As the city steps into a new year and a new decade, Bengalureans are hoping for conservation of the city's rich heritage, better health facilities, and better education infrastructure.
Preservation of heritage
There are many components to heritage of Bengaluru: built heritage – that came into fore recently when the High Court annexe was proposed next to the KGID building; intangible heritage of Bengaluru Karaga and Kadalekayi Parishe; and food, cultural and natural heritage.
Experts say it is time to take serious measures to preserve these, such as building bylaws specific to areas.
Well-equipped ICUs
A perennial problem that patients encounter during emergencies in Bengaluru is the non-availability of ventilators in government hospitals ICUs. Despite exorbitant ICU charges that many cannot afford, it has become inevitable for patients to opt for private hospitals.
A ventilator helpline on which people can check availability and directly go to the hospital instead of running from one to another is vital, say health officials and doctors, especially after the roll out of Ayushman Bharat - Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) in the State.
Better infrastructure, filling of vacant posts
With a large number of teaching posts being vacant in State-run schools and universities, experts hope that the State government will consider filling them up on priority. Another concern is the level of corruption in the higher education system. The Department of Higher Education needs to tweak its norms to make the appointments of Vice-Chancellors and Registrars more transparent.
In the area of primary education, while a lot of emphasis has been given to improving infrastructure, one hopes that the government will shift the focus on learning outcomes of students this year.
