Bengaluru hits rock bottom in liveability

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

This may come as a bit of a disappointment for Bengalureans who always took pride assuming that their city was one of the best in the world and had everything a world-class metropolis had to offer. The research and analysis division of the Economist group, in its annual liveability index report released last week, has ranked Bengaluru at an absymal 146th among the 173 cities they surveyed as far as living conditions are concerned.

In fact Bengaluru, which was ranked the world’s fastest growing tech hub last year, is said to be the least livable city in India with New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Ahmedabad, the other Indian cities analysed, faring better. All five Indian cities however fall in the 140-146 ranking at the bottom of the index.

The parameters considered for the ranking are stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. According to the report, while Bengaluru is on par with other Indian cities when it comes to most parameters, it has been found lacking in infrastructure. The city has received a score of 46.4 (out of 100) in the infrastructure domain, the lowest among Indian cities.

The existing infrastructure is comparable to that of Lagos in Nigeria, which has also scored 46.4 and is the third least livable city in the world. The infrastructure score is decided based on seven indicators – quality of roads, public transportation system, energy provision, telecommunications, water and availability of quality housing and international links.

The highest score Bengaluru has received is in education, which is calculated on the basis of availability of private and public education and its quality. Bengaluru has scored 75 out of hundred along with Delhi and Chennai. According to the EIU’s suggestions, if the city falls under the livability score of 50-60, which is the case with all Indian cities considered on the index, the ‘liveability is substantially constrained.’