* The year began on a sour note with reports of alleged mass molestation of women on M.G. Road by revellers. Before the police could act, another young woman was assaulted by a group of men at Kammanahalli in the wee hours of January 1, 2017. These incidents snowballed into a women’s safety issue and put the city police in the spot light.
* Bengaluru became the first city in the country to have its own logo. For the first time, the Vidhana Soudha was thrown open to the public.
* The most shocking incident that shook the city was the murder of senior journalist and social activist Gauri Lankesh by unidentified assailants outside her home in Rajarajeshwarinagar. A Special Investigation Team formed by the State government prepared sketches of the accused and claimed to have had definite leads, though there is no breakthrough yet.
* After demonetisation, police raided the house of former councillor Nagaraj in Srirampura in April and recovered demonetised currency notes amounting to ₹14.8 crore. Nagaraj and his sons — Gandhi and Shastry — were arrested in Arcot, Tamil Nadu. The arrest of Ravi Belagere, editor of a Kannada tabloid, on the charge of giving a ‘supari’ to eliminate his former colleague on December 8 also made a mark on the city’s crime graph.
* V.K. Sasikala, who was convicted in the disproportionate assets case, was lodged in Bengaluru Central Prison at Parappana Agrahara.
* On a more optimistic note, the rise of citizen activism forced the State government to eat humble pie and drop the ₹2,000 crore steel flyover project to the airport. Though the citizens’ movement - Steel Flyover Beda - started in October 2016, it bore fruit in March when Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George announced the project was scrapped. The movement evolved to Bus Bhagya Beku and Chukku Bukku Beku, following which the State government and Indian Railways signed an MoU to float a Special Purpose Vehicle for a suburban rail network.
* The State government trifurcated Bangalore University and two new universities - Bengaluru Central and Bengaluru North - were carved out of the parent university. The trifurcation took place without any ground work, thereby inconveniencing students.
* Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. started commercial operations on all the reaches of Phase I after a prolonged delay. Phase 1 includes Majestic intersection metro station, touted as one of the largest metro stations in Asia, which was constructed over seven acres at a cost of ₹500 crore.
* The work of a team of theoretical physicists from city-based International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) whose monumental work on study of gravitational waves in space time, came to fruition with the third successful discovery of gravitational waves. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US announced the discovery in June this year. A team of physicists from ICTS made crucial contributions to this discovery. What more, Kip Thorne, Rainer Weiss and Barry Barish, the three physicists who led the project, were awarded the Nobel prize for Physics in 2017.
* The loss of an over 100-year-old historic structure within Lalbagh Botanical Garden overshadowed all the good things that the Horticulture Department did in 2017. The dilapidated Krumbiegel hall was razed to the ground in November and with it, the city lost an important part of history. To make Cubbon Park less polluted, the park was made vehicle-free on Sundays and second Saturdays on an experimental basis.
* Several talented, young directors broke the myth that a film’s success is dependent on a stellar star cast. Several experimental films - Ondu Motteya Kathe, Shuddi, Kempiruve, Dayavittu Gamanisi, Urvi - were released.
What awaits... 2018
* The year is set to begin with elaborate security arrangements put in place by the city police to ensure that incidents of 2017 are not repeated. Nearly 15,000 police personnel, including 17 platoons of KSRP, were deputed across the city to maintain law and order, apart from over 1,600 CCTV cameras to keep an eye on revellers as the new year dawns.
* This year will most likely decide the ‘fate of the city’, as the draft Revised Master Plan – 2031, published towards the end of 2017, is up for debate. The RMP has come under severe criticism for lack of planning for water, power supply and lack of strategies for handling solid waste, land use and commercialisation of residential areas. The Karnataka High Court, which is hearing a case on the constitution of Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee, has asked the government to seek its permission before approving the plan.
* The Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. is likely to increase the number of coaches on Namma Metro to six from the existing three from January 2018. The move will benefit lakhs of metro users. Of the six coaches, the first coach will be reserved for women.
* If all goes as per plan, 150 electric buses may ply on city’s roads this year. The Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation is also planning to introduce value-added services such as smart cards, wi-fi services, reserving seats in premium service on a large scale.
* Ahead of the Assembly polls, the State government is planning to woo parents as it is likely to regulate fees in private schools. Incidentally, several students are likely to have a tough time as many examinations, including SSLC, second PU and the Common Entrance Test, have been advanced due to the polls.
* The construction of Terminal 2 of Kempegowda International Airport is expected to be kickstarted this year.
* The much-talked about Mini Niagara Falls at Lalbagh will open to the public in January. The work on renovating Dr. M.H. Marigowda National Horticulture Library has been fast-tracked and is likely to be ready before the Republic Day Flower Show. The Horticulture Department is expected to start work on building a memorial for Krumbiegel at the site of the old building, apart from restoring the aquarium. At Cubbon Park, work on constructing new gates is expected to be completed this year.
