Thaindian News

By Maitreyee Boruah
Bangalore, May 3 (IANS) The elections in India’s tech hub are over and while Bangaloreans await the poll results, citizen groups have drawn up a wish list of what they want the new leaders to do.

Though the voter turnout in Bangalore was not very encouraging - less than 50 percent of around six million voters cast their ballots on April 23 - it has not dampened the people’s enthusiasm.

“Instead of speculating who will be the winners, we’ve prepared a list containing all the primary issues of Bangalore that need immediate attention,” Vandana Krishnan of Janaagraha, a city-based non-profit organisation, told IANS.

The wish list includes better traffic management, development of roads, solution to scarcity of drinking water, attention to power shortage problems and safety and security to the city’s around eight million population.

“The list has been prepared after deliberating with various citizen forums. Along with the list there will be suggestions by experts to help the government address these matters,” said Krishnan.

The list will be submitted to the winners from the Bangalore North, Bangalore South and Bangalore Central constituencies after they take oath as members of the Lok Sabha.

The city’s 600,000 slum dwellers are not lagging behind.

Slum Janandolan Karnataka (SLK), a rights’ group for slum dwellers, is ready with a list of issues affecting 800 slums in the city.

“Slum dwellers form a huge chunk of vote bank, but not a single leader has addressed the plight of slums. We’ve prepared an extensive report on the problems afflicting the slums, to be submitted to the new leaders,” Isaac Arul Selva, one of the convenors of SJK and a resident of L.R. Nagar slum, told IANS.

The effort of city civic groups to keep up the pressure on elected representatives to be responsive has come in for praise from academics.

“It is a positive development that citizen groups on behalf of the people will press the new elected members of parliament from Bangalore to address issues which are of primary concern,” said D. Jeevan Kumar, political scientist and director of the Centre for Gandhian Studies at Bangalore University.

“Such moves will definitely help in bringing the leaders and people close. The initiative will act as a kind of pressure tactic for politicians to work for the people,” said Kumar.

(Maitreyee Boruah can be contacted at m.boruah@ians.in)