Many a woe trouble Bengaluru citizens

Residents were asked about their biggest worry living in the city. Here’s what they said

A familiar sight in the city, traffic jams are the top worry for many middle and upper class commuters. File photo | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Ahead of the civic polls, Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy surveyed Bengaluru citizens to ascertain what bothered them about living in this metropolis. Their answers have revealed a plethora of problems that have long afflicted the city but continue to affect different sections of the urban population, with socio-economic location determining the severity of the issues.

Of the 503 surveys conducted, a majority of 56% respondents belonged to lower middle-class housing, 23% respondents came from middle and upper class housing and 21% lived in informal settlements (shacks or slums).

Here are the woes of the city’s residents cutting across socio-economic divide.

Footpath damaged due to rain on Bull temple Road in Bengaluru. File photo | Photo Credit: The Hindu

Urban poor more affected

While lack of pedestrian facilities, garbage, traffic and water remained the most pressing issues, they affected the urban poor differently than the urban middle and upper class citizens.

	Pedestrian infrastructure	Garbage disposal	Traffic/congestion	Clean water
Informal settlement	27%	18%	12%	23%
Lower middle-class housing	22%	23%	14%	14%
Middle & Upper-class housing	22%	16%	24%	7%

BBPM garbage collection vehicle parked at Ganganagar in Bengaluru. 20% of survey respondents lamented over problems of garbage segregation, collection and disposal by the BBMP. File photo | Photo Credit: The Hindu

What the citizens were asked

The survey consisted of 29 questions split over 6 categories - Election Context, Budget & Spend, City Issues, Engagement between Citizens & Councillors, Electoral Participation and Political Structures. Here are a few for you to ponder over.

Election Context

1. When people vote in the BBMP elections, what geographical unit are they voting for?
2. Do you know which elected representative who governs your ward?

City Issues

1. According to you, which is the biggest issue in Bengaluru?
2. Who do you think is primarily responsible to fix the issue you selected?
3. On a scale of 1-5, how concerned are you about environmental issues?
4. How much importance do you think your councillor/corporator gives to environmental issues (e.g. clean air, clean water, open/green spaces)?

Budget & Spends

1. Do you know who is authorized to pass Bengaluru city’s budget?
2. Are you aware that the BBMP allocated ₹60 lakhs to each ward this year to be spent by the ward committee on potholes, footpaths and bore wells?
3. Do you think information on your ward’s budget allocation and spend should be publicly available?

As a citizen gearing up to vote in the upcoming BBMP elections, being held after a delay of 22 months, how would you have responded to these questions?