The Bengaluru Political Action Committee (B.PAC) on Saturday released a safety audit of public spaces focusing on Mahadevapura and Malleswaram. The report, ‘B.SAFE’ found both constituencies wanting in many areas.
Safety audits were conducted across eight types of public places that women access on a regular basis including 23 anganwadi kendras, 71 bus stops, 30 markets, 37 parks, 14 PHCs, 12 police stations and 32 public toilets in both Mahadevapura and Malleswaram.
In each of these constituencies, volunteers, who were trained for the audit, interviewed people and recorded field observations. “Post training, in pursuit of improving public infrastructure and shed light on the current scenario, these volunteers audited 260 public places and 108 streets in the year 2021-22,” said a statement from B.PAC.
The findings of the audit indicated two focus areas: improve infrastructure of street lights and bus stops making them passenger friendly through map/information systems, better lighting, footpaths, and quality seating and improve park infrastructure. The report also found the need for better first mile and last mile connectivity and facilities at anganawadi kendras.
Ministers Arvind Limbavali and C.N. Ashwath Narayan who represent Mahadevapura and Malleswaram respectively, welcomed the B.SAFE audit and said this would help them identify key areas where improvement was needed. Biocon Executive Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, who is the president of B.PAC, said a safe city was always a prosperous city. B.SAFE is a programme worth emulating across the country, she said.
KEY FINDINGS
Mahadevapura: 137 public spaces on 35 streets in 8 wards
Street lights (35 streets) : 50% of the 35 audited streets, and public spaces need to be well lit
Anganwadis (18): 11 anganawadi kendras show potential to expand into full-fledged day-care centres as they have 20+ working mothers
Bus stops (34): All the bus stops need to be installed with public information systems and route maps
Markets (14): 50% of markets require separate and clean toilets
Parks (15): Half the parks surveyed need street lights/CCTV/security guards
Police stations (6): Two police stations need separate women’s desks and separate waiting areas
Public Health Centres (9): Audit recommends 50% of the PHCs provide Jan Aushadhi
Public toilets (14): 7 public toilets need to be open throughout the day like the rest
Malleswaram - 123 public spaces on 73 streets in 7 wards
Street lights (73 streets): 23% of streets, public places need to be well lit; this includes 9 streets, 4 bus stops, 11 parks
Anganawadis (5): 4 anganawadi kendras show potential to expand into full-fledged day-care centres
First mile, last mile (14): Five spots need better footpaths
Parks (22): 10 parks have reported chain-snatching incidents, they need security guards and CCTV cameras
Police stations (6): Four need ramps at the entrance
Public health centres (5): 2 PHCs need to provide Jan Aushadhi like the rest
Public toilets (18): 15 toilets have to be no-fee toilets
