The need of the hour is only to enhance better mobility of the people through Well RUN Administration.

 Dear Sir,

The  need of the hour in Bengaluru is better mobility  of the  people and fast and efficient  movement of goods and services to ensure optimum utilisation of the resources  under command for the maximum welfare of the people . From this angle, should BMTC take the privatisation road? is the debate thrown and  the answer is a definite NO. However there is urgent need to assess as to whether the Investments in the BMTC have done full justice in terms of optimum realisation of returns from the angle of utilisation of the human and other resources and whether all the objectives of the BMTC services have been met to the satisfaction of the Management of BMTC, the Authorities and the Public? No doubt the services of BMTC get badly affected for want of good roads and other infrastructure and the comparisons with similar placed organisations can have some meaning only if all ingredients in use are compared. In fact my own view is that BMTC does a good job when compared with other institutions if one were to take the limitations BMTC face to run its services in terms of infrastructure.Chennai. Mumbai and Delhi have better Roads and as well developed  industrial states have certain inbuilt advantages by way of political , social and economic developments. Bengaluru came in the development stature comparatively late and the sudden surge seen in IT development in Bangalore took the whole state and city by surprise and to match this development the infrastructure development lagged behind and this cannot be taken as a setback or serious lapse. 

Even now the situation is not that bad as is generally made out to be taking into consideration the natural advantages the state and city enjoy . 

The State and City have the best of Human Resources and nothing is impossible once they decide and get ready to take up the challenges. 

 What is required is a bit of coordination and clear cut policies from the Legislative, judiciary and administration. A top level committee consisting of all three can be set up to identify the gaps seen in the proper development of infrastructure and initiate steps to overcome and implement the required measures under some strict vigilance, supervision and accountability. 

Roads are only for free flow of traffic and not for marketing, dumping of materials of all kinds, wastages, and any other activities. The development of roads needs thorough thinking, planning , and execution keeping in view the expected increase in the population, economic developments , social advancements, etc.  

Accountability of the Institutions involved in the construction, maintenance and administration of roads needs to be fixed on an ongoing basis in a very systematic and professional manner without giving room for any interference of any sorts of power either politics or bureaucracy. 

Some of the steps that can be thought of to ease the traffic and improve the image of BMTC perhaps

City Traffic improvement Committee to be set up Consisting of 

1Some political leaders from all parties, Some  senior bureaucrats who have vast experience in the administration of  Transport system,Some very senior police Officers having experience in managing City traffic, Some eminent public representatives and think tankers who can contribute good thoughts and actionable changes.

2 Change of the present system of routes  pursued by the BMTC. There should be connectivity of Metros and the bus routes touching the major centers of population concentrates..Rerouting of the BMTC buses and covering long routes in less times should be thought of. while the present approach to terminate buses at Shivaji Nagar, Kr Market and Majestic can continue, there should be enough buses

 to ply long different routes and areas touching these points .

3 There are some traffic pressure points in the City like the Corporation area,JC Road , 24th main road,Jp Nagar, double Road, jayanagar some signals . These sorts of pressure points block the traffic which if planned and administered properly , traffic flow is made smooth, a lot of time can be saved and drivers and public can have a great sense of relief. It requires inviting public suggestions and surveying by regional Transport officers and Traffic control Police officers and BBMP and BDA officials.This requires only application of mind and adjustment of the movement of traffic Some man made hurdles which can and needs to be tackled needs to be taken care of by force or negotiation and compromise in public and larger interest. Involving the public and seeking their help would go a long way in removing some of the hurdles seen in some busy roads  and easing the traffic.

4 Continuous education of public in maintaining the roads in top condition and strict monitoring of the traffic rules and regulations on an ongoing basis can definitely be visible in avoiding haphazard parking, dumping of wastes on the roads, unauthorised use of roads for all sorts of activities etc, 

5 Encouraging sharing of private cars, Taxis and introducing smaller BMTC buses to manure in very small roads and gullies  and providing better connectivity to metros with meticulous planning and execution of arrangements to transport people can be a practical solution to minimise the traffic congestion.

6 The roads go bad due to several reasons which need to be fixed with long term and short term approaches having heavy expenditure and time lag effect. 

As a regular short term measure the authorities can think of having mobile Road repairing units to fix small and fixable potholes and this work can be given on a contract basis with incentivised compensation. To fix major repairs and provision of long durable roads, better to go in for an All India Tender and have some sort of tripartite agreement too. Once the road is completed this should be maintained by the same party for a definite period under an insurance scheme. The scope for corrupt practices should be minimised if not eliminated altogether though highly desirable. 

As a citizen deeply interested in the welfare of all , I just write to you as feedback to your wonderful ,well thought and wonderfully written article. 

Readiness of the authorities is all that matters. If there is a will there is always a way out to make things happen and work for the betterment of life for all. 

These are all my personal views . If it is useful in some way , I feel delighted. Since this is a point blank feedback I took the liberty. 

       

Thank you, I take this opportunity to wish you and family a very happy diwali and happy days ahead always and in all ways. 

With regards,
Dr.T.V.Gopalakrishnan

(This comment is given as Feedbaclk to an article on should BMTC take the privatisation road?that appeared in Deccan Herald on 17/10/25).