Civic problems aplenty in Basavanagudi constituency

Bad roads, mosquito and stray dog menace plague wards

Every day in Bengaluru, the race to touch new milestones of development moves a pace faster. Civic woes are aplenty in this tussle to accommodate varied interests in limited space.

Residents of every locality are dealing with multiple civic issues, some unique to the area. Who indeed has the time to approach each department concerned for these set of issues? Even if one did, would the officials and elected representatives respond satisfactorily? The Deccan Herald- Prajavani’s ‘Citizens for Change’ is an initiative to bridge this gap.

The civic issues of Basavanagudi constituency, with six wards, were the focus of interaction between residents, elected representaives and officials on Friday. It was an opportunity for residents to meet their newly elected corporators. Officials from different departments attended the event, answering public queries. It was not just a platform to raise concerns, but also an occasion for self-reflection on the part of citizens, too, about their duties towards keeping their surroundings clean.

The Basavanagudi constituency hosts some of the very old localities of the City. There are several areas with narrow lanes that have turned into traffic choke points.

Venkatesh, a resident of Srinagar, pointed out that the road from Muneshwara Block to Nagendra Block was a total mess in the peak hours. Adding to the heavy traffic on this road were stray cattle and tractors transporting debris. The resident asked officials to ensure that tractors were not allowed on this stretch during peak hours.

Seetha Circle, off Girinagar, was another junction that needed immediate traffic regulation. The signal here was not working and the ever-busy road made it difficult for pedestrians to use the stretch, the residents complained.

Some of the old localities here are facing sanitation problems. The sewage pipelines are narrow, laid decades ago, and hence were unable to take the load of the current population. This often led to pipes getting blocked, said Nagarathna Rajaiah, a resident of Mysore Bank Colony. His lane on the 3rd Cross in the colony has been facing the issue, he said, requesting officials to immediately resolve the problem.

Although a heavily populated area, residents here lack transport facilities. While some regular buses have been replaced with Volvo buses, in other cases, some bus services have been cancelled. Repeated requests to the BMTC to augment bus services for the benefit students and senior citizens did not yield results, the residents said.

Citizens also urged the corporators to constitute ward committees at the earliest. The elected representatives said they had not received any official direction from the BBMP in this regard so far.

These apart, the residents across different wards complained about poorly maintained roads. The rains have only made things worse and the potholes are posing a risk to public safety. Old tree branches were another concern raised. While some of the branches that had fallen during the rains had not been cleared, there were several old trees that needed to be trimmed, as they were a threat to people’s lives during heavy rains.

Garbage disposal does not just end with door-to-door garbage collection, but waste segregation needed to be done, residents insisted. “Even if we separate wet waste and dry waste, pourakarmikas mix it up in the garbage trucks, which defies the purpose of segregation,” a resident said. Stemming from improper garbage disposal were the problems of stray dogs and mosquitoes.

Officials hands tied: MLA
Basavanagudi MLA L A Ravi Subramanya, who took queries on behalf of the officials, said tree-felling and the stray dog menace always had conflicting opinions and hence their hands were tied. They had to take permission from the forest department for trimming trees. As for the stray dog menace, he said, “As per Supreme Court directions, we can only sterilise dogs and release them again in the same street. We are not permitted to cull them,” he said.

MLA lashes at BMTC over poor bus services
Basavanagudi MLA L A Ravi Subramanya on Friday took the BMTC to the task for not taking measures to provide bus services in his constituency, despite several requests from citizens.

Residents who participated in the “Citizens for Change” interaction, complained of poor bus services in various areas under the Basavanagudi constituency. They also referred to the cancellation of BMTC buses from Kalidasa Layout in Srinagar, and on other routes.
Responding to the complaints, the MLA said: “Shortage and cancellation of buses is a serious issue and the BMTC has to immediately look into it. It does not take much time to operate buses.

A separate meeting will be held with the BMTC officials to address the issue. I hope the officials from the department turn up for next meeting at least.”

Subramanya pointed out that due to shortage of funds in the Palike, no major works have been taken up in the wards barring projects coming under the Nagarotthana scheme. “The newly elected corporators have not received even a single paisa from the BBMP and they have been allotted just Rs one lakh for pothole-filling works in their wards which is insufficient,” he said.

MLA
L A Ravi Subramanya 9845395380

Corporators:
B S Sathyanarayana
(Basavanagudi) 9341220836
H A Kempegowda (Hanumanthanagar) 9535512363
J M Savitha Mayanna Gowda (Srinagar) 9886748202
A V Nandini Vijaya Vittal (Girinagar) 9880458018
S Venkatesh (Kathriguppe) 9845041067
M Shyamala (Vidyapeeta)  9844112869

Contact numbers of officials
BWSSB Executive Engineer (EE), Gopala Gowda    9845444029
BBMP Health Officer Manoranjan Hegde    9480683928
BBMP Senior Health inspector Gangaiah   9480684587
BDA Assistant Executive Engineer ( AEE), Rajgopal  9845883736
BESCOM Executive Engineer Thippesawamy  9449844619
BESCOM AEE Srinivas     9449844669

BBMP Major Roads,
EE Rajesh - 9480684046
EE, BBMP Projects, Swamyamprabha  9480685321
BBMP SWD AEE Wahab  9480684116

BBMP Senior Health
Inspector Chandraiah  9480684221
BBMP EE Kenchappa  9480683114

Police Inspectors
Hanumanthanagar
Police Station- 9480801524
Banashankari Traffic  Police Station -9480801929
Basavangudi Traffic Police Station --- 9480801928
Girinagar Police Station  9480801528
Kempegowdanagar Police Station - 9480801516