement received such a massive wave of support that the project remained a proposal on paper.
A year on, at a time when the city’s infrastructure is crumbling under the relentless rain, another citizen’s movement is taking shape. The ‘#BekuBedaSanthe,’ which is being organised on Sunday (October 15), will not only mark the anniversary of the original movement, but also launch a platform for citizens from across Bengaluru to express what they want (beku) and what they do not (beda) for their area and city.
It will see a broad and diverse set of over 50 groups of citizens, including residents’ welfare associations (RWAs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), slum rights groups, civic groups, think tanks and representatives of unorganised sectors, joining hands.
The starting point
Tara Krishnaswamy from Citizens for Bengaluru said the santhe will be the starting point of a campaign through which it would be ensured that a consolidated list of citizens’ demands are communicated to the government, probably before Kannada Rajyotsava. “We would like to treat this as the first edition of the santhe. Even when the steel flyover movement began, it was a single campaign. No one thought it would spread out to other campaigns and last this long,” she said.
The organisers are expecting a wide variety of demands to be put forth. “The city is in a dismal state and there are pain points such as water, traffic and roads. But this cannot be engineered,” she said.
A santhe for everyone
The santhe will also make way for all sections of the society to be heard, including the urban poor. “People living in slums account for such a large population in the city, but are never taken into account during development. That is why slums remain the same. We will also be bringing in 100 to 150 children from slum schools to participate,” said Ms. Krishnaswamy.
Sunday’s programme will see short speeches, music and dance performances, and the Beku Beda wall on which citizens will cast their vote.
Another important addition to the movement will be the introduction of the city’s younger citizens.
“We want parents to bring their children along. Children can imagine a city that adults cannot. Adults are cynical and give up too easily, but children ask questions. They look at the city from a different height,” said Srinivasa Alavilli from Citizens for Bengaluru.
Details can be had at http://bit.ly/bekubeda
