About Bangalore
Bangalore lies in the southeast of the South
Indian state of Karnataka. It is in the heart of the Mysore Plateau
(a region of the larger Precambrian Deccan Plateau) at an average
elevation of 920 m (3,018 feet). It is positioned at 12.97° N 77.56°
E and covers an area of 741 km² (286 mi²).The majority of the city
of Bangalore lies in the Bangalore Urban district of Karnataka and
the surrounding rural areas are a part of the Bangalore Rural
district. The Government of Karnataka has carved out the new
district of Ramanagaram from the old Bangalore Rural district.
The topology of Bangalore is flat except for a central ridge running
NNE-SSW. The highest point is Doddabettahalli, which is 962 m (3,156
ft) and lies on this ridge.No major rivers run through the city,
though the Arkavathi and South Pennar cross paths at the Nandi
Hills, 60 km (37 mi.) to the north. River Vrishabhavathi, a minor
tributary of the Arkavathi, arises within the city at Basavanagudi
and flows through the city. The rivers Arkavathi and Vrishabhavathi
together carry much of Bangalore's sewage.
Climate
Due to its high elevation, Bangalore usually enjoys salubrious
climate throughout the year, although freak heat waves can make
things very uncomfortable in the summer. The coolest month is
January with an average low temperature of 15.1 °C and the hottest
month is April with an average high temperature of 33.6 °C. The
highest temperature ever recorded in Bangalore is 38.9 °C and the
lowest ever is 7.8 °C (on January 1884). Winter temperatures rarely
drop below 12 °C (54 °F), and summer temperatures seldom exceed
36-37 °C (100 °F). Bangalore receives rainfall from both the
northeast and the southwest monsoons and the wettest months are
September, October and August, in that order.
Civic Administration
The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP, Greater Bangalore
Municipal Corporation) is in charge of the civic administration of
the city.[30] It was formed in 2007 by merging 100 wards of the
erstwhile Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, with the neighbouring 7 City
Municipal Councils (CMC), one Town Municipal Council and 110
villages around Bangalore.
Bangalore's rapid growth has created several problems relating to
traffic congestion and infrastructural obsolescence that the
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike has found challenging to address. A 2003
Battelle Environmental Evaluation System (BEES) evaluation of
Bangalore's physical, biological and socioeconomic parameters
indicated that Bangalore's water quality and terrestrial and aquatic
ecosystems were close to ideal, while the city's socioeconomic
parameters (traffic, quality of life) scored poorly. The BMP has
been criticised by the Karnataka High Court, citizens and
corporations for failing to effectively address the crumbling road
and traffic infrastructure of Bangalore. The unplanned nature of
growth in the city resulted in massive traffic gridlocks that the
municipality attempted to ease by constructing a flyover system and
by imposing one-way traffic systems.
Some of the flyovers and one-ways mitigated the traffic situation
moderately but were unable to adequately address the
disproportionate growth of city traffic. In 2005 both the Central
Government and the State Government allocated considerable portions
of their annual budgets to address Bangalore's infrastructure. The
Bangalore Mahanagara Palike works with the Bangalore Development
Authority (BDA) and the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF) to design
and implement civic projects. Bangalore generates about 3,000 tonnes
of solid waste per day, of which about 1,139 tonnes are collected
and sent to composting units such as the Karnataka Composting
Development Corporation. The remaining solid waste collected by the
municipality is dumped in open spaces or on roadsides outside the
city.
Demographics
With an estimated population of 5,281,927 in the year 2007,
Bangalore is the third most populous city in India and the 27th most
populous city in the world. With a decadal growth rate of 38%,
Bangalore was the fastest-growing Indian metropolis after New Delhi
for the decade 1991-2001. Residents of Bangalore are referred to as
Bangaloreans in English or Bengaloorinavaru in Kannada. As of 2004,
Kannadigas formed about 38.7% of the population, and the rest
(61.3%) were non-Kannadigas. The cosmopolitan nature of the city has
caused people from other states of India to migrate to Bangalore and
settle there [60] Scheduled Castes and Tribes account for 14.3% of
the city's population. Apart from English and Kannada, other major
languages spoken in the city are Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
According to the 2001 census of India, 79.37% of Bangalore's
population is Hindu, roughly the same as the national average.
Muslims comprise 13.37% of the population, which again is roughly
the same as the national average, while Christians and Jains account
for 5.79% and 1.05% of the population, respectively, double that of
their national averages. Women make up 47.5% of Bangalore's
population. Bangalore has the second highest literacy rate (83%) for
an Indian metropolis, after Mumbai. Roughly 10% of Bangalore's
population lives in slums - a relatively low proportion when
compared to other cities in the developing world such as Mumbai
(42%) and Nairobi (60%). The 2004 National Crime Records Bureau
statistics indicate that Bangalore accounts for 9.2% of the total
crimes reported from 35 major cities in India.
Bangalore's HAL Airport (IATA code: BLR) is India's fourth busiest
and functions as both domestic and international airport and is well
connected to several destinations in the world. Unlike most airports
in the country which are controlled by the Airports Authority of
India, the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited owns and operates this
airport, and also uses it to test and develop fighter aircraft for
the Indian Air Force. With the liberalization of India's economic
policies, many domestic carriers such as SpiceJet, Kingfisher
Airlines, Jet Airways and Go Air have started servicing the city,
which has led to congestion problems at this airport. This situation
is expected to be eased when the new Bengaluru International
Airport, which is being constructed in Devanahalli in the outskirts
of Bangalore, becomes operational. Currently targeted to be
inaugurated on 30th March 2008, this airport will have two runways
and is being built to handle 11 million passengers per year.
A rapid transit system called the Bangalore Metro is being developed
and is expected to be operational by 2011. Once completed, this will
encompass a 33 km (20.5 mi) elevated and underground rail network,
with 32 stations in Phase I and more being added in Phase II.
Bangalore is well connected to the rest of the country through the
Indian Railways. The Rajdhani Express connects Bangalore to New
Delhi, the capital of India. The city is also connected to Mumbai,
Chennai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad, as well as other major cities in
Karnataka.
Three-wheeled, black and yellow auto-rickshaws, referred to as
autos, are a popular form of transport. They are metered and can
accommodate up to three passengers. Taxi service within Bangalore is
provided by several operators commonly referred to as Citi taxis
which can take in up to four passengers and are usually metered and
more expensive than auto-rickshaws.
Buses operated by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC)
are the only means of public transport, available in the city. While
commuters can buy tickets on boarding these buses, BMTC also
provides an option of a bus pass to frequent users. BMTC also runs
air-conditioned red-coloured Volvo buses on major routes.