JOIN USIt’s not just roadsides and empty plots in the City that have become garbage dumps. The stormwater drain in Shivajinagar is choking with plastic bags and waste from Russel Market and surrounding areas.
Needless to say the stench is unbearable. Despite repeated complaints from those around the area, the authorities have turned a blind eye towards this. What has made the situation worse is that all kinds of meat are also being dumped in drain.
Azeez Masroor, a shopkeeper in Shivajinagar who has been running his business in the vicinity for the last 35 years, says repeated complaints to the BBMP seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
“Nobody seems to be bothered by the problem. In addition to throwing vegetables and paper waste, there’s a lot of leftover meat being thrown into the drains. This cannot be cleaned easily. The stench emanating from this is unbearable,”
reasons Azeez.
Juliet Anand, who often comes to Shivajinagar, has no second thoughts when she says that the surroundings of Russell Market are one the most badly maintained areas in the City. “Looks like the stormwater drain running through Shivajinagar hasn’t been cleaned and maintained for a long time. Apart from the fact that it stinks, the clogging could trigger a host of diseases as well,” she says.
Nataraj, a fruit vendor
in Shivajinagar, confesses that he has been seeing the condition of the stormwater drain getting worse by the year. “It has been in the same state for years now. This area is of least importance to the authorities. The drain not only has waste from the
surrounding areas but I’ve seen small trucks dumping waste here as well,”
observes Nataraj.
Shivajinagar also has a sizable number of eateries that are open well after midnight. Mohammed Khan, who owns a restaurant near Russell Market, says that he has lost a lot of business because of the filthy surroundings.
“The surroundings are so dirty. No matter how much I clean, the waste comes back. For one, there is indiscipline and lack of civic sense on the part of the people, on the other hand, the authorities just don’t seem to look this side at all,” he rues.
The BBMP authorities say that they intend to cover all the stormwater drains across the City and fence them to prevent people from throwing garbage into them. “The stormwater drain in Shivajinagar begins from Vasanthnagar near Miller’s Tank Bed and passes through Shivajinagar to join the Challaghatta Valley, near the Golf Course. It’s one among the longest drains in the City. We will make sure the garbage is removed and the drain is fenced,” says a senior officer with the BBMP.