Church Street turns into a cesspool
There is a big stink on Church Street, one of the favourite chill-out haunts of the young crowd, parallel to the famed MG Road. The smell of untreated sewage overflowing from several manholes along the stretch is almost overwhelming.
The outfalls from offices, hotels, pubs and other business establishments into the sewage lines on the street have only dramatically increased by the day. But the authorities seem to be in no mood to treat the problem.
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has proposed to reform the sanitation system, but the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and the traffic police are playing spoilsport, not permitting the Board to dig the road for repair. BWSSB officials say the work was awarded to a contractor in May 2010. But the Board is still waiting for ‘permits’ from both the government agencies.
Effluents from the 30-odd restaurants on Church Street and Museum Road have burdened the sewer lines.
Despite the BWSSB issuing a warning to restaurant owners to adopt ‘oil trap filters’ before letting waste water into the drains, none of them has adhered to the notice.
A BWSSB official said one of the main reasons for the clogging of the sewer lines is the dumping of garbage, including meat waste, into them. “Our sanitary workers frequent this area. Even a jetting machine is kept ready there to attend to the numerous complaints we receive from people,” said a Board official.
The existing pipelines are over 40 years old, measuring around seven-nine inches. They need to be replaced with 300mm-dia lines across Church Street — from Brigade Road to St Mark’s Road and on Museum Road from MG Road till the Old Post Office, sources said. Pipelines have to be laid for nearly 950 running metres at a cost of Rs 10 lakh.
BBMP and Traffic police
According to BWSSB, restoration of the road is not part of their work as the package is limited only to replacement of pipelines. But the BBMP wants even the restoration work to be executed by the Board. Apparently, restoration of roads is more expensive than replacing pipelines and the Board does not have that kind of money.
However, the BBMP says restoration must be done by the BWSSB. “Since the work on Church Street is a year old, I am not aware of any letter sent by the BWSSB seeking permission for digging the road to lay sewer pipelines. If they send a request, we will immediately permit them to commence the work,” said S Somashekar, chief engineer, BBMP.
As for traffic police, a department permit is required as repair works would affect vehicular movement on the road.
“We can divert traffic from Church Street and Museum Road, but we have not received any requests from the BWSSB. Once the BBMP gives its permit, we have no objection,” said B Muthanna, DCP (East).
