Way to go! Indiranagar gets first public neighbourhood walking mapIndiranagar has got its first public neighbourhood walking map. This will help anyone entering Indiranagar easily locate schools, parks, bus stands and metro stations.The idea was conceptualised by Indiranagar 2nd stage League along with a Residents Welfare Association (RWA) group; the project was funded by the Neighbourhood Improvement Programme (NIP). A few months ago, Indiranagar 2nd Stage league won a competition in which community ideas were shared.One of the RWA members, Praveen S, said, “We took part in a seven-week competition which saw 86 proposals made. A shortlist of 32 robust proposals encompassing geography, sector, modes of engagement and solution types was created. After we won with our idea of putting up a map, the project was funded by United Way of Bengaluru who conducted the NIP and the map – of which a prototype is ready -- is a work in progress. It will help people walking through Indiranagar; they might be new to the area and looking for shops, offices or for connectivity to a street inside our neighbourhood and many do not know where to catch a bus. As many people struggle to speak the local language, with this signage they can get all the information they need.”“The idea was to ensure people do not get lost when they go to a new area. We are yet to get permission from the BBMP for installing the signage. Already a request has been made on our behalf; soon we will get the permission,” he added. Residents say this should be implemented over all 198 wards in Bengaluru. The Neighbourhood Improvement Partnership has been conceived as a platform to enable, involve and support local citizens in tackling complex urban issues, alongside public officials.The RWA’s secretary and project manager, A P Vijaysarathy, says, “Only after the joint efforts from residents and members of our RWA did we come up with an idea and take part in the competition held by the NIP. Whereas there were 200-odd community groups that participated in the competition, of these, 32 have been shortlisted for the final round of competition — projects vary from redesigning problematic roads, improvement of public spaces, reuse of dry waste and fire safety. We have got Rs5 lakh in funding from the NIP, which will be used for signage boards. Each board will measure 1.5 metres in height and one metre in width in four places identified by us.”