Bangalore

A Child's View
Published in India by

Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy

4th Floor, UNI Building, Thimmaiah Road,
Vasanth Nagar, Bangalore 560052, India

First published in July 2015

TEAM
Alia Dharssi, American India Foundation William J. Clinton Fellow, Janaagraha
Mesha Tella, Intern, Janaagraha
Design: Sandeep Chandran, Janaagraha.
Introduction
In February and March 2015, 63 eighth standard students from schools around
Bangalore explored the neighbourhoods near their schools with cameras in their
hands. They walked far and wide, past parks and through narrow streets to take
pictures of things affecting their quality of life. They clicked pictures of footpaths,
animals, trees, piles of garbage, traffic and all sorts of other things that affect
their daily life. Then, they sat down with researchers from the Janaagraha Centre
for Citizenship and Democracy to talk about what they liked and didnt like about
Bangalore. This picture book showcases some of their pictures and discusses the
good and bad things that shape their quality of life.
 Dust bins are a positive aspect in parks as it helps in
keeping the park and its surroundings clean.

Yashas, Little Flower Public School

e there
ac e in m y ci ty is Lal Bagh becaus
My favorite pl mind.
ee s w hi ch gi ve happiness to my
tr
are lots of green
place
The parks are a clean, good HS Malleshwaram
18th Cross
Shashank SK, GB
for children to play.

Hajira, Bright High School Sandhya

Little Flower Public School

Ganesh
GBHS Malleshwaram 18th Cross

Syed Ridhwan
Citizens High School

Zubera
School
Citizens High

Shashank S
GBHS Malleshwaram 18th Cross
 Parks
Garbage is not cl
eared from the pa
so people are faci rks,
ng problems.

Kiran J, GBHS M
alleshwaram 18th
Cross

One of the things that the children liked most about Bangalore was the parks
throughout the city. Some mentioned that they enjoyed iconic green spaces
in Bangalore, such as Lal Bagh and Cubbon Park, but they also said that there
werent enough parks. Many worried about green spaces that had been destroyed
or dirtied with garbage, and said that there was a need for more parks.

Sanjay J
GBHS Malleshwaram 18th Cross

h
Harshit c School
e n P ubli
Aud

Prabhakar
Citizens High School Komala
Sanjay J Udaya High Scho
18th Cross
GBHS Malleshwaram ol
 ik ross
CN Hruth shwaram, 18th C
ectric
GBHS M a ll e
ng al or e, m an y pe ople are dying of el
In our Ba cal poles and
ca us e pe op le stand near electri
sh oc k be uching the
r ho us es th er e. Pe ople are dying by to
build thei
nging very low.
wires, which are ha

gh School
Praveen K, Udaya Hi
box,
e s t h e power
ouch e.
Srinivas ebody t le or di
If som bi g t r o u b
Jaigopal Garoda Rashtroth ll be in
ana Vidyalaya
they wi th C ross
eshwaram 18
B HS Mall
nk S, G
Shasha

Abishek dyalaya
Rashtrothana Vi
Jaigopal Garoda

Cross
Abhishek Vinod m, 18th
GBHS Ma
K
M a ll e shwara
lleshwara GBHS Mohammad Sujahid
m , 18th Cro
ss Citizens High School
 and
il d re n ar e p laying games
When ch , they
tt le co ck fa lls in the wires
the sh u ut
if th ey tr y to pick it up o
will get hu rt
of the wires.

Electricity
ol
ya High Scho
Komala P, Uda

The government should introduce

long-term plans to improve things like One of the main challenges identified by the
unmaintained electricity, wires, danger- students was electrical hazards. They worry that
ous things. loose electrical wires and open transformers in
parks where they play, as well as on the roads,
Harshith, Auden Public School may harm them or other children. Some are also
concerned about power shortages and how they
affect families and the economy.
na hool
Chanda els Public Sc
A n g
Little

Vibha
ic School
Little Flower Publ
Varshin
i
Little A
ngels P Rakshitha
ublic Scho
ol h
Little Angels Publ Nishant hool
ic School
u d e n P ublic Sc
A
Plastic does not decompose. It spoils
the soil and, after many days, plants
stop growing because of the plastics.

Abishek, Jaigopal Garodia Rashtrothana

ch
ust be placed in ea
Garbage bins m on-
d ev er y ar ea . Pe ople must be resp
an e
enough to put th
sible and educated
the bin.
waste products in

English School
Priya, Holy Child

Alan
Bright H
The garbage of our house should be han Stuthi igh Schoo
l
d- Auden Public School Priyanka
ed over to the vehicle which comes in the
Bright High School
morning. If we throw waste wherever
we
want, we get diseases. So we should info
rm
corporation members to remove garbage. and increases

g ga rb ag e co nsumes oxygen
Burnin garbage.
Sanjay BS, Udaya Kannada High School ut io n . Pe op le shouldnt burn
poll
ig
Primary and H
SI S Go ve rn m ent Urdu Model
H
Ahmed Pasha, ol
M od el Primary Scho
SchoolUrdu

Sanjay BS Kiran Nischith

BN Auden Pub
Kumar aram Udaya High School GBHS Malleshwaram li c School
Pavan
alleshw
GBHS M
 Garbage
Ravi Kiran R Malesha N
shwaram
GBHS Malleshwar GBHS Malle
am

Every single child who participated in the project is concerned about the
garbage in Bangalore. They worry about the impact it has on the health of
children and Bangaloreans in general, as well as how it is damaging the
environment. While many said the government needs to do a better job at
dealing with garbage, they also said that people must take responsibility
and clean up after themselves.

wet and
ed like
be separat
should
Waste
te.
dry was oss
18th Cr
waram
GBHS Mallesh
Vinod,

gh

e has
g e , o u r Bangalor
a
this garb Garbage
City
Due to
Abdul R
ehman
a s t h e arden
HSIS Go name as the G
vernmen
t Urdu M got a bad r k n o w n
as earlie
Primary
and Hig odel Harshitha
h Schoo ic School which w
l Little Angels Publ Rakshitha
Little Angels Public School City.
l
lic Schoo
,A uden Pub
Sharanya
 Vibha
Little Flower Public School
aluru.
pi le s of w as te in cities like Beng
ge
One could see hu in roads, poisonous
insects may
e is du m pe d should
If such garbag d ca us e trouble. So waste
ho us es an
fly to the nearby y waste. Garbage sh
ould not be
as w et an d dr alth.
be separated t. It w ill be a cause for ill he
w e w an
thrown wherever

gh School
Saman, Udaya Hi

th yalaya
J Heman da Rashtrothana Vid
aro
Jaigopal G

Ravi Kiran
GBHS Malleshwaram 18th Cross Abishek
Jaigopal Garoda Rashtrothana Vidyalaya

garbage.
In the city, there is too much
Its not good for children.

School
Supritha, Little Angels Public
 There are gar
bage bins loca
ple dump thei ted across th
r garbage at a e street, but p
morning, even vacant area in eo-
cows come th the corner. In
covers in the ere to eat. Th the
heap. The cow ere are even p
turb vehicles s also come to la stic
and people w mid-road and
ho pass by. dis-
Sanjeeva, Hol
y Child Englis
h School

Sharany
Harshith Auden P
a
School
Auden Public ublic Sch
ool

house,
If we throw garbage outside near the
parents and children will have to face the
problem of mosquitoes. So we should not
laya throw garbage.
ana Vidya
nth M as htroth
Hema l Garoda R
p a s
J a i g o Malesha, GBHS Malleshwaram 18th Cros
Om
Little Flow
er Public Sch
ool

J Hemanth
Jaigopal Garoda Rashtrothana
Vidyalaya
 People are ve This w
ry careless an as the m
residents of th d not perform speak a ain thin
e street. They ing their duti bout. Yo g I wan
just fill the w es as wearing u can se ted to
tap as it is. T ater and leav a mask. e the poli
he tap leaks an e the the poll It clearl ce
homes, which d the water fl ution. T y talks a
spoils the clea ows in front h b out
street. nliness and im of their so much e area i
pression of th that peo s pollut
e avoid th ple wea e d
em. r masks
to
Athiya, Citize
ns High Scho
ol Sandhy
a, Little
Flower
Public S
chool

ces and we
vehicles for short distan
We should reduce using we can
us e cy cle s or we sh ou ld walk. Because of that,
should
be healthy. Sandhya
Little Flo
rodia Rashtrothana wer Pub
Hemanth M, Jaigopal Ga lic Scho
ol

MD Tohid
Bright High School

Nischith
Auden P
u blic Sch
ool

Naziya
Bright High School
 Environment
The children enjoyed the greenery in Bangalore. Many said
the government and locals should grow more plants, trees and
flowers. The children also worried about the impact that piles of
garbage and pollution from cars, is having on nature, the health
of Bangaloreans and animals. Many worried about wastage of
environmental resources, such as water.

Zubera
School
Citizens High

Iqra
Citizens High
School Komala
Udaya High School

Heman
Harsh th
trothana Vidyalaya Jaigopa M
Jaigopal Garoda Rash l Garod
a Rashtrotha
na Vidy
alaya
 because
ry h ou se sh ou ld plant a tree
Eve air.
s give us fresh
plants and tree

igh School
Alan, Bright H

Gurukiran l
nglish Schoo
Holy Child E

ts and
ow a lot of plan
We should gr it is
sh ou ld n ot cu t trees because
we
.
not good for us
School
le Angels Public
Rakshitha, Litt

Surabhi
Little Angels Public School

Ahmed Pas
ha Primary
rn m en t U rdu Model Supritha
Pratheek HSIS Gove
chool Little Angels Public School
Holy Child English School and High S
 and it is nice to
Plants are good for our health t
homes. our life so we should no
plant the trees in front of our Water is necessary in
waste water.
ool
Surabhi, Little Angel Public Sch
ool
Monica, Citizens High Sch

We saw many trees ps and apartments, they are cutting

amazing and place
near the road. It wa
s looking Nowadays for building the houses, sho y
was very clean. that they are not in the right path. The
the trees. But they should get to know
Syed Ridhwan Ahme should stop cutting trees.
d, Citizens High Scho
ol
Chinmayee, Little Angels Public School

Yashas
Little Flower Public Sch
ool

Praveen
Udaya High School Gurukir
an
Holy Chil
d English
Pratheek Scho ol
Holy Child English School

Smoking not good for the smokers hea

lth and
for the societys health.

Mohammed Yousif, HSIS Government

Urdu Model Primary
and High SchoolUrdu Model School
 ct-
pi ct ur e, yo u ca n se e a lady who is colle
In this e tank, there
g wa te r fro m th e water tank. Near th
in the water
ia. She is collecting
are fungi and bacter to her when
r dr in ki ng pu rp os e. What will happen
fo her
ks th is wa te r an d falls sick? I talked to
she drin r house and
ere are no taps in he
and she said that th taps. My
ough money to build
she doesnt have en ld build the
e government shou
suggestion is that th
taps.

School
Naziya, Bright High

Sinchana
Little Flower Publi
c School

This picture sh
ows a man wh
on an uneven pl o is standing
atform which is
he loses his ba high up. If
lance, there ar
of fatal injuries e great chance
. This picture sh s
unsafe condition ows the
s that people ar
work in and to e asked to
what extent pe
their family. op le go to feed

Vibha, Little Fl
ower Public Sc
hool Naziya
Bright High School

if
Mohammed Yous ary and High
rn m en t Urdu Model Prim
HSIS Gove
School
 People
While walking around their schools, the students saw, met and interacted
with many people, including street vendors, shopkeepers, police officers
and auto drivers. The students are concerned about social problems, such
as poverty and children like themselves who sell things on the street
instead of going to school.

Harshitha
Little Angels Public School Srinivas
Ganesh Jaigopal Garoda Rashtrothana Vidyalaya
GBHS Malleshwara
Shashank S m 18th Cross
18th Cross
GBHS Malleshwaram
 Fahad
Citizens H
ig h School

Shahid
Citizens High Sc
hool

Men pass uri

ne in public p
and can make laces. This ca
public places n cause disea
dirty. se
Prabhakar, Ci
tizens High Sc
hool

This i
s a lady
mosque cleanin
. It is a g the ro Syed Ridhwan
in fron ve ad in fr
t of God ry good job. S
ol
ont of a Citizens High Scho
s hom he is cl
e. eaning
Fahad,
Citizen
s High
School

Priya
Holy Chil
dEnglish Sch
o ol
 ea
ia d o n t even hav
d
ople in In ia are suf
fering.
Many pe le o f I n d
ared to
e peop dia comp
house. Th r t y in I n
ore pove
There is m
ntries.
other cou
idyalaya
otthana V
ia Rashtr
o pal Garod
Harsh,Jaig

Chinmayee ool
s Public Sch
Little Angel

Cheth
a
Udaya n
High
Sc hool

Chethan
Udaya High School

s because
pe op le sh ou ld be helped to cross road
Old the road.
e strength to cross
they will not have th t them.
try to cr os s ro ad , the vehicles will hi
If they ad is good
ople to cross the ro
So helping the old pe e road, in
. If yo u he lp th e ol d people to cross th
work help.
will also get others
future your parents

School
Chethan, Udaya High
We sh
ould no
in the s t do an
ociety. y socia
l discri
mination
Prathee
k, Holy
Child E
nglish
School
 Priyanka MD Tohid
Bright High School Bright High Sc
ere may
in the footpath, th
hool
ue to th e pi ts
D and get-
falling or tripping
be chances of us
ting injured.

blic School
Stuthi, Auden Pu

There should
be proper foo
Footpaths are tpaths for the
meant for the people to wal
their vehicles people to wal k.
there and ped k but others par
causes acciden estrians walk k
ts. on the road. T
his
Jagruti, Holy
Child English
School

ts.
People are using the foothpaths like toile

Monica Model Primary

Shabaz Qureshi, HSIS Government Urdu
Citizens High School el Primary and
and High SchoolGovernment Urdu Mod
High School

kar
Prabha igh School
s H
Citizen

Malesha 18th Cross

leshwaram
GBHS Mal

Fahad Shashank SK
Citizens High School GBHS Malleshwaram 18th Cross
 ause of the bad
The people get diseases bec
bad odor.
drainage system and it causes

MD Tohid, Bright High School

Streets & Footpaths

Another major concern for children is the condition of roads and footpaths in the city. They students
noticed potholes, uneven roads and other things that could cause car crashes. They also said that broken
footpaths, open drainage and other things make it hard for people to walk around and could injure
pedestrians.
The gully for drainage
is
open and does not have
a
proper compound to pr
e- People love to walk on clean and beau
vent children from fallin tiful
g streets.
in.

Priyanka, Bright High Sch Shahid, Citizens High School

ool

th, it is dif-
If the shops are at the footpa
the footpath.
ficult for the public to walk on
They cannot walk.

waram, 18th Cross

Sthuthi Pavan Kumar BN, GBJS Mallesh
Auden P Hajira Alan
School
ublic Sch
ool Bright High Bright High Scho
ol
 Shashank S K
GBHS Malleshwara
m 18th Cross

Jagruti
The footp
Holy Child English School ath is crack
properly. W ed and it is
hen people not closed
they might walks on th
fall. e footpath,
Kiran Chandana,
GBHS M Little Angel
alleshwar s Public Sch
am 18th ool
Cross

Pavan Kumar
GBHS Malleshw Sanjay BS
aram 18th Cross Udaya High School

Hruthik
GBHS Malleshwaram 18th Cross
 Om
Little Flower Public School
is not
s a drainage which
This footpath ha is a big
Abhishek ve re d pr op er ly with cement. This
co and
Jaigopal Garodia Rashtrottha
na Vidyalaya people, old people
problem for blind
children.

gels Public School

Varshini, Little An

Surabhi
Little Angels Pu
blic School In some places, there are no
streetlights and it is hard to walk
at night and for vehicles to drive.

Abhishek, GBHS Malleshwaram,

18th Cross

Varshini
Public School
Little Angels

Abdul rehman
ary and
HSIS Government Urdu Model Prim
High School
Mohammed Ibrahim
HSIS Government Urdu Model Primary and High School
 Sanjeeva Our Bangalore has too many vehicles
Holy Chil . Because of this,
dEnglish Sch the environment is damaged and people
o ol are also facing
problems. Pedestrians are facing problem
s to walk and
people are dying of vehicle smoke. This
smoke is also
damaging the ozone layer. So overuse
of vehicles should
be avoided and plants should be grown.

Praveen, Udaya Kannada High School

Priya
f the
Holy Child English School
a p p e n in g because o
ts h trict
e re a re m any acciden m e n t s h o uld take a s
Traffic m Th govern and
ovement o ads and the id accidents
is difficult n the ring damaged ro w e c a n a v o ds.
for pedestr road is hea
ians to walk vy and it n o n th is . That way g in th e h ighway roa
have sky w acti o ra crossin
alks and su so they nee ld be a zeb
bways. d to there shou
Srinivas. Ja htrothana
igopal Garo
dia Rasthro , Jaiopal Garodia Ras
thana J Hemanth

ol
d High Scho
Primary an
du Model
Shabaz ernment Ur
G o v
HSIS

Athiya
Mohammed Yousif h School
Citizens Hig
HSIS Government Urdu Model Primary and High School
 in Bangalore. We cant
ee Broken footpaths are a major problem
Chinmay hool ving vehicles and, on top of
Angels Public Sc walk on the roads due to the fast-mo
Little due to its bad condition.
it, we also cant walk on the footpath

Sinchana, Little Flower Public School

Chandana
Little Angels Public Sch
ool

Traffic
Traffic is another issue that affects the students. Some said that roads need
to be planned better with more safety measures. Others criticized rash
driving and said traffic issues create problems for pedestrians, including
children and the elderly.

have
trians will
The pedes e
blems if th
to face pro the
ove before
Saman
hool vehicles m
Udaya High Sc on.
signal goes
waram
BHS Mallesh
Alfisha Ganesha, G
Citizens H 18th Cross
ig h School

Sinchana
Athiya
Little Flower Public Sch
Citizens High School ool
 uld
d o, I sho
rs wh a t t o
all I think by joining BBMP I can do something. Like if I could
l ing othe s, then
bef o r e t e l
of us c h a n g e be a mayor, I could put a police in each of the streets and
First, e. If one e
x a m p l nge. help with cleaning and put a pressure on the cleaning peopl
set an e n also cha the garba ge and
th e y c a so that they clean every street and reduce
will say
ublic Sc
hool put fine on the polluting vehicles.
gels P
ha, Little An
Harshit
Monica Nishanth, Auden Public School
Citizens High School

We have to
follow the pri
citizens and st nciple of clea
rive for the su nliness to be
good citizen ccess of the co good
involves active untry. Being
growing more participation a
trees. , being clean
and
Gurukiran, H
oly Child Engl
ish School

ees.
th e h ou se s m ust plant the tr
All our
is contained in
If this greenery come
ga lo re , ou r B angalore will be
Ban
a green land.

s High School
Zubera, Citizen
Naziya Supritha
Bright Hig Little Angels Public School
h School

e corpora- een hool

We can approach th Prav High Sc
a
oblems. Uday
tor regarding our pr

, HSIS Government
Mohammed Ibrahim
and High School-
Urdu Model Primary
School
Urdu Model Primary

We can clean our ro

ad Mohd. Ibrahim
HSIS Government Urdu
Alfisha Fathima, Cit Model Primary and
izens High School High School
Changing the city If I become
will segrega
clean and cl
an MLA, I w
te different
ose manhole
ill change th
waste, make
s.
th
e city. I
e road
In spite of the challenges, many of the students were optimistic about how Sanjay J, GB
HS Malleshw
they could help create a change in Bangalore. They spoke about the ways aram 18th C
ross
that they could help to improve things today and the ways in which they
hoped to do so in the future. They also talked about how they could convince
the government and fellow citizens to help improve Bangalore.
Shahid
Citizens High School

ould change.
n at h om e. Everyone sh
Change should
be gi sources
r at ti tu de s to wards scarce re
ge ou
We need to chan
electricity.
like water and
ol
n Puublic Scho
Nischith, Aude

We can take an initiative to clean up garbage

Sanjeev ool
with the help of authorities. We can involve the Holy Child
English Sch
corporator in solving the problem.

Om, Little Flower Public School

nliness by
ld cr ea te aw areness on clea
We shou and with oth-
us si n g it w it hin our family
disc
ers.
le not to cut trees.
I want to tell peop Go vernment Urdu
Model Primary
and
an , H SI S
Abdul Rehm y School
Malleshwaram 18th
Cross el Urdu Primar
CN Hruthik , GBHS High SchoolMod

I tell people: Dont put trash

there. It affects
We want Bangalor me, you and other people too
e to be a garden .
city, a good garden
city.
hool Ravi Kiran, GBHS Malleshwar
and High Sc am 18th Cross
Shabaz Primary
Iqra, Citizens High
School ve rn ment Urdu Model
HSIS Go
 Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy
4th Floor, UNI Building, Thimmaiah Road, Vasanth Nagar, Bengaluru-560052
Phone: 080-40790400, Fax: 080-41277104
Email: info@janaagraha.org

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