Bengaluru Grapples With Fallout From India’s Breakneck Growth
The city at the heart of the tech industry has gone from bucolic retirement community to overcrowded metropolis in just three decades.
Bengaluru, India.
Photographer: Kanishka Sonthalia/Bloomberg
On a January stroll around Sankey Tank, a verdant lake in Bengaluru, Kimsuka Iyer noticed that dozens of trees had been painted with red and black X’s and O’s. As a native of the city that many residents still call Bangalore, the 34-year-old marketing executive understood the symbols: The trees were to be cut down. She soon discovered the government had approved construction of a highway overpass along the water’s edge. To make way for the road, the trees had to go—and no one had bothered to ask nearby residents their opinion. “People were pissed,” Iyer says. “Once the trees are gone, they’re gone.”
As recently as 30 years ago, Bengaluru was known as a sleepy place where well-heeled Indians chose to retire, thanks to its small-town vibe and cool climate. Almost 200 lakes were linked by countless canals, low-rise cottages clustered in parklike neighborhoods, and it was easy to bike wherever you needed to go.