Frustrated at the lack of basic civic amenities available to the those residing and working in the IT area of Bengaluru, a public forum called Whitefield Rising protested in a novel way to highlight the grave situation.
On Friday, the forum members donned black clothes and will do so throughout the month of August. Today marked their first Friday of protest, to express their frustration and gather attention of civic authorities, just ahead of the upcoming Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) elections.
Abhishek Matlapudi, a Whitefield Rising member
Anjali Saini, another member went all black to mark her protest
Residents and employees at major tech companies complain that Whitefield which is the IT hub of the city, has poor infrastructure - plenty of pot holes, non-functional street lights, polluted lakes, traffic chaos to name a few and little is being done to address it.
Co-founder of Whitefield Rising Nitya Ramakrishnan
Whitefield Rising is a group that enjoys support from over 9,000 Facebook users.
Jagadish Reddy
Jagadish Reddy, who has been associated with the group since its establishment says, “There are many IT companies in this area and we pay our taxes. Our tax money should be used for us.”
Uma Golwalkar Vyas takes a selfie with her mother
He also adds that in comparison to the eastern region of the city (where Whitefield is located), the southern and western region is far more developed and has better facilities, too.
Devika Krishnan (in saree) with other members from Whitefield Rising
Devika Krishnan, also a member of the group says, “We do not believe in bandhs, destroying of public property, blocking of roads. We are civilized people and so we are going for this non-intrusive and non-violent protest.”
All images taken from Facebook page of Whitefield Rising.