Bengaluru Rising is the latest initiative to try and bridge the gap between citizens and corporators.
As part of a new Bengaluru Rising initiative, 10000 people have been questioned across the city to understand what their biggest civic concerns are - and to convey those priorities to the city's mayor and corporators.
"Basically the biggest priorities are definitely commuting time, waste management. Some of the interesting findings were the demands from citizens for civic spaces, parks," Dr Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, who heads Bangalore Political Action Committee (BPAC) which conducted the survey, told NDTV.
Mayor BN Manjunath Reddy did put part of the blame for the city's plight on other agencies and a fund crunch. "IT-BT has given Bangalore international fame, no doubt, but some IT-BT companies are cheating when it comes to paying tax. We have put our faith in them," he said. Turning to Dr Shaw, he added, "If they are cheating on taxes - please request them to comply."
Dr Shaw, who has been an extremely successful biotechnology entrepreneur, told NDTV, "I agree with him. This is a thing that companies must be responsible about. They cannot start trying to avoid paying property tax."
The Bengaluru Rising team organised an event with the city corporation, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), to attempt to remind both citizens and corporators of their duties. Both sides believe they can help each other.
"There is tension for Bengaluru people - they want better roads, sanitary system, water system. If these people here help us it will be very useful," said Mr Reddy.
Dr Shaw responded, "I don't think it is about us against them. It is really about all of us together. I think that is what Bengaluru Rising is all about - how do we as citizens and citizens groups really work together with our elected representatives to make them understand what are the real issues?"
Bengaluru Rising is the latest initiative to try and bridge the gap between citizens and corporators. The fervent hope - that the positive talk is converted to real action on the ground.