BENGALURU: Paltry work -like getting streetlights fixed -in Kadugodi, in the IT corridor of Whitefield , would involve chasing authorities for weeks. Resident Gautam Mishra, however, did not have to pursue anyone. As part of the ward committee in Kadugodi, the first municipal ward in Bengaluru to get its own committee, he now gets such work done in a jiffy.Varthur, also in the IT corridor, got its committee on January 3, the same day as Kadugodi. Hagadur is now on its way to getting one. The city's software nerve centre is surging ahead to strengthen municipal governance like no other part of Bengaluru has attempted.Each ward is mandated to have a committee chaired by the corporator and comprising citizens in accordance with the 74th amendment of the Constitution. It has to meet every month to discuss problems."Without the committee, it would have been a big chase through bureaucratic loop to get things done. Small problems have been attended to and there's a long way still to go. But it's a good beginning. We can track tasks, ask officials to clarify and set deadlines," said Mishra, a startup entrepreneur. "This is my weekend job now."Retired banker Ajit Laxmiratan is a member of the Varthur commit tee. The ward committee's first meeting recently took stock of all pending work. He is not surprised that Whitefield residents are taking the lead in doing things the way they should be done. "We are witness to the collapse of the system."In 2013, when the High Court directed BBMP to form ward committees, the latter claimed that 182 out of 198 wards had committees. "These were mostly namesake committees that were atrociously nonfunctional," said Sridhar Pabbi setty, CEO, Namma Bengaluru Foundation, which is helping Uttarahalli and Kathriguppe wards form their own committees. "Every Bengalurean should ask their cor porators to form the committees."Advertising professional Vijay Mane, widely reckoned by peers at Whitefield Rising as the catalyst behind formation of the committees, said it was quite a task. "It needs perseverance. It is difficult to chase politicians. We are the mob for the right cause, not for torching buses," he said.Rajajinagar MLA S Suresh Kumar said he would visit Whitefield to learn how he can initiate formation of committees in his constituency.Evidently, the committees are helping bridge the gap between Whitefield's new settlers (the IT workforce) and villagers. "The Kannada vs non-Kannada barrier is breaking down. I've personally vowed to learn the language in three months," said Mishra, a Kadugodi resident since 2004.