Life’s surreal in the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quarters of Ejipura near Koramangala in the City. About 1,500-odd families have been reduced to squatters of sorts, literally in the shadow of what was once their abode. Forced out of their dilapidated multi-storey tenements that are due for demolition and reconstruction, these families live in abysmal shacks at the mercy of elements.

The shacks are nothing but mere enclosures with leaking roofs. Surrounded by drains that swell and enter the home everytime the skies open up, there’s nothing much to differentiate life inside the shacks from that outside.

No wonder the residents prefer to do everything outside be it cooking, bathing or even relieving themselves.

Overflowing drains emanating unbearable stench and swarming with mosquitoes, lend a pestilential touch to the air they breathe in.

Life was normal for these families till a couple of years ago when they resided in the EWS Quarters built in 1986 by the then Bangalore City Corporation. But the poor quality of construction slowly began to show its effect.

As some of the tenements crashed, the authorities sat up and took notice. But nothing much happened on the ground, other than more apartments caving in and lives being lost.

The government in June last year decided to construct a new housing complex with 1,500 flats for economically weaker sections (EWS) at the cost of Rs 100-crore. After more people were crushed to death less than three months ago in another of the tenements,  Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) authorities decided to move out the residents.

The families were put up in temporary tin shacks built around the quarters. But for the affected, it was literally like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

“These temporary shelters have been of no use. When it rains the roofs leak and water clogs the drains. The stagnant water serves as an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. There are days when we don’t even cook because water-logging chases us out of our homes,”  says Farzana Kannum, a housewife and adds, “those who can afford to buy food from outside do so and the rest of us simply go hungry.”

Molly, another resident says waste water from bathing, washing and cooking stagnate in the nearby drains. “We cook, eat and sleep beside the stench and that’s causing a lot of illnesses. Fever’s raging all the time. Three children recently died from fever and common cold. That should say a lot,” she says.

X Louis, president of the Ambedkar youth social welfare association says “it’s easy for the government to award Rs 5,000 as compensation and have the residents leave but that’s not a solution. We need houses: proper, strong structures to live in. These temporary shelters have only thrown us on to the streets. Where do we go from here and how long do we wait?”

For residents living around Koramangala and passersby, the Eijpura quarters showcase what flotsam of a City could be like.

Rhamaa Shanker Aiyer, a resident of Koramangala who passes by Ejipura every day, thinks the EWS quarters is in shambles mainly due to the mismanagement and the the civic body’s glaring negligence in having allowed usage of substandard material to build the houses.

The question is not about BBMP's willingness to build houses for the weaker sections, but building safe and stable ones that provide shelter not rain death on the poor, she feels.

“The government attitude in awarding the construction contract not to the highest bidder, one with national experience and exposure but to a novice of local company only shows that the authorities are still playing with the lives of the poor without any genuine concern for them,” she says.

BBMP Joint Commissioner Nagaraju says about 1,512 houses will be constructed for the residents of EWS under the Jnnurm scheme. He says close to 30 to 40 toilets have already been constructed. The contract for the construction of the quarters has already been awarded to Maverick Constructions but another construction company has filed a case against the Mavericks which is still pending in the court. The construction of the quarters will begin as soon as the case is closed, says Nagaraju.