AM Lane stinks to high heaven

 Barely two kilometres from the Vidhana Soudha and a few yards from the BBMP head office, heaps of garbage on AM Lane near Dharmaraya Temple lay bare the stark reality of 'Brand Bangalore'.

AM Lane off Krishnappa Road resembled a mini landfill with a 10 ft wide, 100 metres long and four-foot high garbage heap.

Covering their noses, passersby would walk quickly to get away from the reeking hills of garbage dotting this important road in the City. Plastic covers, bottles, tender coconuts, plantain leaves, vegetable waste, crushed sugarcane, shoes, pooja materials, clothes, papers, wet jute sacks and blood stained cotton rolls were strewn all around.

The NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) attitude towards garbage should have resulted in hygienic environment, but wherever one sees, it is garbage piled up, fetid and stinking. In the process of throwing trash out of their homes, people have not bothered about piles of waste accumulating in front of the temple complex on AM Lane that hosts three deities, Dharmaraya, Kodanda Rama Swamy and a goddess.
Perched regally on the heaps of garbage, cattle chewed placidly on waste, including polythene bags.

Sanjay, who owns a store near AM Lane, lamented that the heaps of garbage in front of his shop had hampered business badly. “Women are sensitive to the filth and  they hesitate entering my shop. I have been complaining to the BBMP for the last one week, but there is no response. I don’t know why all of a sudden there are heaps of garbage everywhere.”

Traders’ woes

Sanjay, and other owners of shops like him, are unaware of the problems faced by the residents of Mavallipura where the garbage generated in their shops, offices and houses was dumped everyday till a week ago.

Business has been significantly affected in the old markets - Chikpet, Balepet, Upparpet, Cottonpet and Chamarajpet.

The KR Market presented a nightmarish state, with vegetable waste littered everywhere. The park in front of the market is now overflowing with the wastes from the market and elsewhere too.

N A Ilyas, vice president, KR Market Footpath and General Merchants’ Association, feared that an epidemic outbreak could be round the corner, thanks to the BBMP’s dereliction of duty. “Children of the vendors in the market play here in this unhygienic hellhole. They would be the first to fall prey to Palike's callousness. Water, air and soil are highly contaminated in KR Market. The BBMP has grossly failed in discharging its duties,” an angry Ilyas remarked.