A road that is best not trodden

The Koramangala 80 Feet Road might be housing some of the prominent government offices like Commercial Tax, Regional Passport Office (RPO) and Commissioner of Youth Services and Sports. But for the residents of the area, it is no matter of pride, for the roads are littered with garbage all over.

It’s a common sight to see pedestrians and residents covering their mouth and nose while walking on one of the busy roads in the City.

Blame it on the stench emanating from the badly maintained garbage collection point, located right in front of the RPO. The busy road in Rajendra Nagar falls under the Adugodi Ward (No 147) of BTM Layout Assembly constituency.

According to the residents, the garbage collection point has been in existence for more than five years now. “The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) garbage vans come to the collection point on all the days to clear the piled up garbage.

However, the waste is not cleared entirely. As a result, the rotten waste is strewn all over the footpath and gives out stench. Since the waste occupies most of the space on the footpath, we are forced to walk on the road,” rued Munirathna M, a resident. Another cause of worry is the nearby stormwater drain (SWD), which is also in shambles.

Residents maintained that due to shabby maintenance of the garbage collection point and the SWD, mosquito menace had increased rampantly and there was a steady rise in the number of stray dogs in the area.

“Neither the government officials nor the Palike authorities have taken any steps to tackle the garbage menace till date. They have given us just assurances,” said M D Khan, another resident.

A shop vendor staying on the 80 Feet Road pointed out that there was another garbage collection point in the neighbouring Ambedkar Nagar which was also badly maintained. The collection point is right opposite the demolished Economically Weaker Section ( EWS) Quarters’ site.

Skin allergy

Shantha M, a resident of the erstwhile EWS Quarters, now stays in the makeshift shacks on the footpath opposite the demolished quarters.

“My children constantly complain of skin allergy due to mosquito bites. We cannot shift from this place as we are helpless. At least regular fogging should be carried out.”
The garbage collection point is right next to Shantha’s shack.

MLA of BTM Layout constituency and Transport Minister, Ramalinga Reddy told Deccan Herald that he was planning to shift the garbage collection point from Koramangala 80 Feet Road to a more suitable location within the constituency. 

“I will soon invite tenders for development of footpath, remodelling of SWD, asphalting of the road and other activities. The project will be implemented using Palike funds,” he said.