The Key Issues Facing Bengaluru Ahead of Municipal Polls

Bengaluru, Karnataka: With the municipal elections due this Saturday, the residents of Bengaluru are thinking more than usual about the civic challenges faced by the city. A garden city that first turned into the country's IT capital, became a pensioner's paradise, and is now a startup town.

The mind-numbing speed of the city's growth has brought several growing pains.

One of the biggest problems is traffic, as commuting in Bengaluru can take the spirit out of you. The city has 54 lakh vehicles on the road, and more than 1,000 vehicles are being registered every day.

One woman resident of Whitefield told NDTV, "I work for a startup and we really face difficulty attracting people to come and work with us... simply because nobody wants to travel this distance. At least 15 of our employees took 45 minutes to travel just one kilometre. We lose productivity, time, patience, everything."

Potholes on the roads have compounded the problem of heavy traffic.

An auto driver lamented, "It is very difficult. There are potholes in the road. When it rains, we can't even see where the potholes are. The old corporators were of no use."

The city made international headlines in the past when almost 4,000 tonnes of daily garbage was not removed from the city, as nearby villages refused to continue as waste dumping grounds.  Though the administration has promised to build six new waste management plants, there is a growing feeling that it may only be a time buying tactic rather than looking for a long term viable solution.

Pollution in the city has taken a new dimension, as images that went viral on social media, were of the dirty lakes, frothy with pollution, even flames emerging from the foam.

A woman resident said, "The smell is so bad we can't stay here. They bring rubbish here and dump it."

The citizens hope that the representatives, who are voted in, will ensure that this once beautiful city can regain its former charm.