Listen "The thing with urban living and fights among RWA members on WhatsApp; Episode 5 with Vikram Rai President of Bangalore Apartments' Federation"
Episode Synopsis
Vikram Rai joined “The Thing With This One Is” podcast with Ram Deshpande. Vikram is the President of Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF). He also has his own healthtech startup called Vitor Health. In this episode, we focused on Vikram’s work with the BAF. Urban living in India has transformed over the last couple of decades. Whether we live in apartments or independent houses, there is a sharing of resources that happens. That leads to rules and regulations, which when are flouted there are conflicts. Most places have Resident Welfare Associations or RWAs or societies to take care of these conflicts and ensure a proper living environment. In Bengaluru, all these RWAs have an umbrella body which is the Bengaluru Apartments Federation, led by Vikram.In this podcast, Vikram has described how BAF- began and grew on the back of citizens’ agitations - is not just about agitations though but effectively represents residents’ concern and solves the problems by collaborating with the government, civic bodies, and other entities - has handled multiple issues in the past and what its current focus areas are - is also a ready resource for all information needed for better urban living. This includesresources on a range of topics including rooftop solar, water connection, STPs, common area electricity, fire safety, workers training, and many more. Everything is available on BAF’s website and its app. While many serious topics have been addressed by Vikram, funny yet important topics emanating from RWA or society WhatsApp groups have also been discussed. No topic is off limit. Pets, lifts, parking, business promotions, and many others. BAF is an excellent example for other cities to follow. Vikramand others at BAF are available to share their expertise with folks from othercities.Follow Vikram Rai: X - https://x.com/raizeriusInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/raizerius/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/raivikram/Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/rai.vikram/ Follow Bangalore Apartments’ Federation (BAF)YouTube Page : https://www.youtube.com/bafbangalore Insta Handle : https://www.instagram.com/bafbangalore/ X Handle : https://x.com/bafblr FB Page :https://www.facebook.com/BangaloreApartmentsFederation/LinkedIn Page :https://www.linkedin.com/company/bangalore-apartments-federation/ 🔔 Don’t forget to like,subscribe, and hit the bell icon to stay updated on all our future episodesfeaturing thought leaders, creators, and industry experts. Chapters 00:00Intro and sneak peek 04:40 Podcast starts07:30 How was the Bangalore Apartments Federation formed14:18 How BAF grew as an umbrella body representing interestsof lakhs of people19:30 The thing about ‘every vote matters’21:33 The people of BAF, their corporate professionalapproach, and the structure of BAF29:45 The thing with Bengaluru32:58 BAF has an app and it has a lot of useful information34:22 BAF’s work with Horticultural Producers' CooperativeMarketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMs) 36:43 BAF’s multiple programs – teaching Kannada, MoU withtraffic police, sale of treated water, overall water management, helping newRWAs with many complicated processes42:40 Training and education of RWA staff, workers, and committeemembers; collab with IIM-B46:05 The thing with building compliance requirements48:38 BAF’s work on climate and sustainability issues; theHasiru program52:12 Issues from RWA WhatsApp groups53:07 Pets and other animals58:25 Lifts1:05:01 Parking1:07:05 Workers making noise1:08:09 Trash clearance1:10:26 Shoes in the hallway1:14:06 Promoting businesses on WhatsApp groups1:16:12 Kids1:17:34 Fire hazard1:18:32 The thing with lack of courtesy1:19:55 RWA committee members fighting on WhatsApp; how BAFdoes dispute resolution1:23:30 RWA WhatsApp providing material to standup comedians
More episodes of the podcast The Thing With This One Is
The Thing With This One Is - Introduction
18/04/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.