Bangalore is lucky. The Airport is shifting.
(17.8.2007)
By
Vishnu.S.Jarugumilli
9845077374
http://crorepatihomes.net
Cities change and dynamic cities change dramatically. In case of Bangalore, the city’s map more or less remained the same for 30 years during the period 1970-2000. Sure the population increased and some open areas filled up but there were no dramatic changes. Post 2000, two developments changed the Bangalore we know, quite drastically. 1) Creation of the EPIP zone in Whitefield and 2) Opening of the Outer ring road. Anyone who remembers how the ORR stretch looked from Silk board to Hebbal on the eastern part of the city, as recently as in 2002 (just 5 years back), will agree that it is not the same old Bangalore we know.
Now, we are all set for the 3rd development that will change the map of Bangalore beyond recognition in the next 5 years. It is the shifting of the airport to Devanahalli in less than 7 months from now. Many Bangaloreans are still not totally sure that this will happen by the scheduled date of April 2nd 2008. The industry is demanding continuation of at least domestic services from HAL airport and so are the low cost airlines. But the matter is not in the hands of either the industry or even the state govt. In the words of the civil aviation minister, Mr. Praful Patel “ The industry will have its wish list. But we are bound by the contractual obligations with the private developers of the Devanahalli airport”. That puts the curtains firmly on the HAL airport, come Apr 2nd.
On the face of it, this development looks crazy. It is sure to make traveling to the new airport difficult from any part of the city and impossible from many parts of South Bangalore. Then, in what way can this be termed as a welcome development?
Now, look at this from a totally different perspective and the story goes like this.
By all means, India in general and Bangalore in particular, are all set to continue with the same pace of economic development that we witnessed during the last 5 years. That, coupled with the furious pace of urbanization (that we are witnessing due to the jobs boom) is pushing the borders of our cities like never before. Bangalore today is like a hungry dog. Throw a piece of bone even thirty kms away, and it will pick it up in a flash. Devanahali will be lapped up by Bangalore much faster than most of us imagine.
And what is the status of today’s Bangalore anyway? It is a city suffering from high cholesterol. Its arteries are choked. Its veins are swollen. The city is in ICU and it badly needs some breathing space. Now just imagine eating all the junk you are tempted to eat and being able to pass on the cholesterol to your neighbor’s body. Devanahalli will precisely offer this service to Bangalore. Just as a matter of statistics, the present airport road can get rid of the traffic of around 30,000 cars per day due to the 150 flights that the airport operates. And the ongoing developments in Devanahalli in the corporate/commercial/residential space (ask me for more details, if you are keen to know) are sure to suck out a lot of activity from the present Bangalore.
Actually, the new airport is only an excuse. The city would have gone north even otherwise. It is because all cities grow on their entry/exit roads. Bangalore has 12 such roads. They are 1) Bannerghatta road 2) Hosur road 3) Sarjapur road 4) Varthur road 5) Old madras road 6) Hennur road 7) Devanahalli (Bellary) road 8) Dodballapur road 9) Tumkur road 10) Magadi road 11) Mysore road and 12) Kanakapura road. A look at the prospects of all these roads and you will understand that except Bellary and Mysore roads, the other corridors can not accommodate any further growth.
In other words, Devanahalli will be the “Gurgaon” of Bangalore. It took a visionary like Mr. K.P.Singh to develop Gurgaon and offer a neighborhood alternative to Delhi. In case of Bangalore this will happen by default. Talk of reaping rich dividends from some horribly bad planning. Bangalore can’t be luckier than this. Only, of course, sometimes it takes time for us to realize that something was actually good for us though we did not initially believe so.