Special Commissioner of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has warned that Bengaluru’s infrastructure is under huge threat as its population may touch 25 Million in the next decade.
Bengaluru’s population
Special Commissioner of BBMP, Dr. Thrilok Chandra, said that Bengaluru’s population of 1.3 crores is likely to double, to touch 2.5 crores in the next decade thus weakening the city’s infrastructure.
He claimed that this will be resulting in unscientific urbanization causing huge health concerns to the citizens.
Addressing a session on ‘One Health and Pandemic Prevention’ at the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2022 on the second day, he said people have been migrating to cities for various reasons but the capacity of the city to resist this kind of growth is not so strong.
He said if the health of the citizens of Bengaluru has to be good and maintained well, there is a need for smooth functioning of the rules and the administration.
Health Infrastructure To Be Strained
The Special Commissioner said health is not limited to humans but it encompasses animal health and the environment in which the citizens live as in recent years man has been plagued with diseases spread by animals such as chikungunya and dengue adding that 75 percent of the infections are transmitted by animals which is alarming.
Dr. Thrilok Chandra also added that solid wastes, air pollution, and water pollution have all crossed the limits. Steps to bring down the pollution level have not been successful, he said, adding that modern technologies have to be adopted at the ward and community level in that direction.
Dr. Farah Ishtiaq, Principal Scientist, at Tata Institute for Genetics and Society, said rapid urbanization has been the bane of several problems. She said there is an urgent need to thoroughly use science and technology to change the urban ecology. She said most importantly lakes, water bodies, and other sources of water need to be protected, preserved, and cleaned.
