In an effort to make democracy more transparent, the BBMP has decided to live-stream their meetings. Read on to learn more about BBMP live stream.
Taking a cue from award ceremonies and functions that are live streamed across the world, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has announced that their monthly council meetings will now be live streamed on their official website. This will make them the first city administrative body to webcast their meetings.
BBMP Live Stream Quick Facts
- All BBMP monthly council meetings to be live-streamed on the official website
- Live streaming will make elected representatives more conscious of their responsibilities
- The total cost of the project has been INR 80 lakhs
BBMP Live Stream And Bangalore’s History of Live Streaming
Though it is the first to be webcast, live streaming is not something new in Bangalore. The first such experiments were conducted in 2000 when the Bellandur gram panchayat meetings were telecast live on local cable channels.
This was even before the Parliament sessions were telecast live. From 2000 to 2007, the panchayat meetings were streamed on local cable channels in Bellandur and 35 villages around it. This experiment ended only when the panchayat was merged with the BBMP in 2008.
In September 2018, the BBMP live-streamed the mayoral election and since then, a few council meetings have been webcast. These sessions have received around 1300 views, In addition to live-streaming the meetings, videos have also been uploaded on YouTube.
Why Is Live Streaming Important?
Live streaming council meetings will make democracy a more transparent process and make council members accountable for their actions. Before the panchayat meetings were live-streamed, many members missed meetings on various pretexts.
Once the meetings were telecast, they became conscious of being watched and participation became much more active. Issues relevant to the villagers were raised and the panchayat members began to be held accountable for their words and actions.
Unpleasant situations and even fistfights that were once a part of meetings faded away as members became aware of being watched. With the live streaming of council meetings could also help improve the quality of debates.
In addition, this makes the local population more aware of how the local bodies function.
BBMP Live Stream – How will the Council Meetings be Live Streamed?
To be able to live-stream the videos, four cameras have been installed in the meeting room. These cameras will capture the 198 corporators in action as they discuss, debate, and take a decision regarding the city. The project has cost the government INR 80 lakhs.