Praja Bangalore

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Praja Bangalore, also known as Praja.in and Praja RAAG, is an organization of citizens who take active interest in urban civic issues concerning

NGOs in India, members of this non-profit group interact largely via Internet-based social media
tools.

History

The group started in 2007 when enthusiasts built a

society
was created to formalize this non-profit organization.

Current status

Praja RAAG is largely confined to Bangalore, though there have been efforts to spread the project to the cities of Mysore, Pune, and Chennai. The group has evolved to undertake projects based on volunteers' time and support, along with resources from academic institutions, local governments, and industry partners. The group has so far focused largely on land-based public transportation issues. They have interacted with

Bangalore Commuter Rail
.

Projects

In November 2009, in association with the Center for Infrastructure, Sustainable Transport and Urban Planning of the

Commuter Rail System in Bangalore,.[3][4] Thanks to this advocacy,[5] and support from Department of Urban Land Transport, state of Karnataka, RITES undertook a detailed feasibility study[6]
indicating cost estimates and a phase wise plan for starting Commuter Rail Service in Bangalore. Among other recent projects, Praja RAAG has done significant advocacy for Non Motorized Transportation (NMT) via designated cycle tracks, and has been pitching for
BRTS in Bangalore via advocacy efforts for a concept named Bus Priority System.[7]

Awards

The citizen community site praja.in won an award for Social Media Usage at the India eGov 2.0 Awards in October 2010.[8] In October 2011, Praja RAAG received a special mention from Volvo for encouraging positive initiatives to support sustainable Mobility.[9] In October 2012, Namma Railu, a Praja RAAG project was declared the runner up for Volvo Sustainable Mobility Award.[10]

Criticism

Praja RAAG has been criticized for its largely internet-based presence. Many citizens are unable to access the internet, and are therefore unable to participate in Praja RAAG initiatives and the citizen community site operated by it.

References

  1. ^ "Planners, Greens meet on transport system". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 20 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 November 2009.
  2. ^ "Bus Day a moderate success, CitizenMatters".
  3. ^ "Namma Railu - Connectivity counts, Deccan Herald".
  4. ^ "Waiting for a train, Deccan Herald".
  5. ^ "Namma Railu - the engine of progress, DNA".
  6. ^ "Commuter Rail Network Planned, DNA Bangalore".
  7. ^ "Bus Priority system to go online, IBN Live". Archived from the original on 11 July 2012.
  8. ^ "India eGov 2.0". Delhi, India. 28 November 2010.
  9. ^ "Volvo Sustainable Mobility Award 2011". Bangalore, India. 14 October 2011.
  10. ^ "Volvo Sustainable Mobility Award 2012". Bangalore, India. 26 October 2012.
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