Vinod Jacob

Kotagiri, TN 🚨⚠️ Timber laden stationary lorry rolled down…maybe, parked around unpaved road shoulder around curve post rain… @DriveSmart_IN @RSGuy_India

எங்கடா இங்க இருந்த பைக்-அ காணோம்..! அதிவேகத்தில் வந்த காரால் நடந்த விபத்து... நூலிழையில் உயிர் தப்பிய இளைஞர்... பதறவைக்கு சிசிடிவி காட்சி #Tuticorin | #Accident | #CCTV | #PolimerNews

Enough is enough. We mapped Bengaluru traffic to prove it is a huge civic and health risk that is taking lives and costing us lakhs just to exist here. Some extremely sad data we found: i) In a heart attack every 30 minutes of delay before treatment raises the risk of dying within a year by 7.5%. At 6 pm traffic here can add 25 minutes to an ambulance ride. ii) Bengaluru has the most deaths from civic negligence in India. In August a 32 year old woman was killed when the bike she was on swerved around a pothole. iii) Rush hour takes about a month of working hours from a commuter every year, like an 8% pay cut. Living near the tech parks to avoid it costs ₹1.6 to ₹2.4 lakh more a year in rent. iv) You have access to only 3 out of 10 essential public facilities (schools, hospitals, toilets etc) at 6pm within a 30 minute vicinity. v) The ORR carries more than double the traffic it can handle. Last year a company said it would leave Bellandur over 1.5 hour commutes and another state invited it within a day. vi) The ORR bus lane cut bus trips by about 20 minutes. It was removed in 2022 for metro work and still is not back. This is intolerable for a city that drives so much of India's economy. We cannot let India's Silicon Valley stall. My team has put the most immediate fixes that will help solve this + how delayed/pushed they have been. Tag the people who can fix it: Traffic police or Namma Metro or GBA or the CM's office and let us all be honest and tell us what 6 pm has cost you. #Bengaluru #BengaluruTraffic

My Letter to the People of Mysuru Dear Mysureans, Namaste! Last Sunday, I was in Mysuru to participate in the L’Étape Mysuru cycling event. Congratulations on having such a wonderful cycling event find its home in your beautiful city! The event was fantastic and very well organised. But what struck me most was just how beautiful it is to cycle in Mysuru, inarguably Karnataka’s most beautiful city. The wide roads, massive green trees, cool morning breeze, the challenging climb up Chamundi Hill and the rewarding downhill, the beautiful roads through quaint villages towards Varuna. Every bit was absolutely beautiful. Many fellow cyclists who have cycled extensively abroad remarked that the experience was comparable to, and sometimes even better than, cycling in Western countries. It is precisely for this reason that I am writing to you. Please protect what you have. Do not allow this beautiful city to be destroyed by stupid, unplanned urbanisation that eats up everything beautiful, aesthetic and life-giving about a city. Unfortunately, this has happened to a great extent in Bengaluru. I have four humble requests. First, please do not allow flyovers inside your city. Flyovers are among the ugliest things we can do to a beautiful city. They do not sustainably solve traffic congestion. Instead, they create ugly concrete monsters that destroy the aesthetics and character of a city. If anyone proposes flyovers as a solution to Mysuru’s traffic problems, reject such proposals outright. Do not allow your beautiful boulevards to become concrete jungles. Second, demand a completely underground Metro system for Mysuru. Mysuru will grow. Economic activity will increase, and so will the demand for better urban mobility. Please start planning for this future today. An underground Metro can become the backbone of Mysuru’s public transport while preserving its beauty and aesthetics. Yes, it may be more expensive initially, but the long-term benefits to the city’s character and quality of life will make it worth every rupee. Third, protect your boulevards, trees, parks, lakes and open spaces at all costs. One reason urban life in most Indian cities has become so stressful is the grave shortage of green and open spaces. These are not luxuries. They are essential to our physical and mental well-being. They allow us to slow down, breathe and reconnect with our real home, nature. Mysuru still has so much of this. Please do not allow these treasures to disappear in the name of development. Once lost, they are almost impossible to recreate. Fourth, preserve Mysuru’s walking culture. One of the most heartening things I noticed was how many people still walk long distances. This wonderful culture has almost disappeared from many cities because we have started building cities exclusively for cars, not people. Invest heavily in good footpaths, pedestrian crossings, shaded walking streets and safe public spaces. Make walking the most natural and enjoyable way of moving around Mysuru. Along with an underground Metro and good public transport, this can make Mysuru a model for Indian urban development. Mysuru is not just another city. It is a cultural symbol of Karnataka. Its history, heritage, institutions and contribution to modern, progressive Karnataka make it truly special. Bengaluru has unfortunately made many mistakes in its urbanisation. Mysuru has the opportunity to learn from them rather than repeat them. Development need not come at the cost of beauty. Modernisation need not mean destroying heritage. Economic growth need not mean making cities unliveable. I sincerely hope Mysureans will take an active interest in how their city grows, support good urban planning, oppose bad infrastructure proposals and protect everything that makes Mysuru special. You have inherited one of India’s most beautiful cities. Please ensure that future generations inherit an even more beautiful Mysuru. Love, Tejasvi Surya